ALBION, Mich. – Gerardo Huidobro led Albion College to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke and Jake Burris and Henry Swett scored 1-2 finishes in both diving events as the Britons gained a 181-119 victory over Hope College at the Dean Aquatic Center.
Burris and Swett, both first-year student-athletes, defeated Jean Luc Miralda, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association runner-up last season, in both diving events. Burris was awarded 66 points on his final 3-meter dive and he finished with a school-record total of 340.55, with Swett second at 309.15. Burris and Swett achieved scores of 296.40 and 288.90, respectively, in the 1-meter competition.
"We knew coming in that Hope's diver was a national caliber guy and those boards could have gone either way," Albion Head Coach Jake Taber said. "Through five rounds on 1-meter all three were within three points of each other. It was great to see Jake and Henry step up on their final dive and that gave them confidence going into the high board. And Jake's performance on the high board was as complete a round that we've had this year. (Diving Coach) Eric Burris has that group performing well at the right time."
Taber said Albion took advantage of the opportunity to score a bunch of points in the breaststroke. Huidobro set a winning time of 2:16.80, followed by Lucas Harder (2:17.90) and Hunter Jackman (2:22.98).
Albion set the tone for the meet by taking first place in five of the first seven events.
Sebastian Tostado, Huidobro, Nate Kozycki, and Derek Bosko had a three-second margin of victory in the 200 medley relay, completing the race in 1:37.23. Tostado followed by finishing the 200 freestyle in 1:43.76 for a five-second margin over teammate Tom Parsons.
Harder and Jackman finished first and third, respectively, in the 100 breastroke. Harder's time of 1:02.75 was 2 ½ seconds ahead of Hope's Jonathon Mast.
Huidobro finished the 100 butterfly in 1:58.83, and Bosko sprinted to first place in the 50 freestyle in 21.48 seconds.
"Hope is strong in some places. Once those events went our way early we were more confident about the outcome of the meet," Taber said.
Bosko, Kozycki, Tostado and Huidobro added first place performances later in the meet. Bosko touched the wall first in the 100 freestyle (46.97 seconds), Kozycki in the 100 butterfly (51.78 seconds), Tostado in the 200 backstroke (1:56.15) and Huidobro in the 200 individual medley (1:57.14).
Albion capped the day with a first place performance in the 200 freestyle relay. Kozycki, swimming third, turned in a 21.91 split, and Bosko completed his leg in 21.33 as the Britons finished in 1:27.87.
Next up for the Britons is a Jan. 30 meet at Olivet College. The College of Wooster will also be there to challenge the Britons and the Comets.
