The 19th-ranked Hope College Men's Swimming and Diving team opened the first night of the MIAA Championships in school-record fashion on Wednesday at the Holland Aquatic Center.

The Flying Dutchmen finished second in the 800 freestyle A final relay with a time of 6:34.43, with the team of junior Graham Eisenmann (Ozark, Missouri / Ozark), junior Josh Bordovsky (Herndon, Virginia / South Lakes), sophomore Joe Engle (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) and sophomore Everett Cox (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Prep) lowering the school record by over two seconds. 

The relay sprinted past the Hope record of 6:36.48 posted by Eisenmann, Conner Halberg, Engle and Cox at the 2025 MIAA Championships.

In the process, the quartet posted a B qualifying time for next month's NCAA Division III Championships. Their mark is under last season's invited time for the event. 

During the relay, Eisenmann set a school record with his opening 200 of 1:37.79, lowering his previous time of 1:37.90 from a year ago.

Calvin won the event with an MIAA record-setting 6:32.25.

Head coach Jake Taber praised the Flying Dutchmen's performance. 

"That wasn't just a school record by a little bit, we were pretty clear of what we went last year. That relay right now in real time ranks pretty well nationally," Taber said. "It was a really exciting way for the men to start the meet."

In the B final, the team of sophomore Christian Hoeksema (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian), freshman Nolan Smith (Buffalo Grove, Illinois / Buffalo Grove), freshman Hunter Latham (Lake Stevens, Washington / Lake Stevens) and sophomore Blake Hetherington (Jackson, Michigan / Lumen Christi) took the win with a time of 6:41.76. 

"I also have to give credit to the relay that went before them," Taber said. "That B relay, they were the first four who hit the water for us this weekend and lifetime bests across the board. We're swimming great and we're having an absolute blast doing it. I couldn't ask for more right now."

The MIAA Championships, sponsored by Collegiate Credit Union, will continue Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 19-21, at the Holland Aquatic Center, with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 5 p.m. each day. 

After one event, the Flying Dutchmen are in second place with 56 points, trailing 12th-ranked Calvin University by just two points. Albion College and Alma College are tied for third with 46 points, while Kalamazoo is fifth with 40 points. The University of Olivet did not field a relay team on Wednesday evening.

In diving, freshman Finn Sanders (Wyoming, Michigan / Grandville) in in third place after the one-meter preliminaries with a score of 459.45 points. 

Senior Justin Romero (Detroit, Michigan / Woodhaven) is fourth with 415.95 points. Kalamazoo's Zander Ligman leads the field with a score of 474.10. The finals take place on Thursday evening.