GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Albion's risk by stacking its lineup for the 200-yard freestyle paid off in the form of 71 points as the Britons continue to be in hot pursuit of a second- or third-place finish in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships.
Albion has rolled up 402 points and sits in fourth place going into the final day of competition. The Britons trail third-place Kalamazoo by 13 ½ points and second-place Hope by 35. Calvin holds a solid first-place total of 544 points.
"If there's one thing we learned from today it's if we come with the right mentality, a fantastic outlook, and are prepared to race – just loose enough – great things are happening for us," Albion Coach Jake Taber said. "It seems to me we've been finding a way to get a little better each session. I'm excited if that's an indicator of the performances we'll have on Saturday."
Albion had five men qualifying for the evening final in the 200 freestyle. Brian Fiorillo led the surge with a school-record swim of 1:41.56 in the morning preliminary. Fiorillo completed the evening final with a second-place time of 1:41.87. Tom Parsons, Josh Boren, Brad Melpolder, and Derek Bosko finished in line from fourth to seventh as the Britons piled up 71 points.
"I've been in the MIAA in varying capacities as a swimmer, assistant coach or head coach for 14 years and I remember my sophomore year of college there was a team that had six up (in the championship final) and again a few years ago another team had five up, but I can't remember more than twice that's happened," Taber said. "That was inspiring to the team. It was a lineup gamble and, fortunately, it paid off."
Albion also hauled in 44 points from four men in the 100 backstroke. Tom Parsons was the runner-up with a school-record performance of 52.25 seconds. Austin Bateman was fifth in the championship race, reaching the finish in 53.19 seconds. Nick Deppner and Charlie Shinske were second and third, respectively, in the consolation heat.
Youth was served in the 400 individual medley as first-year swimmer Andrew Mattson and sophomore Josh Boren finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the championship race. Blake Blair and Shinske reached the consolation heat as the Britons racked up 32 points in the event.
Albion also received points in consolation heats in the 100 breaststroke where Landon Lefler was third and the 100 butterfly where Garret Bosworth was second and Nick Deppner was seventh.
