Results
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 17th-ranked Calvin University men's swimming and diving team competed in a triangular meet against NCAA II fourth-ranked Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and 10th-ranked Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) on Saturday afternoon at Venema Aquatic Center.
The Knights were defeated by both of the ranked opponents on the day, with GSVU winning 250-48 and SVSU winning 194-102.
Two individual events featured Calvin swimmers recording NCAA III 'B' cut times, starting with
Jackson Merkel (Grandville, Mich./Grandville), who won the 100 Backstroke in a time of 49.06.
Charles Platt (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) also recorded a 'B' cut time in the 100 Freestyle of 44.34 to take second place.
Platt teamed with
Caleb Gemmen (Mentor, Ohio/Homeschool),
David Gabrielle (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and
Kellen Morford (Medina, Ohio/Medina) in the 200 Medley Relay that took second place in a time of 1:30.88 to start the day. The 'B' relay of Merkel,
Cardin Nguyen (Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mountain),
Andrew Taulbee (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) and
Zachary Logan (Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) finished fifth in a time of 1:32.29.
Along with his win in the 100 Backstroke, Merkel also finished second in the 200 Backstroke in a time of 1:49.64.
In the freestyle distance races,
Evan Haney (Goshen, Ind./Northridge) finished fourth in the 1000 Freestyle, followed by
Andrew Stimpert (Normal, Ill./Normal West) in fifth (10:10.83). Haney also finished seventh in the 500 Freestyle (4:50.94), with
Ryan Halberg (Novi, Mich./Northville) in eighth place (4:51.0). Halberg also took home an eighth-place finish in the 200 Freestyle, with
Carter Detweiler (Farmington Hills, Mich./Council Rock North) one spot ahead of him in seventh place.
Gemmen and Nguyen took third (57.15) and fifth (57.89), respectively, in the 100 Breaststroke, with Gemmen also securing a sixth-place finish in the 200 Breaststroke (2:10.08). Taublee tied for seventh in the 100 Breaststroke and finished eighth in the 200 Breaststroke.
Jacob Ziegler (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) finished sixth in the 200 Butterfly (1:56.15) and seventh in the 200 IM (1:58.7).
The day in the pool finished with the 400 Freestyle Relay, where the team of Platt, Gabrielle, Morford and Merkel finished third in a time of 3:07.58.
In diving,
Miles Lee (Chicago, Ill./Homeschool) was the top finisher for Calvin in ninth place with 142.35 points off the one-meter board.
NEXT UP: Calvin swimming and diving will return to action on Saturday, October 25, when it competes in the MIAA Invite at Holland Aquatic Center starting at 1:00 PM.
