GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After trailing Calvin College by 77 points in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championship after the Thursday evening session, all Albion College could do was chip away at the deficit.
And the Britons did just that, forging a virtual tie as the teams stood on the blocks for the final event Saturday – the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Calvin edged Albion by five hundredths of a second in the relay to win the championship by a margin of six points. Albion's group of first-year swimmers Evan Wonner and Jake Huttenlocher, sophomore Len Ciemniecki and senior Parker Belmore finished in 3:02.71, a time that ranks 14th in Division III right now.
"On paper we knew this was going to be an uphill battle from start to finish and I'm really proud of the group that's here," Albion Head Coach Jake Taber said. "The men didn't back down from being behind after the Thursday evening session. We couldn't have asked for a better performance out of our 400 free relay. We tip our hat to Calvin. They were fantastic all weekend long and we were better because of it."
Jake Burris, a junior from Chelsea, Mich., earned Most Valuable Diver honors for the third time in his career. He was the runner-up in the 3-meter competition Saturday, achieving a total of 486.80.
Jake Maurer (452.50) finished right behind Burris in diving.
Tyler Kimbrell gained Albion's only gold medal Saturday, finishing the 200 breaststroke in 2:02.56, a time that places him 17th in Division III. Also representing the Britons in the championship race were Huttenlocher (second), Lucas Harder (fourth) and Hunter Jackman (sixth).
Belmore added a silver medal in the 200 backstroke with a NCAA B cut time of 1:50.61. He was followed by Kurt Jolly (fourth), Ian Moran (seventh) and Kurt Jolly (eighth).
Albion added second and third place points in the mile freestyle. Mac Robertson claimed the silver medal in 16:34.17, with Chris Breen taking the bronze.
The 200 butterfly produced a scoring haul for the Britons with Nate Kozycki finishing second, Alec Nyboer in fourth and Seth Fleming in sixth.
Ciemniecki also scored bronze in the 100 free, with Wonner coming in fifth.
