Will LaCount had four firsts and a second place result
MARQUETTE, Mich. – The NMU swim and dive team opened the 25/26 campaign with a bang, claiming first in 11 of the 13 events.
The teams of Northern Michigan, St. Cloud State, Davenport, and Lake Superior State swam two sessions, the first at 10 a.m. and second at 4:30 p.m. from the PEIF Pool. Along with an impressive running atop the podiums, NMU found 22 of a possible 39 podium places. The ‘Cats accumulated 746 points, ahead of the Huskies (596), the Panthers (430), and the Lakers (151).
Leading the way on the podium for the ‘Cats was Will LaCount, who found four first-place finishes and one second-place finish across both sessions today. LaCount opened his race in second in the 100 breast, before first-place finishes in the 50 free, swimming breast for the 200 medley relay team, and leading off the 200 relay team.
Jef Leroux found lots of success, including four first-place finishes . He opened his day with individual success, a first-place finish in the 200 free, before swimming fly in the 200 medley relay, was second off the block in the 200 free relay, and swam fly for the 400 medley relay team.
The Wildcat diving team performed outstanding, as Tobie Stiles claimed first in both the 1-meter and 3-meter, and freshman Travis Thornton claimed third in both of the board events.
Alessandro Rosatelli, who claimed a pair of individual first-place finishes in the 400 and 200 IM to go along with a third-place finish as a member of the 200 free relay.
Leo Nolles, who individually finished first in the 100 fly before leading-off and swimming back for the 200 medley relay team.
Freshman Timothée Garin-Coupillaud had an impressive showing in his first collegiate races, claiming an individual first place finish in the 500 free, third place in the 200 free, and led-off the NMU B 200 free relay team that took third.
NMU now looks ahead to rounding out opening weekend against the same foes tomorrow, with action starting at 10 a.m. from the PEIF Pool.
Morning Session
The morning kicked off with the 100 fly, and it was Nolles who touched the wall first. Nolles dropped 0.73 seconds off his entry time, posting a finals time of 48.26 to establish a new pool record. The ‘Cats claimed four of the top five spots with Nolles, Liam Boomer in second (51.68), Nick Metzler in fourth (52.89), and Hudson Lowery in fifth (53.14).
The ‘Cats claimed the top two spots in the 400 IM, with Ale Rosatelli (4:11.95) and Zachary Billotte (4:13.14) finishing first and second, respectively.
The 200 free was next, and the Wildcats swept the podium with Jef Leroux (1:42.37), Gabriel Fulconi (1:43.09), and Timothee Garin-Coupillaud (1:43.37). Bazil Massotte (1:44.42) was shortly behind in fifth.
The first event a Wildcat wasn’t in first place was the 100 breast, as Micah Sholl of Davenport finished first with his time of 56.45. Rounding out the podium were a pair of Wildcats, with Will LaCount (56.79) and Nick Metzler (56.57) in second and third, respectively.
Ian Rocheleau represented the Wildcats in the 100 back, finishing fifth with his time of 53.61 in the 10th event of the day.
Stiles opened the season with a dominant 1-meter diving score, posting a 489.25 to claim first and beat second place by more than 50 points. Travis Thornton claimed third with a score of 420.95.
The session concluded with the 200 medley relay, and the ‘Cats capped off the morning with a win. The team of Nolles (back, 23.30), LaCount (breast, 25.67), Leroux (fly, 21.73), and Daniel Khmara (free, 20.05), posted a time of 1:30.75, just 0.38 seconds off a pool record. The NMU ‘B’ team of Rocheleau, Andrew Tease, Boomer, and Fulconi finished fourth.
Evening Session
The second session of the day started with the 200 free relay, and it was the NMU ‘A’ team of LaCount (20.38), Leroux (20.21), Fulconi (20.50), and Khmara (19.92) that claimed first, finishing with a total time of 1:21.01, beating second place by two seconds. The NMU ‘B’ team of Garin-Coupillaud, Rosatelli, Rocheleau, and Massotte claimed third with their time of 1:25.88.
Garin-Coupillaud claimed gold in the 500 free with his scorching time of 4:36.22, beating teammate Billotte and the rest of the field by 10 seconds. Billotte claimed second place at 4:46.20, and Fulconi finished fourth at 4:49.71.
After a first place finish in the 400 IM at the morning session, Rosatelli followed that up with another first place finish in the 200 IM during the evening session with his time of 1:58.84.
The trio of LaCount (20.91), Khmara (21.20), and Leroux (21.20) claimed three of the top four spots in the 50 free, with LaCount and Khmara claiming first and third. LaCount was just .04 seconds ahead of second place, and .85 seconds off of Nolles’ pool record, who did not swim in this event.
The ‘Cats diving team posted the same results in the 3-meter diving, with Stiles claiming the top spot and Thornton rounding out the podium in third. Stiles amassed 276.85 points, while Thornton accumulated 244.70.
The session ended with the 400 medley relay, with NMU claiming the first and third spot on the podium. The NMU ‘A’ team of Rocheleau (Back, 51.37), LaCount (Breast, 56.43), Leroux (Fly, 49.07), and Khmara (Free, 44.58) posted a time of 3:21.45, beating second place by six seconds. The NMU ‘B’ team of Rice, Metzler, Boomer, and Fulconi rounded out the podium with a time of 3:30.98.
Podium Tracker
100 Fly
1st – Nolles
2nd – Boomer
400 IM
1st – Rosatelli
2nd – Billotte
200 Free
1st – Leroux
2nd – Fulconi
3rd – Garin-Coupillaud
100 Breast
2nd – LaCount
3rd – Metzler
100 Back
N/A
1-Meter Diving
1st – Stiles
3rd – Thornton
200 Medley Relay
1st – NMU A (Nolles, LaCount, Leroux, Khmara)
200 Free Relay
1st – NMU A (LaCount, Leroux, Fulconi, Khmara)
3rd – NMU B (Garin-Coupillaud, Rosatelli, Rocheleau, Massotte)
500 Free
1st – Garin-Coupillaud
2nd – Billotte
200 IM
1st – Rosatelli
50 Free
1st – LaCount
3rd – Khmara
3-Meter Diving
1st – Stiles
3rd – Thornton
400 Medley Relay
1st – NMU A (Rocheleau, LaCount, Leroux, Khmara)
3rd – NMU B (Rice, Metzler, Boomer, Fulconi)
