KENTWOOD, Mich. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's and women's swimming & diving teams spent the weekend taking on some of the toughest teams in NCAA Division II at the Don Kimble Invite, hosted by Davenport University in Kentwood, Mich.
The Tigers competed against Wayne State, Saginaw Valley, Davenport, Aquinas, and Bethel (Ind.). Hillsdale College competed in the women's meet only. Both ONU squads bested the other two NAIA programs in attendance. ONU set over 84 personal bests throughout the three-day event.
Men's meet
- Wayne State – 1012
- Saginaw Valley State – 1006
- Davenport – 780
- Olivet Nazarene – 530
- Aquinas – 189
- Bethel (Ind.) - 130
Michael Quintana, Porter Hoffman, Jack Fries, and Timothy Braun teamed up to clock a 1:25.50 in the 200-freestyle relay, good for seventh place. The ONU men then took the sixth and eighth-place spots in the 400 medley relay at 3:21.97 and 3:25.52, respectively. In the 200-medley relay, Nicholas Klenner, Peter Adams, Quintana, and Hoffman tied for sixth when they touched the wall at the exact same time as the Wayne State squad at 1:33.60. The 800-freestyle relay was the best relay of the meet for the ONU men, placing fourth at 7:00.11. Lastly, Klenner, Braun, Hoffman, and Fries placed fourth overall in the 400-freestyle relay at 3:09.55.
Klenner collected the bronze in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:49.39, while Chase Aruskevicius placed seventh at 1:54.96. The duo then went fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 backstroke. Klenner touched the wall at 50.27 while Aruskevicius finished at 52.51. They were joined by Fries in the top heat of the 100 backstroke, who placed eighth in the event at 52.84. Fries also placed seventh in the top heat of the 200 IM and eighth in the 100 freestyle, finishing at 1:57.86 and 47.21, respectively.
Mason Beall had a strong weekend in the pool. He topped his heat in the finals of the 500 freestyle at 4:40.02, and then took seventh in the top heat of the 200 freestyle at 1:41.74. Beall also placed fifth in the 1650 freestyle, the longest race of the meet, with a time of 16:20.90, his best mark of the season in the event.
Demarcus Washington placed seventh in the top heat of the 100 butterfly at 51.31. Adams finished eighth and seventh in the top heats of the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at 59.36 and 2:08.63, respectively. Braun took sixth in the top heat of the quickest event of the meet, the 50 freestyle, with a time of 21.36.
In the 1-meter diving event, Caleb Englert and Joshua Whaley scored 215.00 and Joshua Whaley to place seventh and eighth, respectively.
Women's meet
- Wayne State – 1171
- Davenport – 714.5
- Hillsdale – 610.5
- Saginaw Valley State – 591
- Olivet Nazarene – 469
- Bethel (Ind.) – 126
- Aquinas – 89
Julieta Vega and Allison Pearson both set NAIA-A cuts at the Don Kimble Invite, all three coming in the breaststroke events. Vega and Pearson went 1-2, respectively, in both the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. In the former, Vega touched the wall at 1:02.92 to hit the A-standard while Pearson came in second at 1:04.62. In the latter, Vega and Pearson both hit the A-standard with times of 2:18.67 and 2:19.63 respectively.
The duo was joined by Halle Briner in the top heat of the 200 IM, with Pearson finishing fourth (2:09.03), Briner just behind in fifth (2:09.12) and Vega finishing eighth (2:10.63). Briner also took fifth in the A-heat of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.99.
ONU went sixth and seventh in the 200-freestyle relay at 1:37.77 and 1:38.98, respectively. Katelyn Inman, Vega, Ashley Parry, and Mia Points clocked in at 3:55.34 to place fifth in the 400-medley relay. In the 200-medley relay, Inman, Vega, Parry, and Pearson placed seventh with a time of 1:49.02. The 800-freestyle relay was the best relay of the meet for the ONU women, placing fourth at 7:49.25. ONU also placed fifth and eighth in the 400-freestyle relay with times of 3:34.36 and 3:39.62, respectively.
Logan Carley placed eighth in the longest event of the meet, the 1650 freestyle, with a time of 18:00.57. Paige Howell touched the wall at 2:08.97 to place sixth in the 200 backstroke and then collected the bronze in the 100 backstroke at 58.24. Taylor King then took eighth in the top heat of the 100 butterfly at 1:00.12.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu