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2007-08 Season Preview

The goal for the Olivet College men’s swimming and diving team in 2007-08 can be described in one word, “three-peat.” Last year, the Comets captured its second straight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship by a mere nine points over Hope College. With 19 returning letterwinners, including six All-MIAA selections, the goal to “three-peat” is a realistic one.

The returning All-MIAA performers are seniors Yury Bylina (Minsk, Belarus), Ryan Key (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep), Dustin Meisner (Temperance/Erie Mason) and Koji Takahashi (Etobicoke, Ontario/Silverthorn CI) along with junior Shawn Bergman (Chelsea) and sophomore Nathan Busscher (Hamilton/Holland Christian).

Bylina, a two-time All-MIAA selection, excels at each of the four strokes. At the 2007 MIAA Championships, he broke the school record in the 200 (1:56.84) and 400 (4:09.72) individual medley. Bylina also ranks among the top-five all-time in the 100 freestyle and the 100 and 200 butterfly.

Meisner, a three-time All-MIAA pick, and Key rank 1-2 all-time in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Each of his first three years, Meisner competed at the NCAA Division III National Championships after winning the 200 breaststroke and being the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke at the MIAA Championships. Last year at the league championships, Key placed third behind him in both events.

Takahashi holds the school record in the 200 butterfly, an event which he won at the 2006 MIAA Championships. Bergman was selected as the 2007 MIAA Most Valuable Diver after winning both events at the league championships. Busscher had a stellar freshman season, as he placed fourth in the 200 and 500 free and 3rd in the 400 IM at the MIAA Championships. He holds the school record in the 200 freestyle (1:43.76).

Senior Mitch Powers (Kalamazoo/Central) tops the Olivet record books in the 50 (:21.50) and 100 (:46.88) freestyle. Junior Brad Voss (Lansing/Holt) is right behind him in both events.

Other returning freestyle swimmers on the roster are Steven Davis (Davidsville, Md./DeMatha), brothers Brian and Sam Jaffee (Bowling Green, Ohio), Greg Seger (Sterling Heights/Henry Ford II) and Jason Wheatley (Portage/Central). Seger is a sprinter, while the others are distance freestylers. Brian Jaffee is the current school-record holder in the 500 and 1,650.

Brian Johnson (Lansing/Eastern) joins Powers, Seger and Takahashi in the backstroke events. Powers holds the school record in the 100 (:53.98), while Takahashi achieved a school record in the 200 (1:58.39).

In addition to Key and Meisner, Nathaniel Burchfield (Lansing/Everett) and Andy Williams (Fenton) are returning breaststrokers. Burchfield, Bylina, Meisner and Williams add depth in the butterfly events.

Justin Hulsebos (Wayland) and Andrew Wasson (Grand Ledge) join Bergman as a solid group of divers for the Comets. All three placed in the top five in both diving events at the MIAA Championships.

Freshmen Kellen Beckwith (Farmington Hills/North Farmington), Mike Harden (St. Johns), Rick Kinsey (Chelsea), Rafe Maxwell (Bay City/Western), Zach McMunigal (Grand Blanc/Flint Powers Catholic) and Carl Scozarri (Centerline) add depth at each of the swimming events, particulary in the freestyle.

With all of this talent, there is no doubt that the Comets have the student-athletes, who can continue to make an impact in the MIAA and compete another league championship.