16 podium finishes for Wildcats
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The #8 NMU men’s swim and dive team got a pair of wins on the road, defeating nationally ranked conference and regional foes Saginaw Valley State and Findlay.
The Wildcats defeated #10 Saginaw Valley State 125 – 118 and #20 Findlay University 120 – 112 from the Gerstacker Regional Aquatic Center on the campus of SVSU.
The Wildcats had 16 podium finishes, highlighted by and individual gold from Andrew Tease in the 100 breast, and a pair of individual silver medals for freshman Timothee Garin in the 1000 and 500 free. A full list of results from today’s meet can be found here.
The meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay, and it was Matteo Ballardin, Will LaCount, Andrew Tease, and Daniel Khmara claiming silver with their time of 1:30.17. The NMU B relay team of Ian Rocheleau, Liam Boomer, Nick Metzler, and Max Swiatkowski finished fifth at 1:33.04.
Freshman Timothee Garin found individual silver in the 1000 free, finishing with a time of 9:21.12, and clearing third place by five seconds. Zachary Billotte claimed fifth at 9:52.51.
Fresh off a silver medal in the 200 medley relay, freshman Ballardin claimed an individual podium in the 200 free, posting a time of 1:39.28, just 0.19 seconds from second. Ale Rosatelli finished fourth at 1:39.73, and Bazil Massotte finished in eighth.
The ‘Cats had a dominant 50 free, claiming three of the top four spots, including gold and silver from Leo Nolles (20.00) and Will LaCount (20.49). Nolles time was good enough for a DII B cut, and is the second-fastest time in the conference so far this season. Khmara finished fourth at 20.83, Swiatkowski in seventh, Boomer in 11th, and Hudson Lowery in 13th.
In his first outing in the pool, Gabriel Fulconi earned silver in the 200 IM, finishing second at 1:51.20. Caleb RIce and Billotte finished eighth and 11th, respectively.
The diving team had a dominant outing in the 1-meter, claiming three of the top four spots, with Diego Carillo (264.80) and freshman Travis Thornton (264.75) claiming silver and bronze. Ryan Foucault (209.35) finished fourth.
Ballardin claimed his third medal of the day in the 100 fly, as the freshman posted a time of 48.91 to claim bronze. Lowery finished sixth, Tease finished eighth, Boomer in 10th, and Metzler in 15th.
The 100 free had a tight finish, as second through fourth place was only a 0.09 gap. Fulconi earned his second podium finish in as many races for him, claiming third at 45.39, followed by Nolles in fourth at 45.42.
Rocheleau claimed an individual podium in the 100 back, touching the wall at 50.69 to claim bronze. Rice and Swiatkowski finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
After a silver medal in the 1000 free, freshman Garin turned it around with another silver in the 500 free, touching the wall at 4:31.66, and beating third place by three seconds. Rosatelli finished in fifth as the only other Wildcat to swim in the event.
The duo of Thornton and Carrillo claimed silver and bronze in the 3-meter diving once again, with Thornton garnering 251.55 points and Carrillo earning 245.45 points.
The ‘Cats got its only gold-medal finish in the 100 breast, thanks to the efforts of Tease, posting a time of 55.78 to beat second place by 0.10 seconds. Metzler finished sixth at 57.68 as the only other Wildcat competing.
The NMU A 400 free relay team of LaCount, Fulconi, Massotte, and Khmara earned silver with their time of 3:00.60. The NMU B team of Rosatelli, Lowery, Billotte, and Garin finished sixth.
