2019 GLIAC Championships Day 1: Wayne State Breaks Relay Record

By Olivia Wile, Swimming World College Intern.

It was a quick, yet eventful evening at the first finals session of the 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship swim meet. Tonight’s event lineup included the 200 IM, 50 free and 200 medley relay, with both the consolation and final heats of the 1000 swam this morning.

Dominating the competition tonight were the Northern Michigan University Wildcats winning both the men’s and women’s 50 freestyle and the women’s 200 IM. The action-packed evening wouldn’t have been complete without a tie in the men’s 50 free and a record-breaking performance by the Wayne State University men in the 200 medley relay.

The meet is being hosted at Cleveland State University by Wayne State and Ashland University.

Women’s 1000 Free

As predicted, Grand Valley State University Junior Melina Goebel cruised to first, almost breaking 10 with a time of 10:01.09. Claiming second was Wayne State Senior Ellie Dean (10:14.42). Putting her team on the scoreboard was Freshman Sydney Shipps of Saginaw Valley State University with a time of 10:19.51.

The closest competitors during this race were Saginaw Valley State Senior Alexandra Davis, Grand Valley Senior Caroline Brereton and Grand Valley State Senior Megan Shaughnessy. Davis finished fourth with a time of 10:22.62, Brereton finished fifth at 10:23.46 while Shaughnessy finished sixth with a time of 10:24.64.

Claiming seventh and contributing to her team’s score as well was Ashland Sophomore Tara Stevens (10:29.34). Finish in eighth was Wayne State Sophomore Sophia Montesanti (10:31.48).

Men’s 1000 Free

Dropping significantly from his seed time, Wayne State Junior Leonardo de Oliveira got to the wall first with a time of 9:14.62. Making his GLIAC championship debut was Grand Valley Freshman Jesse Goodyear finishing second with a time of 9:17.66.

Grand Valley Sophomore Moritz Bartels and Northern Michigan Senior Grantas Dapkus gave the crowd a race, finishing less than a tenth behind one another. Bartels finished third (9:23.06) while Dapkus finished fourth (9:23.14).

Both finishing in the 9:25 range were Ashland University teammates Lucas Cortini Oliveira, placing fifth (9:25.08), and Franco Aleski coming in sixth (9:25.42).

Northern Michigan Senior Janne Roovers finished seventh with a time of 9:26.22, while Wayne State Junior Ahmed Ahmed finished eighth (9:29.22).

Women’s 200 IM

It wasn’t much of a race for Rachel Helm as she won the 200 IM by almost three seconds. The junior from Northern Michigan dropped her time from prelims by over a second, finishing with a new personal best of 2:00.79. According to the College Swimming database, Helm’s fastest time in the event was a 2:01.17, set at the 2017 GLIAC Championships meet.

Her closest competitor, Katherine Svisco, a junior from Wayne State, clocked in at a 2:03.07, also dropping a second from prelims. Finishing third by nearly a tenth of a second with a 2:03.18 was Grand Valley State Freshman Samantha Laurich. Her senior teammate Lara Deibel took fourth (2:05.14).

Wayne State University teammates Senior Emily Marginean and Sophomore Jia Yi Koh finished fifth and sixth with times of 2:05.75 and 2:05.94. Davenport University Freshman Victoria Postmus claimed seventh (2:06.69), while Saginaw Valley State University Senior Lydia Mattar finished eighth (2:09.40).

Men’s 200 IM

Clinching another Northern Michigan win was Senior Ryan Leonard in the 200 IM (1:47.10) dropping a second from prelims. Close behind him was Grand Valley State University Junior Harry Shalamon with a time of 1:47.45. Wayne State Junior Joao Ribeiro also battled it out with the two, finishing with a 1:47.71.

Following the race for first, second and third, came the competition for fourth, fifth and sixth. Grand Valley’s Keegan Hawkins claimed fourth (1:50.27), Northern Michigan’s Renars Bundizs clinched fifth (1:50.42) and Wayne State’s Rasmus Olsen finished sixth (1:50.83).

Finishing off the event was seventh place finisher Ahmed Nabih of Grand Valley with a time of 1:52.45 and eighth place finisher Esteban Gutierrez of Northern Michigan with a time of 1:54.07.

Women’s 50 Free

From stamina to speed, next up was women’s 50 freestyle. Brining home another first place finish for her team was Sophomore Lena Soulas of Northern Michigan with a time of 23.57. Mercedes Martinez, a senior from Grand Valley, finished in a close second by less than a tenth with a 23.65. Tightening this gap even more was third-pace finisher Freshman Julia Brunner of Wayne State with a 23.68.

Brunner was followed by two more of her teammates Junior Aliza Durack finishing fourth (23.71) and Lezlie Bueno Estrada finishing fifth (23.88).

Grand Valley Senior Hannah Richard separated the Wayne State run finishing sixth with a time of 23.92. Wayne State Sophomore Haley Groteler finished just off the 23 mark with a 24.02 placing seventh. Northern Michigan Sophomore Margaret Vaitkus finished eighth (24.43).

Men’s 50 Free

It wouldn’t be a championship-style 50 freestyle without some close splits – including a tie. Wayne State Junior Ryan Katulski claimed first with a time of 20.19, beating his prelims time by a tenth. The second-place finisher, Junior Sasha Palazzo touched the wall at a 20.21, getting beat out by his teammate by .02.

Wayne State Sophomore Franz Mueller and Grand Valley Senior Jonathan Ham tied for third, both at a 20.33. Following in a close fifth was Grand Valley Senior Gabriel Souza with a 20.35. Northern Michigan Junior Lajos Bundai claimed sixth with a 20.44, while Wayne State Freshman Stewart Nowinski finished a close seventh at 20.49.

Grand Valley Senior Ben Walling dropped from second in prelims to eighth in finals with a 20.68.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay

The battle between Wayne, Northern and Grand Valley continued into the women’s 200 medley relay.

The Wayne State team of Ashlen Michalski, Koh, Groteler and Aliza Durack came out on top this evening, dropping their seed time from a 1:43.36 to a 1:42.74. Finishing in second was the Northern Michigan team of Regan Kilburn, Helm, Madelyn Ireland and Vaitkus with a time of 143:34. The Grand Valley team of Freyja Garbaccio, Celia Hoag, Richard and Media Kulbaciauskaite finished third (143.86).

Men’s 200 Medley Relay

On the men’s side, the crowd got to watch a duel between previous event-record holders Grand Valley, and new event-record holders Wayne state.

Following in the footsteps of their women, the Wayne State team of Dmytro Drobnych, Sasha Palazzo, Olsen and Katulski won the event with a record-breaking time of 126:28. The previous mark was set by the Grand Valley men back in 2017 at a 1:27.34.

Coming in second was the Grand Valley team of Harry Shalamon, Marius Mikalauskas, Oscar Saura Armengol and Ham (1:27.98). Claiming third were the Northern Michigan men Bundizs, Arnoldo Herrera, Maskim Kapustin and Lajos Budai (1:29.62).

For a complete PDF of results, click here.

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