Results
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin University men's swimming and diving team set a new record in the 400 medley relay to cap a strong day one of the Calvin Winter Invite at Venema Aquatic Center on Thursday.
The fourth-ranked Knights in the most recent College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) NCAA Division III rankings competed against very strong competition that featured three teams ranked in the top 14 of the NCAA Division II rankings in Grand Valley State (sixth), Findlay (seventh) and Northern Michigan (14th), as well as Indiana Wesleyan and Grove City.
Calvin finished the day in fourth place with 380 points, trailing Grand Valley State (638), Northern Michigan (447) and Findlay (427).
The top finish came in the last race of the day, when the 'A' 400 medley relay team of
Charles Platt (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North),
Caleb Gemmen (Mentor, Ohio/Homeschool),
Julien Camy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and
Forrest Peterson (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) finished in a school-record time of 3:14.19 to top the previous record set last year of 3:14.23. The school-record time is also the second-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season.
Calvin's 'A' relay finished third in that event, while the 'B' relay of
Timothy Hays (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect),
Mohamed Abujiba (Cairo, Egypt/Summits International School),
Eric Chimes (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview) and
Vlad Molin (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows) took 12th in a time of 3:24.46. The 'C' relay of
Austin Martinson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Metea Valley),
Anthony Crudele (Aurora, Ill./Homeschool),
Corey Campbell (Kentwood, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and
Josh Seidelman (Northville, Mich./Northville) took 13th in a time of 3:26.93.
The night started in the 200 freestyle relay, with the 'A' team of
David Bajwa (Bethesda, Md./The Heights School), Molin, Peterson and Platt taking third in a time of 1:20.62. That time was the fourth-fastest in NCAA Division III this season, and topped the 'B' relay of Seidelman, Campbell,
Zachary Logan (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) and
Jazz Widney (Wellsville, N.Y./Jenks) in seventh place with a time of 1:23.09.
In the individual races, Chimes took second in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:49.79, followed by Bajwa (1:50.96) in seventh and Hays (1:51.06) in eighth. All three times are among the top 13 recorded this season in Division III.
In the 50 freestyle, Platt was the lone Calvin swimmer in the final heat and took eighth place with a time of 20.62. Peterson (20.47) and Camy (20.72) finished second and third in the 'B' final, while Campbell (20.69) took second in the 'C' final. Peterson's 20.47 time ranks 11th in Division III, while Platt's is in the top 20.
Seidelman (4:39.30) was the top Calvin swimmer in the 500 freestyle, making the 'B' final and taking 13th place, just ahead of
Ryan Halberg (Novi, Mich./Northville) in 14th place with a time of 4:42.04.
COACH'S COMMENT: "I think we got things rolling this morning but then this afternoon we really kicked it into gear," Calvin head coach
Dan Gelderloos said. "We started off things the Calvin way on those relays which is kind of our specialty. Having that good start always helps and that translates into some more comfortable races throughout the night. They were putting up best times all around and I'm super proud of them for loving what they do."
NEXT UP: Calvin swimming and diving returns to action at Venema Aquatic Center tomorrow (Friday, December 1) when it hosts day two (of three) of the Calvin Winter Invite. The morning session will start at 10:00 AM, followed by the 6:00 PM evening finals.
