For the third consecutive year, the Grand Valley State University men and women’s swimming and diving teams claimed first place at the Calvin College Winter Invitational with final scores of 1,183.5 and 980, respectively. The nearest competitor, the University of Indianapolis in both cases, trailed by more than 300 points.

During a three-day meet, the Lakers competed against the best that local schools had to offer and came out on top with record-breaking times across the board.

“This is a meet that we focus on and we rest for,” said GVSU head coach Andy Boyce. “For the other meets, we train all the way through, but we were trying to get a bunch of national qualifying marks, so we let our bodies rest a bit and it turned out very well. We had 10 people that qualified for nationals — seven men, three women. It’s exciting to have all our swimmers and divers doing so well. We kept on dropping time, and everyone was very motivated.”

The Lakers grabbed an early lead on day one with 122 points, edging out Indianapolis and Kalamazoo College’s scores of 81 and 64. GVSU did not let up, and put in a strong showing during each of the meet’s events, eventually winning a landslide victory each of the three days.

Senior Aaron Beebe placed first in the six events that he participated in, which included the 100 and 200-yard butterfly, the 400-yard IM and the 800-yard freestyle relay with team mates David Hayhow, Milan Medo and Kyle Gunderson.

“I had a fantastic meet, and the whole team had a fantastic meet,” he said. “I’m really tired, but also happy and satisfied with how we did. This is the best mid-season meet that I’ve ever been a part of. I made a lot of changes to a whole bunch of things. My strokes were better, my race strategy was better, diet, sleep, warm-up, planning. I just did better in everything, and the times reflected that. We’re all really happy, I’m glad everyone shared in the success.”

Sophomore Caitlyn Madsen placed favorably in each of her five events, which included first-place finishes in the 200-yard butterfly, the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard medley relay with teammates Kelsey Vermeer, Lauren Dorsey and Lauren Foor.

“It was really exciting because the whole team did well, so we were all feeling each other’s energy, and getting super excited for our races,” she said. “Our cheering section was so loud and all the parents were there. We were in the zone, and we all focused on our races. We’ve all been training really hard.”

Not a team to sit back and rest, the Lakers are already preparing for the remainder of their season, which will pick back up on Jan. 2 against Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and continue Jan. 7 at conference rival Wayne State University.

“I think we’re all prepared, our training should get us ready to compete,” Madsen said. “We’re all super excited because last year our women lost to Wayne State, so we really want to get out there and show them what we’re made of.”

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