Results
HOLLAND, Mich. – The Calvin University swimming and diving team opened the season with the Be Better; Invite on Friday at Holland Aquatic Center.
The event featured Calvin and Hope College, as well as Big 10 programs from the University of Michigan and Purdue University. It is the third annual Be Better; Invitational event to celebrate the life of former University of Michigan and Holland Christian High School swimmer Ian Miskelley, who passed in 2020. The meet is meant to shine a spotlight on the Be Better; Foundation, started by the Miskelley family, to promote mental health awareness
The competition was not scored and included both traditional and non-traditional events.
In traditional relay events, the Calvin men opened the night with a sixth-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay. The team of
Charles Platt (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North),
Caleb Gemmen (Mentor, Ohio/Homeschool),
David Bajwa (Bethesda, Md./The Heights School) and
Vlad Molin (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows) finished in a time of 1:33.55. They were followed by the 'B' relay of
Cardin Nguyen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain),
Andrew Taulbee (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg),
Corey Campbell (Kentwood, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and
Josh Seidelman (Northville, Mich./Northville) in ninth place in a time of 1:36.85.
The other traditional relay was the 400 Freestyle Relay, where the team of Bajwa, Seidelman,
Dominic Rose (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) and Molin took eighth in a time of 3:13.75.
The traditional individual events started with the 100 Butterfly, where
Logan Campbell (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) finished sixth (50.74), followed by Bajwa (52.26) and Taulbee (53.08) in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Ryan Halberg (Novi, Mich./Northville) finished sixth in the 100 Freestyle (53.30), followed by Seidelman in seventh place (53.57).
Molin added an eighth-place finish in the 50 Freestyle (21.77).
Timothy Hays (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) took ninth in both the 100 Backstroke (53.44) and 100 Individual Medley (53.76), while
Diego Herrera Mora (Liberty Hill, Texas/CTP de Belen) finished 10th in both the 100 IM (55.25) and 200 Freestyle (1:50.43). Gemmen also took home a 10th place finish in the 100 Breaststroke (58.84).
In non-traditional events, Gemmen and Hays teamed with Maggie Farrell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central) and Sydney Sonday (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) to finish sixth in the Mixed 200 Medley with a time of 1:40.72. Rose and
Addison Van Soelen (Lawrenceville, Ga./Providence Christian Academy) teamed with Meghan Bengelink (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) and Elyse Radawski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Jenison) to finish ninth in the Mixed 200 Freestyle Relay (1:34.42).
Bajwa (10.16) and Hays (10.80) finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in the 25 Freestyle.
Logan Campbell (18.36), Molin (19.22) and
Jacob Ziegler (Sylvania, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) (19.26) each finished in the top 10 in the Underwater 50 Freestyle.
COACH'S COMMENT: "It was a great meet that has a lot of meaning," Calvin head swimming and diving coach
Dan Gelderloos said. "Being able to bring awareness to mental health with three other teams in this format provided a great environment. For our team, we had some moments that foreshadowed some good things down the road, while we also had some moments that showed we are still very early in the season. Always good to do things in front of a crowd with the scoreboard on, and we will use the experience to get better and be better."
NEXT UP: Calvin swimming and diving will return to action on Saturday, October 12, when it hosts a triangular meet against Grand Valley State University and Saginaw Valley State University at Venema Aquatic Center at 1:00 PM.
