GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Head Coach Jake Taber said it was a complete performance – for both the men's and women's teams – for Albion College on the first full day of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships.
With the spirit boosted by the 200-yard freestyle relay, Albion sits in second place in the men's team standings with 230 ½ points.
Taber decided to hold Derek Bosko and Sebastian Tostado out of the free relay to keep them fresh for other events they have a better chance of qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships. Nate Kozycki, Nick Deppner, Tom Parsons and Parker Belmore responded with a runner-up finish in 1:24.10.
"On paper we probably should have finished fourth," Taber said. "Parker Belmore closed incredibly well. Nate Kozycki had a fantastic leadoff."
One of the stories of the night was how Albion swimmers moved up from their qualifying performances.
Bosko knew he had to swim the perfect race to defend his league title in the 50-yard freestyle after Calvin's Jared Britton beat him in the morning preliminary. Bosko did just that in championship race, sprinting to a NCAA B cut time of 20.51 seconds to beat Britton by 45-hundredths of a second.
Tostado didn't have the top seed for the 200-yard individual medley, but he completed the race in 1:51.04 to hold off Kalamazoo's Kevin Ewing (1:51.66) for the league title.
"Derek, the defending conference champ, came in as the two seed," Taber said. "Derek knew he had the capability of repeating (as league champion) and he swam a great race. He knew what he needed to do to execute. He had a great turn, timed his break out perfectly, closed very well and got his hand on the wall first. It was the best swim of his life
"The next event, Sebastian won the IM by smashing his school record from last year," Taber added. "Parker Belmore had the best swim of his life (in finishing fourth in 1:53.16) and Nate Kozycki up in the final heat (tying for seventh in 1:57.84). They are feeding off each other."
Bosko nearly rallied Albion to victory in the final event of the night – the 400 medley relay. The Britons trailed by nearly a second when Bosko dove in for the anchor leg, but he closed with a 43.6 split. Albion's school record time of 3:18.58 was 15 hundredths of a second off the winning pace set by Calvin.
First-year divers Jake Burris and Henry Swett produced 36 points by finishing first and third, respectively, in 1-meter diving. Burris received scores of 7 ½ and 8 in the final round to finish with a 503.35 total. Swett's 456.45 total was just 2.45 points behind the second-place score set by Hope's Jean Luc Miralda.
Albion's only swimmer in consolation heats was senior Blake Blair. He finished 11th in the 500-yard freestyle, setting a time of 4:51.99 Thursday night.
Friday events include the 200 medley relay, the 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 100 backstroke.
Men's Team Scores
Calvin 352 ½, Albion 230 ½, Hope225, Kalamazoo 200, Olivet 97, Alma 4
