Men’s swimming and diving team finishes in third-place at 2011 MIAA Championships

The men's swimming and diving team finished in third-place at the 2011 MIAA Championships. The three-day meet was hosted by Olivet and Albion at the Jenison High School Aquatics Center. The Comets scored 672 points, which was 103 points behind second-place Hope. Kalamazoo won the championship with 815 points

February 19, 2011

JENISON, Mich. -- The Olivet College men's swimming and diving team finished in third-place at the 2011 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championships. The three-day meet was hosted by Olivet and Albion at the Jenison High School Aquatics Center. The Comets scored 672 points, which was 103 points behind second-place Hope. Kalamazoo won the championship with 815 points.

In Thursday's first day of action, freshman Cody Sanders (Battle Creek/Lakeview) was the top finisher for Olivet, as he was second and scored 416.95 points on the one-meter diving board. Sophomore Taylor Misel (Three Rivers) had 236.15 points to place 11th.

The Comets finished in third-place in both relays. The 200 freestyle relay team of senior Mike Harden (St. John's), freshman Brian Fiorillo (Southgate/Anderson), junior Austin Munn (Pinckney) and senior Kellen Beckwith (Farmington Hills/North Farmington) was out-touched by .02 seconds, 1:24.16-1:24.14, over Hope. The 400 medley team of Beckwith, sophomore Josh Mauk (Battle Creek/Lakeview), senior Rafe Maxwell (Bay City/Western) and junior Brock Jackson (Sturgis) edged Calvin at the wall, 3:28.22-3:28.48.

In the 200 individual medley, Beckwith was fifth in a school record time of 1:56.68. Olivet also had three swimmers in the consolation heat of the 200 IM. Freshman Ben Aldrich (DeWitt/St. Johns) finished in 11th (2:00.11), followed by Maxwell in 14th (2:00.79) and junior Zach Burgess (Dimondale/Holt) in 15th (2:01.35).

Harden finished in fifth-place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.21 seconds, followed by Fiorillo in eighth in 21.53 seconds. Jackson won the consolation heat of the 50 free, touching the wall in 21.58 seconds. Munn placed 12th in 21.78 seconds.

Freshman Greg Kohler (Okemos) took second in the consolation heat of the 500 freestyle for an overall 10th-place finish. His time was 4:49.18. Freshman Korey Mervenne (Jenison) placed 13th in 4:56.15.

In Friday's action, Beckwith captured first-place finish in the 100 backstroke in an NCAA championships consideration cut time of 50.56 seconds. Overall, Olivet placed four swimmers in the top nine of the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Nick Edgar (Lansing/Everett) was fourth, :52.53, followed by sophomore Joel Knight (Battle Creek/Lakeview) in sixth, :53.60; and junior Mike Mette (Belmont/Rockford) in ninth, :54.09.

In the 100 butterfly, Maxwell placed third in 51.27 seconds, and Knight was fourth in 51.36 seconds. During the morning preliminaries, Knight broke Maxwell's school record with a time of 51.19 seconds. Also in tonight's finals of the 100 butterfly, Mauk and Harden were 15th (:53.47) and 16th (:53.61), respectively.

In the 400 individual medley, freshman Ben Aldrich (DeWitt/St. Johns) was Olivet's top finisher, as he was seventh in 4:21.51. Junior Zach Burgess (Dimondale/Holt) won the consolation final to finish in ninth-place with a time of 4:21.81. Also finishing tonight were freshman Tyler Russell (Bay City/Central) in 10th (4:22.45) and freshman Korey Mervenne (Jenison) in 14th (4:28.62).

In the 200 freestyle, Jackson lowered his own school record with a fifth-place finish. His time of 1:43.25 in the finals was 1/100th faster than his preliminary time. Also placing in the 200 freestyle were Munn in seventh, 1:43.74; Fiorillo in ninth, 1:45.27; and Kohler in 13th, 1:46.82.

In the 100 breaststroke, junior Matt Marquette (Kalamazoo/Loy Norrix) posted a lifetime-best time of :59.89 to finish in seventh-place. Mauk was 10th in 1:00.94 and freshman Nick Aldrich (DeWitt/St. Johns) was 12th in 1:02.31.

In the three-meter diving, Sanders was second with 443.90 points, while Misel placed ninth with 245.45 points. Sanders' point total was enough to be considered for the NCAA Championships.

In the 200 medley relay, the team of Beckwith, Marquette, Maxwell and Harden finished in third-place in 1:33.91. At the conclusion of tonight's finals, the same quartet of swimmers time-trialed the event, completing it in 1:33.26 to break the school record and post an NCAA Championships cut. Fiorillo, Munn, Kohler and Jackson placed third in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:05.02.

In Saturday's final day of action, Beckwith and Maxwell won the 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly, respectively.

Beckwith broke his own school record and posted an NCAA Championships conditional qualifying time of 1:51.20 in the 200 backstroke. Also placing in the 200 back were Mette in sixth-place (1:57.83) and Edgar in eighth-place (2:00.93).

Maxwell successfully defended his conference title in the 200 butterfly. Like Beckwith in the 200 backstroke, his time, 1:53.61, broke his own school record and was an NCAA Championships conditional qualifying time. Also placing in the 200 butterfly, Knight in third (1:55.01), Burgess in 11th (2:00.47) and freshman Tyler Russell (Bay City/Central) in 15th (2:06.30).

The 400 freestyle relay team of senior Harden, Beckwith, Fiorillo and Munn out-touched Hope at the wall to finish in second-place, 3:07.33-3:07.48.

Olivet placed four swimmers in the top eight of the 100 freestyle. Fiorillo led the way in third-place (:46.93), followed by Harden in fifth (:46.95), Munn in sixth (:47.42) and Jackson in seventh (:47.55). Ben Aldrich scored 13th-place points in the 100 free (:48.02).

Four Comet swimmers were in the top 16 of the 1,650 freestyle. Kohler was the top finisher in fourth-place (16:39.35), followed by Mervenne in eighth (17:07.00), Mette in 13th (17:50.18) and Marquette in 15th (20:08.59).

Marquette was Olivet's top swimmer in the 200 breaststroke. He finished seventh in 2:13.79. Also in the 200 breaststroke, Mauk and Nick Aldrich were 11th (2:14.90) and 13th (2:18.31), respectively.