by Lenny Padilla
Bailey Smith, pictured right, broke the oldest Hope College men's swimming record on Thursday night at the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships held at Calvin University.
It's a record that is older than he is.
After Day 1 of the league championships, Hope is in second place with 449 points. Calvin leads with 516. The competition finishes up on Saturday, March 13. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. and finals at 5:30 pm.
It was a memorable night for Smith, a sophomore from Battle Creek (Lakeview HS). But even setting a school record in the 500-yard freestyle wasn't enough. Smith finished second in 4:29.49 and sophomore Theo Duong of Kentwood (East Kentwood HS) was third in 4:42.27. Calvin's Julian Iturbe won the event in 4:27.22.
Smith's time smashed the Hope record that had stood for 26 years. Kirk Assink held the previous mark with a time of 4:32.06 in 1995. Assink is the father of Hope sophomore Brant Assink of Holland (Holland Christian HS), who swam in the same race on Thursday as Smith and placed seventh with a time of 4:48.11.
"Bailey is a talented swimmer," head coach Jake Taber said of Smith. "He's one of those guys who doesn't just have talent; he's a student of the sport. He's seen tremendous drops (in his times) since high school. I'm thrilled with what Bailey did tonight."
Ben Catton of Holland (Holland Christian HS), pictured lower right, had a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in 48.48, narrowly getting out-touched by Calvin's Julien Camy (48.33). Teammate Conor East of Farmington Hills (North Farmington HS) was fourth in 49.60.
It was a big day for Catton. He set the Hope record in the prelims with a blistering 48.37. His finish in the finals is now the second-best mark in school history.
"The funny thing about Ben, we hadn't planned on him in the 100 butterfly all season," Taber said. "He's had nice times in the butterfly (later)... He came into the meet as the No. 2 seed and finished a top time in Hope history. I'd love to tell you that was the plan from day one. The reality is he turned some heads and it's worked out great."
Catton was Hope's top finisher in the 100-yard freestyle. He came in fourth place with a time of 45.47 seconds. It is the seventh-fastest mark in Hope history.
Jack Muller of Queensland, Australia (Meridan State) seemed to come out of nowhere to finish second in the 200-yard breaststroke. He was seeded sixth entering the meet. But he swam a 2:04.45 in the prelims, the third-best time in Hope history, and then topped that mark in the finals with a 2:04.29.
In the 200-yard individual medley, East finished second in 1:52.08. It was the second-best time in Hope history. Dan Clyde set the top mark in the event with a 1:50.65 in 2020. Freshman Jake Peterson of San Antonio, Texas (Churchill HS) finished sixth in 1:54.22.
"They came in with similar times," Taber said of East and Peterson. "They've gone back and forth all year. Great training partners. They've been great and love to work hard and love to compete. Tonight Conor swam an efficient three legs."
The Flying Dutchmen finished third in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:55.40. The team of Smith, East, Peterson and Ben DuBay of Omaha, Neb. (Millard West HS) finished 12 seconds behind first-place Calvin (6:43.05).
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Hope finished in second place in 1:23.08. The foursome of sophomore JT Nissen of Spring, Texas (Klein Collins HS), Catton, DuBay and sophomore Jackson Uyl of DeWitt (DeWitt HS) were two seconds behind Calvin (1:21.22).
In the final event of the day, the 400-yard medley relay, Hope had a strong finish to come in second place in 3:23.18. The team of Catton, Muller, East and Smith finished behind Calvin, which won in 3:18.30.
In the 1-meter diving, junior Kamaron Wilcox of Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Central HS) finished in third place with 445.50 points. Freshman Ewan Tiongson was fourth with 409.70 points.
