2017 GLIAC Swimming & Diving Championships Central
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- Grand Valley State University swept the 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships hosted at Saginaw Valley State University. The GVSU men captured its third consecutive GLIAC championship and sixth in program history, while the GVSU women snapped Wayne State's streak of seven consecutive titles by capturing the Lakers second league title.
The Lakers amassed 947.5 points on the men's side to out-distance Wayne State (769) in second and Northern Michigan (722) in third. Saginaw Valley placed fourth (354), while, Tiffin (303), Ashland (250) and Findlay (159.5) rounded out the men's standings.
The standings mostly mirrored the men on the women's side, Grand Valley State scored 812 with Wayne State second (787.5) and Northern Michigan (555.5) in third. Saginaw Valley's (438) women also placed fourth with Findlay (396.5) in fifth with Hillsdale (234) sixth, Tiffin (205) seventh and Ashland (183.5) eighth completing the standings.
Leading the GVSU women was senior Leonie Van Noort who won six titles and one second-place finish for a total of seven medals. Grand Valley head coach Andy Boyce garnered the sweep and was honored as GLIAC Men's & Women's Coach of the Year, while sophomore Brad Dalrymple was selected GLIAC Men's Diver of the Year to add to the Lakers accomplishments.
Following the competition, Northern Michigan's Lajos Budai was named 2017 GLIAC Men's Freshman of the Year and 2017 GLIAC Swimmer of the Year after he collected five gold medals and seven total, while his teammate Rachel Helm captured 2017 GLIAC Women's Freshman of the Year accolades. Lastly, Wayne State senior diver Elizabeth Rawlings captured GLIAC Women's Diver of the Year honors after her victory in the 3 meter.
Day One - Results
Wednesday witnessed four record-breaking performances, including one all-time GLIAC standard. Northern Michigan's Rachel Helm set the all-time league mark in the 200 IM where the freshman touched in 2:01.17. Grand Valley State senior Leonie Van Noort broke the conference meet record in the 1000 freestyle after she completed the race in 9:55.35 to attain the gold medal.
Both 200 medley relay races on Wednesday saw GLIAC meet records fall starting with Wayne State whose women's team consisting of Brenna Gabrielson, Manuela Ferreira, Abi Johns and Lezlie Bueno Estrada clocked in at 1:40.92. The GVSU men also broke the record in the 200 medley relay by a half second as Harry Shalamon, Marius Mikalauskas, Gabriel Souza and JD Ham touched the wall in 1:27.34.
Grand Valley State's Emily Gallagher (50 Freestyle) and Brad Dalrymple (3 Meter Dive) rounded out the Lakers' first-place finishes on Wednesday leading GVSU (171 points) to a 22-point women's lead over Wayne State and a 47-point margin on the men's side (190 points) over second place Northern Michigan.
Northern Michigan captured two more individual titles on Day One of the men's competition after Ryan Leonard (200 IM) and Lajos Budai (50 Free) both swam their way to the top. Wayne State's Leonardo de Oliveira claimed top honors in the grueling 1000 men's freestyle with a final time of 9:19.35.
Day Two - Results
Four more records came crashing down on Thursday at the 2017 GLIAC Swimming & Diving Championships - all thanks to the Lakers. Grand Valley State's men's 200 freestyle relay squad stopped the clock in 1:19.54 as Marcel Nagy, Danny Abbott, JD Ham and Ben Walling set the new GLIAC meet standard.
GVSU's Gabriel Souza captured the title in the men's 100 butterfly with a blazing time of 46.27, while his 400 medley relay team consisting of Souza, Harry Shalamon, Marius Mikalauskas and Marcel Nagy put their names in the record books with a time of 3:12.27. Lastly, senior Leonie Van Noort set the new GLIAC all-time standard, which she owned previously, in the 200 freestyle after she touched the wall in 1:47.97.
Wayne State earned first-place billing in three events on Thursday beginning with the 200 freestyle relay team made up of Emma Weber, Brenna Gabrielson, Makayla Myers and Emily Heitchue who completed the relay in 1:34.89. Gabrielson would take home another gold on the evening for the Warriors when she teamed up with Manuella Ferreira, Abi Johns and Lezlie Bueno Estrada to win the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:44.63. In men's action, WSU's Joao Ribeiro swam to the top of the 400 IM with a mark of 3:52.30.
