This past Friday, Oct. 18, the Grand Valley State Swimming and Diving team competed against Calvin and Hillsdale in Grand Rapids. The Laker’s women’s team scored 168 points compared to Calvin’s 71. The women’s team also beat Hillsdale with a final score of 162-67. Grand Valley’s men’s team also topped Calvin’s, 149-86. 

Sophomore Delaney Wihebrink had a standout performance at the meet. She won the women’s 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.65. The team’s performance in the breaststroke event was one of the key factors to beating Calvin and Hillsdale. 

Sophomore Keegan Hawkins had a superb performance as well in the men’s 200 yard breaststroke, posting his best time of the season at 56 .97. Hawkins performance in the breastroke and winning the 200 yard IM, with a time of 1:53.8, pushed the men’s team over the top. 

The Lakers distance swimming was also dominant at the meet. Sophomore Jesse Goodyear and junior Moritz Bartels won the men’s 1000m and freestyle, with times of 9:32.32 and 9:42.99, respectively. They also finished with the same placement in the 500 yard freestyle, posting times of 4:44.34 and 4:47.10.

The dynamic duo continued their amazing performances to help the Lakers continue their win streak, as Goodyear beat his own personal best time from last week against Milwuakee.

“I’m happy with that,” Goodyear said. “Every time I go faster in a meet it makes me feel better. It makes me feel like I’m going places,” 

Bartels had a very impressive performance in particular beating his season best time. After falling behind to begin with in the 500, he pushed himself and beat his Calvin opponent, junior Jullian Iturbe.

“Our endurance base right now is very solid,” said GVSU head coach Andy Boyce. “We spent the first month of the season getting (our stamina) established… Our distance group keeps pounding away with the long distance and endurance,” 

The distance events for women were also won by GVSU swimmers. Freshman Neta Shiff took first yet again in the 1000 for the women, posting a time of 10:23.37, also beating her season best. Shiff also claimed first again in the 500 with a time of 5:06.74, and senior Melina Goebel finished second with 5:14.4.

Many other Lakers won their events, as sophomore Melina De Cort finished first in the women’s 100 backstroke with a time of 30.13 and senior Harry Shalamon won the same event for the men with a time of 49.59.

Goebel took first in the women’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.72 and freshman Gabby Gnewuch took third with 1:59.52. 

The diving side of the meet for the Lakers also showcased many strong performances. GVSU won the diving events on the one meter and three meter dives. They also had two new divers make cuts for nationals.

“We got a couple new cuts today, both Nicole Carlson and Nicole Taormina,” said GVSU head diving coach Steve Burciaga. “They’ve both been practicing very hard this week. I was very excited to see how they would do this week, and as you can tell it shows that their hard practice paid off. I think we’re ahead of schedule right now which really excites me because that means we can do a little more work and reach our goals sooner,” 

Carlson, a sophomore on the team, scored 268.5 points in the one meter and 249.5 in the three meter and placed second. Taormina, a junior, finished third in the three meter diving with 242.55 points and scored 261.22 in the one meter.

The most exciting event of the night was the last one, the 200 yard freestyle relay. Freshman Kelly Peasley, freshman Claire Meeuwsen, freshman Rebecca Farber, and De Cort represented the women’s A-team which won the really for GVSU. Combined they beat their best time of the season, hitting the wall at a time of 1:38.82.

For the last relay, the men’s team competed. The crowd was fired up when they first hit the water, to when they finished. The men’s A-team, including freshman Roger Miret Sala, junior Oscar Saura Armengol, sophomore Dzmitry Novikau, and senior Harry Shalamon, lost a close battle by a mere second to Calvin, with a time of 1:25.95. 

Although the relay team took second, it did not take away from the dominant performance of the Lakers swim team for the second week in a row. The season is still young, but GVSU’s team is poised to improve on their already successful season. The distance events continue to win, the diving team is getting better week in and week out, and the sprinters are giving everything they have.

The Lakers next event is Saturday, Oct. 26, in Allendale, against Lewis University, and will showcase the hard work in practice and at meets that have gotten them to where they are today.