by Lenny Padilla
Bailey Smith is the best men's distance swimmer in Hope College history.
When head coach Jake Taber said on Thursday, "We think (Smith's) got more in the tank for Saturday in the 1,650," he wasn't kidding.
Smith, a sophomore from Battle Creek, Michigan (Lakeview HS) set Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and school records in the 1,650-yard freestyle in dominating fashion on Saturday.
The performance was the first of two MIAA records and three school records during the evening session for the Flying Dutchmen. Hope won four events on Saturday and finished the two-day meet with a second-place total of 906 points.
Hope's All-Time Men's Swim/Dive Records
Smith's time of 15:40.40 in the 1,650 easily is the Hope record. The previous mark was 15:51.00 by Josh Grabijas, set in 2012.
The previous MIAA record of 15:42.35 was set by Calvin's Caleb Meindertsma in 2016.
"That was a fun one," Taber said of Smith's race. "A year ago, I was hoping he'd be more of a 100 swimmer, but we went into a quad meet and he swam the mile for the first time. I thought 'Oh my gosh for a kid who has never done it before, he was really good.' We were pretty excited. The big goal was to get the MIAA record. He went out and found his rhythm and put together a beautiful mile."
The Flying Dutchmen went 1-2 in the 1,650. Sophomore Theo Duong (Kentwood, Michigan/East Kentwood) finished in second place with a time of 16:22.90.
Hope was so dominant in the 200-yard butterfly, it had two swimmers surpass the MIAA record. Freshman Conor East (Farmington Hills, Michigan/North Farmington) won the event in 1:49.40, edging out teammate Jake Peterson (San Antonio, Texas/Churchill), who had a 1:49.82 finish.
The previous MIAA and Hope College record was held by Ryan Nelis, who swam a 1:50.32 in 2009.
Also, sophomore JT Nissen of Spring, Texas/Klein Collins) took fifth in 1:53.82.
"They were pretty different approaches to that race," Taber said. "Conor was out hard and Jake, as that race went on, engaged his core. But Conor had a big enough lead. Both of them are freshmen, humble, great workers … we're really excited with them for the next three years."
Peterson dominated the 400-yard individual medley, cruising to a winning time of 4:04.46. He pulled away in the breaststroke leg of the race for the third-fastest time in Hope history.
"It's a testament to his training and his grit," Taber said of Peterson. "He's going to dig deep and he's scrappy. He opened up a nice lead and came home on his own."
Freshman Ben Catton (Holland, Michigan/Holland Christian) had the best 100-yard backstroke time in Hope history on Saturday. He finished second in 50.42, but he was edged out by Calvin's Noah Holstege in 49.15.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, sophomore Jack Muller (Queensland, Australia/Meridan State) placed third in 56.47 seconds with the third-best time in school history.
Smith had enough left for a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. He had a time of 1:41.48. Freshman Ben Dubay (Omaha, Neb. / Millard West HS) was fifth in 1:43.62.
Sophomore Jackson Uyl (DeWitt, Michigan/DeWitt) was the top Hope finisher in the 50-yard freestyle. His time of 21.16 was good for fifth place.
In the final event of the day, Hope finished third in the 400-freestyle relay with a time of 3:05.43 from the team of Catton, Uyl, Dubay and Smith.
Junior Kamaron Wilcox (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Forest Hills Central) was voted MIAA Most Valuable Diver for the second-straight year.
In the 3-meter diving, Wilcox cruised to the MIAA title with 501.25 points. Freshman Ewan Tiongson (Portage, Michigan/Portage Northern) was fourth with 442.10 points.
"Kam's such a fun story," Taber said. "He never dived before he got to college. He was so good on the high board tonight. Such a gracious champion. It was nice to see him go out and deliver."
The 200-yard medley relay came in second place in 1:31.28. The team of Catton, Muller, East and Uyl finished behind Calvin, which won in 1:29.69.
It was the Flying Dutchmen's highest finish at the MIAA Championships since 2014. Calvin won with 1,054 points; Albion was third with 738.5.
Hope's All-Time MIAA Event Champions