A trio of Northern Michigan Wildcats achieved first-team accolades on Day Two as Rachel Helm (100 Butterfly), Lajos Budai (200 Freestyle) and Angela Probstfeld (1 Meter Dive) all finished at the top of their respective competitions.
After two days of action, GVSU led the men's race by 96 points over Wayne State, while the Lakers maintained a 30-point edge over the Warriors on the women's side.
Day Three - Results
Four more Grand Valley State titles propelled the Lakers on Friday starting with Leonie Van Noort picking up her third and fourth top finishes of the meet this time in the women's 500 freestyle (4:53.63) as well as with her 800 freestyle relay teammates Sam Postmus, Melina Goebel and Megan Shaughnessy with a mark of 7:28.66. GVSU sophomore diver Brad Dalrymple completed the diving sweep as he achieved top honors in the one meter dive with a total of 513.25 points, while his teammate Marius Mikalauskas won the men's 100 breaststroke in a time of 53.96.
NMU freshman Rachel Helm became a three-time 2017 GLIAC champion on Friday following her victory in the women's 100 backstroke as she stopped the clock in 53.82, while her male teammate Lajos Budai earned his second and third gold medals of the year in the 100 backstroke (47.19) and with his 800 freestyle relay (6:40.78) teammates Ryan Leonard, Esteban Gutierrez and Janne Roovers. The Wildcats captured a third top finish on the night after Emily Bell captured top honors in the 200 butterfly after a finals time of 2:03.05.
Wayne State's Manuela Ferreira achieved her third first-place finish of the week in the women's 100 breaststroke (1:01.94), while her teammates Ahmed Ahmed (500 freestyle) and Rasmus Olsen (200 butterfly) also garnered top distinction.
At the conclusion of Day Three, the Laker men (753 points) extended their lead to 157 points over Wayne State (596). The GVSU women (585 points) maintain a narrower 36.5-point lead over the Warriors heading into the final day of action.
Day Four - Results
The final day of the 2017 GLIAC Swimming & Diving Championships kicked off with a fifth victory of the week for GVSU senior Leonie Van Noort this time in the 66-lap, 1650 freestyle where she completed the journey in 16:40.57 to set a new conference meet record by over ten seconds. Her GVSU male counterpart Marius Mikalauskas upped the ante and posted a new all-time GLIAC record in the last individual race of the meet with a blazing 1:56.44 time in the 200 breaststroke.
It was another big day for Northern Michigan's Rachel Helm (50.48) and Lajos Budai (43.15) who won both 100 freestyle races with Budai notching a new GLIAC meet record in the process. NMU teammate Renars Bundzis will take home the top prize in the 200 backstroke after he clocked in at 1:45.92.
Wayne State captured a pair of titles on the evening with Leonardo de Oliveira attaining gold for the second time this week after a 15:44.34 showing in the 1650 freestyle competition to start the evening. Warrior teammate Emily Marginean also reigned in top honors in the 200 backstroke after she touched the wall in 1:59.55. In 3 meter diving action, Elizabeth Rawlings captured the top spot with a total score of 449.70 on her way to capturing 2017 GLIAC Diver of the Year honors.
The largest ovation of the night came when Saginaw Valley sophomore Lydia Mattar gave the home crowd a victory with a time of 2:15.09 in the 200 breaststroke. The gold medal is the first GLIAC first-place finish for the men's and women's swimming and diving team since the inception of the program three years ago.
In the final races of the night, GVSU's men's and women's 400 free relay squads captured the top prize in a raucous environment. The Laker women posted a time of 3:25.83 thanks to the team comprised of Sam Postmus, Melina Goebel, Mercedes Martinez and Leonie Van Noort. The GVSU men ended the championships by setting a new GLIAC all-time record with a time of 2:56.36 from the squad of Danny Abbott, Gabriel Souza, Marcel Nagy and Ben Walling.
