The 25th-ranked Hope College men's swimming and diving team claimed one MIAA event title and set four school records during Day 2 of the league championships on Thursday.

Led by freshman MIAA 500-yard freestyle champion Joe Engle, the Flying Dutchmen have 363 points after two days of competition at Calvin University. Hope trails first-place Calvin by 33 points.

The four-day meet continues on Friday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and 5 p.m. with finals. 

On Thursday, the Flying Dutchmen set school records in the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays and the 200 individual medley.

"We were into it," head coach Jake Taber said. "We embraced the environment and competed with some of the best swimmers in the country. We are holding our own. I'm really proud."

Engle (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa HS) led a 1-2-3 Hope finish in the 500 freestyle by clocking a time of 4:32.53.

It was the fourth consecutive time a Flying Dutchmen swimmer won the event at the MIAA Championships.

Freshman Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep) finished runner-up at 4:34.48. Senior Conner Halberg (Novi, Michigan / Northville) took third at 4:35.28, beating his fourth-place brother, Ryan, from Calvin to the wall. Junior Henry Booker (Hudsonville, Michigan / West Ottawa) was eighth at 4:45.45.

Hope closed Day 2 with a school-record, second-place effort in the 400 medley relay.

Senior Colin Kalkman (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian), freshman Luke Newcomb (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton), sophomore Graham Eisenmann (Ozark, Missouri / Ozark) and freshman Josh Bordovsky (Herdnon, Virginia / South Lakes) went 3:15.62.

The relay eclipsed the 2024 Hope record of 3:16.72 set by Colin Kalkman (Holland, Michigan/ Holland Christian), Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), Ben Catton and Eisenmann. It's also the 11th-fastest in Division III this season.

The Flying Dutchmen's B relay finished second in its heat. Senior Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), Dunaitis, sophomore Nick Suranyi (Novi, Michigan / Novi) and Cox touched the wall at 3:22.53.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Hope clocked the sixth-fastest time in the nation and placed second.

The swim from Bordovsky, Eisenmann, Kalkman and freshman George Marsh (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan / Seaholm) of 1:19.92 broke the 16-year-old school record of 1:20.95 set by Ryan Vogelzang, Stephen Kurti, Aaron Welsch and Matt Rose, and was surpassed only by Calvin's 1:19.18, the fastest swim in the nation.

In the 200 individual medley, Bordovsky was touched at the wall, finishing runner-up with a school-record swim of 1:49.64 — 0.15 after Calvin's Tim Hays.

Bordovsky topped Dan Clyde's 2020 record of 1:50.76.

Four more Flying Dutchmen earned points in the event. Newcomb finished fourth at 1:52.61. 

Dunaitis placed sixth at 1:54.84. Sophomore Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) finished seventh at 1:55.5. Suranyi took eighth at 1:55.79. Sophomore John McHugh (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) was 10th at 1:58.15.

In the 50 free, Eisenmann led Hope with a fourth-place time of 20.53. Marsh finished sixth at 20.95. 

In 3-meter diving, three Flying Dutchmen scored. Sophomore Max Reed (Fairfield, Ohio / Fairfield) finished fourth with 294.20 points. Freshman Sam York (Plymouth, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) placed fifth at 279.05. Freshman Thomas Voisinet (St. Johns, Michigan / St. Johns) was sixth at 254.50.

After Calvin and Hope, Kalamazoo College holds third place with 193 points, four points more than fourth-place Albion College. Alma College is fifth with 140 points. The Unijversity of Olivet is sixth with five points.