CKSR (Calvin Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Teams Continue to Hold Leads at MIAA Championships)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2018 (Part One)

Swimming and Diving Teams Continue to Hold Lead at MIAA Championships

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's swimming and diving team continued to widen its lead at the MIAA Championships Friday at the Venema Aquatic Center.

With one day of competition left, the Knights hold a commanding 172-point lead over second place Hope.

The Knights put together a memorable evening, setting three school records.

Calvin opened the finals with a bang, winning the 200 medley relay in a school record and NCAA B' cut qualifying time of 1:45.35. The relay consisted of freshman Hannah Chao (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington HS), senior Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron HS), freshman Jenna Oezer (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Abby VanHarn. VanHarn was able to pull the relay into first place in the final 25 yards as the Knights edged Hope's relay by two-tenths of a second for the win.

VanHarn then led a fantastic cadre of Calvin Knights in the 200 freestyle as the Knights swept the top five spots with VanHarn winning the event for the fourth consecutive year. VanHarn won the race with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:50.79 while junior teammate Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS) was right behind with a B' cut qualifying time of 1:51.55. Senior Madelyn Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan HS) was third with a career-best time of 1:53.36 while sophomore Libby Engle (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) was fourth with a career-best tiem of 1:53.63. Junior Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Ca./Home Schooled) was fifth with a career-best time of 1:54.98.

In the 100 butterfly, Jenna Oezer set a new school record, taking second with a time of 57.56. Sophomore Emily Gunderson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) also surpassed the previous school record of 58.04 with a third place time of 57.78.

Chao set a school record in the 100 backstroke, taking third in a time of 57.31 while sophomore Abbey Wellman (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point HS) was fourth (57.78) and sophomore Sydney Boyer (Bristol, Ind./Northridge HS) seventh (1:00.62).

Sophomore Emily Slenk (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) was fifth in the 400 IM (4:46.22). In the 100 breaststroke, Mattson was fourth (1:08.48) and junior Elysa Wolf (Austin, Tx./Regents School of Austin) seventh (1:08.97).

The evening was capped off by senior Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) who captured the one-meter diving competition for the second straight year, doing so with a score of 453.60. Bradley opened the evening finals in fourth but moved her way to the top with three clutch dives at the conclusion of her program to win the event by a nine-point margin.

Freshman Joselyn Smith (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland West HS) had a strong performance, taking third with a score of 420.80. Freshman Hannabeth Magnussen (Oakdale, Ca./Ripon Christian HS) also scored in the finals, placing seventh with a score of 380.25.

"I'm extremely proud of my divers tonight," said Calvin diving coach Aaron Paskvan. "Sarah Bradley showed her mettle and proved she was a champion diver this evening. This is a big confidence booster for her and I thrilled to see her win a championship tonight. Joselyn and Hannabeth also dove very well. To have two freshman divers reach the finals and dive as well as they did is wonderful. They both continue to improve and I am excited to watch them moving forward."

Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos was also thrilled with his entire women's team. "We had another outstanding night," said Gelderloos. "The medley relay really got our energy up right away and it just carried through the evening. Three school records in one night is impressive and it was great to see Sarah lead the way in diving tonight as well. This is a very tight team with strong bonds. They work so well supporting one another and it showed again tonight."

Action continues Saturday morning with prelims at 10 a.m. with evening finals set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Venema Aquatic Center.

MIAA WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES

Calvin 681
Hope 509
Albion 465
Alma 169
Olivet 152

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's swimming and diving team continues to lead heading into the final day of competition at the MIAA Championships

Through three days of competition, Calvin holds a 50-point lead over defending MIAA champion Albion. The Britons chipped into the Calvin lead on Friday, as the Knights led by 77 points heading into Friday.

Calvin had several outstanding swims on Friday led by senior Tanner Vincent (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) who won the 400 IM with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 4:01.96. The win was the second in as many nights as it came on the heels of a win in the 200 IM Thursday evening.

Vincent led a 1-4-5 Calvin finish in the event as sophomore Fear Churchwell (Athens, Ga./Clarke Central HS) was fourth (4:05.36) and freshman Julian Iturbe (Caracas, Venezula/Colegio Emil Friedman) fifth (4:06.87).

Less than 30 minutes later, Iturbe came back to win the 200 free in clutch fashion, moving from third to first place in the final 25 yards to win with a time of 1:40.61. Sophomore Tim Randall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) was third in 1:41.90 while senior Max DeYoung (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern HS) was sixth (1:43.90).

In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Tristan Hazlett (Lutz, Fla./Home Schooled) was fourth (58.65) and sophomore Sam Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant HS) fifth (1:00.16).

Junior Ben Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant HS) led a 1-2-5-7 Calvin finish in the 100 backstroke. Holstege won the race in a time of 48.99 while senior Skyler Fish (Ionia, Mich./Ionia HS) was second (50.11), freshman Lucas Holcombe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron HS) fifth (52.16) and freshman Colin Murphy (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice HS) seventh (53.07).

In the 100 fly, junior Jared Britton (Falls Church, Va./George Mason HS) was second with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 49.29 while Olberding was sixth (52.06) and freshman Ryan Gelderloos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) eighth (52.95). Holcombe won the consolation final with a time of 51.29.

Calvin's 200 medley relay team of Ben Holstege, Sam Holstege, Britton and Fish placed second with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:30.20.
"It was a good day," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "I thought we had a ton of great swims. We will have to come out swinging tomorrow and protect our lead. It's going to be a close finish and we will need to be up to the challenge."

Action continues Saturday morning with prelims at 10 a.m. with evening finals set to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Venema Aquatic Center.

MIAA MEN'S TEAM SCORES

Calvin 633.5
Albion 583.5
Hope 311
Olivet 172
Alma 133
Received on Sat Feb 24 00:54:09 2018