Story by Lenny Padilla/Photos courtesy of Calvin University
Emma Schaefer toppled records both old and new on Day 1 of the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Calvin University.
The senior, who is the reigning MIAA Most Valuable Swimmer, set school records in two events while helping to lead Hope to first place with 495.5 points after the first day of competition. Calvin is in second place with 484 points.
The championships finish up on Saturday, March 6. Prelims begin at 11 a.m. with finals at 5:30 pm.
Schaefer of DeWitt (St. Johns HS), pictured right, set her first school record of the night in the 200-yard breaststroke with a dominating win in 2:18.55.
She broke the 21-year-old mark of 2:18.68 recorded by Betsy VandenBerg in 2000, and that winning time by Schaefer was almost four seconds faster than Olivet's Jennifer Mann, who finished in second place (2:22.83).
Two events later, Schaefer touched in with another win and record, this time in the 200-yard individual medley in which she is the two-time defending champ. Schaefer clocked a 2:04.92, besting her own previous record of 2:06.58 set in 2019 and coming in two seconds better than Calvin's Hannah Chao (2:06.22).
Hope College Women's Swim/Dive Records
"I saw a little emotion out of Emma tonight, which is pretty exciting," head coach Jake Taber said. "Typically, she lets her swimming do the talking. But after breaking Betsy VandenBerg's record in the 200 breaststroke, she was pretty excited. There was even more of a smile from her atop the podium."
Since no fans are allowed in the natatorium, the swimmers cheered on their teammates and danced in the stands to the music between events. The event is live streamed on YouTube.
Adding another win for the Flying Dutch on Thursday was the 400-yard medley relay team of freshman Delaney Wesolek of Bay City (John Glenn HS), Schaefer, freshman Rachel Gamm of Rockford (Rockford HS), and freshman Madeline Tessin of Waxhaw, N.C. (Marvin Ridge HS) with a time of 3:52.38.
"We're not going to be lacking for close races with Calvin this weekend," Taber said. "We thought it (the 400 medley relay) was a relay we could win, and those women stepped up."
In the 800-yard freestyle relay, Hope took the silver medal with a time of 7:42.79. The team of freshman Maddy O'Donnell of Lincolnshire, Ill. (Stevenson HS), Schaefer, Gamm and Wesolek was second to Calvin (7:39.69).
Wesolek also swam to a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.08.
In the 100-yard freestyle, O'Donnell was Hope's top finisher, coming in third place with a time of 52.89. O'Donnell's finish is the eighth-best time in Hope history.
Gamm finished third in the 100-yard butterfly in 57.02. It is the fourth-fastest finish in Hope's history. Albion's Sage Gettings won in 56.15.
Freshman Jess Estabrook of Carmel, Ind. (Carmel HS) was Hope's top finisher in the 500 freestyle in fourth place, finishing in 5:16.86. Teammate Abby LaDuke of Holland (West Ottawa HS) finished in fifth with a time of 5:17.09.
In one of the closest events of the evening, Hope finished second in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Alexis Nelson of Chelsea (Chelsea HS), Tessin, O'Donnell and Wesolek clocked in at 1:36.96. Calvin won in 1:36.10.
Hope had a strong finish in the 1-meter diving with third, fourth- and fifth-place finishes. Freshman Cameron Hamilton of Libertyville, Ill. (Libertyville HS) finished third with 368.90 points, freshman Sophia Farbarzhevich of Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Northern HS) in fourth with 344.50 points and sophomore Allie Graver (Grosse Ile, Mich./ Grosse Ile HS) in fifth with 323.35 points.
"For us to fight and be as strong as we were, considering the grueling day, we finished with an awful lot of fight," Taber said. "We can walk out of here feeling pretty good."
