Distance swimmer Bailey Smith and backstroker Colin Kalkman returned to the top of the MIAA on Saturday with thrilling performances on Saturday.
The two teammates claimed individual titles during the final day of the MIAA Championships at Calvin University: Smith in the 1,650-yard freestyle in the 200 backstroke.
In the 1,650 freestyle, Smith (Battle Creek, Michigan / Lakeview HS) claimed his third victory in the event in four years, swimming 16 minutes, 1.24 seconds to join Kirk Assink (1993-95) and Josh Grabijas (2010-12) as three-time Hope champions in the event.
In the 200 backstroke, Kalkman (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) repeated as MIAA champion and bettered his own school record with a time of 1:48.98.
Smith and Kalkman helped the Flying Dutchmen secure a second-place team finish with 963 points. Calvin won with 1,117 points and was followed by Hope, Albion College (531), Kalamazoo College (477), Olivet College (254) and Alma College (236).
Head coach Jake Taber praised both of Hope's Saturday champions.
"Bailey has a tremendous feel for the race. He knows himself and trusts his training. He executes a plan and delivers in the biggest moments," Taber said. "Colin's win was really exciting. He zeroed right in on the back half of that race. He took care of himself on the way out, was responsible and just raced the back half. We're excited to see him stand on the podium first."
In the 1,650 free, Smith led a group of four Hope swimmers who scored.
Sophomore Conner Halberg (Novi, MIchigan / Northville, the 2022 MIAA champion in the event, placed third with a swim of 16:19.14. Sophomore Joey Grasman (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) finished sixth in 16:46.05. Junior Reilly LaGrand (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Catholic Central) was 10th at 17:09.19.
In the 200 back, Kalkman repeated as MIAA champion by clocking a school-record swim of 1:48.98. Kalkman surpassed his own mark of 1:49.22 from last season.Â
Two teammates also raced with Kalkman in the 'A' final: sophomore Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) in third at 1:50.45 and junior Ben Catton (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) in seventh at 1:52.77.
The Flying Dutchmen finished runner-up in two events: the 200 breaststroke and the 400 freestyle relay.
In the 200 breaststroke, sophomore Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) posted a second-place swim of 2:03.95 to lead a 2-3-4 finish for Hope.
Senior Ted Lockett (Mason, Ohio / St. Xavier) clocked a third-place time of 2:05.84. LaGrand finished fourth at 2:06.23. Junior Jake Peterson (San Antonio, Texas / Winston Churchill) took sixth at 2:09.07. Senior Jack Muller (Queensland, Australia / Meridian State) was seventh at 2:10.40.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Hope clocked a second-past swim and recorded a runner-up effort. Kalkman, Catton, sophomore Joel Cummins (Osceola, Indiana / Penn), and sophomore Cooper Osgood (Saline, Michigan / Saline) touched the wall at 3:01.97.
In the 'B' final, the Flying Dutchmen took second and placed 10th overall as Fisher, freshman Bishop Carl (Sycamore, Ohio / St. Zavier), junior Conor East (Farmington Hills, Michigan / North Farmington), and Halberg clocked a time of 3:06.95.
In the 200 butterfly, three Hope swimmers competed in the 'A' final. East recorded a third-place swim of 1:50.70. Senior JT Nissen (Spring, Texas / Klein Collins) finished third at 1:53.61. Carl was eighth at 1:53.83.
In 1-meter diving, junior Ewan Tiongson (Portage, Michigan / Portage Northern) finished third with a score of 437.80 points. Freshman Justin Romero (Detroit, Michigan / Woodhaven) took eighth with 390.70 points. Junior Joey Gilengerten (East Lansing, Michigan / Haslett) was 10th with 327.25 points.
In the 100 freestyle, Osgood topped the Flying Dutchmen with a seventh-place swim of 4.6.35. Cummins took eighth at 46.38. Freshman Alex Boersema (Holland, Michigan, West Ottawa) was 11th at 47.41.
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Gallery: (2-15-2023) Men's Swim & Dive MIAA Championship
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