No. 25 Men's Swim/Dive Wins Two Events, Sets One Meet Record During Day 3 of MIAA Championships

Hope heads into the final day in second place

The 25th-ranked Hope College men's swimming and diving team won two MIAA event titles and set one meet record during the third day of competition at the MIAA Championships on Friday.

The Flying Dutchmen have 676 points with one day remaining at Calvin University. With 676 points, Hope trails the first-place Knights by 82 points.

The four-day meet concludes on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 10 a.m. with preliminaries and 5 p.m. with finals.

Freshman Luke Newcomb (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton HS) led a 1-2 finish for Hope in the 100 breaststroke, clocking an MIAA meet record 54.45 to break the old mark by one-hundredth of a second. In the process, Newcomb also topped his own school record, set earlier this season.

Senior Christian Dunaitis (Commerce Township, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) placed second, touching the wall in 55.10. Sophomore Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes) finished fourth in 55.80, while sophomore Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) rounded out the A final with a time of 57.51.

Sophomore Alex Pierce (Oswego, Illinois / Oswego) led Hope to an MIAA title in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:03.14. Freshman Luke Wyrick (Glen Ellyn, Illinois / Glenbard West) led most of the race and held on for a bronze medal after touching the wall in 4:04.74.

"It was a really awesome day for both of those guys," head coach Jake Taber said of Newcomb and Pierce, both first-time MIAA champions. "With Alex, we debated doing something different this year and we decided doubling up on Saturday instead. It was great to have him a little more fresh today; it certainly paid off for him.

"Luke, he's a happy, go-lucky guy. That mentality of being in the moment allows him to do the best that he can. He doesn't get flustered about anything that's going on. He's a talented swimmer. He's really excited to race. He loves the competition."

Senior Colin Kalkman (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian) earned a pair of silver medals during the session, placing second in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.

In the 100 butterfly, Kalkman finished in 48.23. Sophomore Graham Eisenmann (Ozark, Missouri / Ozark), senior Dallas Fisher (Highland, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), and sophomore Nick Suranyi (Novi, Michigan / Novi) also scored as Hope placed four swimmers in the A final. Eisenmann was fourth (49.20), while Fisher (50.41) and Suranyi (50.58) placed sixth and seventh.

In the 100 backstroke, Kalkman posted a 49.24. Sophomore John McHugh (Brighton, Michigan / Brighton) touched sixth with a time of 52.94. Fisher finished seventh, clocking 53.17.

Freshman Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep) earned a bronze medal in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:39.81 after posting the top time in the morning preliminaries. Senior Conner Halberg (Novi, Michigan / Northville) finished fourth in 1:41.23. Freshman Joe Engle (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa), who won the 500 freestyle on Thursday, touched sixth in 1:41.42.

Freshman George Marsh (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan / Seaholm) picked up points for Hope in the B final of the 200 free, placing second in 1:44.55.

Hope finished second in the A and B finals of the 200 medley relay. The A team of Kalkman, Newcomb, Fisher and Marsh combined for an NCAA Division III B-cut time of 1:29.35. The B team – consisting of McHugh, Dunaitis, Suranyi and Hoeksema – finished in 1:32.28.

After Calvin and Hope, Kalamazoo College holds third place with 330 points. Albion College is fourth with 290 points, Alma College is fifth with 215 points, and The University of Olivet is sixth with 13 points.

Gallery: (2-21-2025) 2025 MIAA Men's Swim/Dive Championships

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