MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING PREVIEW

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING PREVIEW

2008-09 Season Preview

After winning back-to-back Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships in 2006 and 2007, the Olivet College men’s swimming and diving team slipped one spot to finish in second-place last year. In 2009, the Comets have aspirations to climb back to the top of the standings. Eleven members of last year’s second-place team, including three All-MIAA selections, are back to help the cause.

Leading the way is sophomore Kellen Beckwith (Farmington Hills/North Farmington). At the league championships, he won the 100 backstroke, took second in the 200 backstroke and swam the backstroke leg of the second-place 200 and third-place 400 medley relays.

Beckwith’s time in the preliminaries of the 100 backstroke set a school record (:50.91) and was a conditional qualifying time, which then gave him the chance to compete in both events at the 2008 NCAA Division III National Championships. He earned honorable mention All-American honors with an 11th-place finish in the 100 backstroke and broke the school record in the 200 backstroke (1:55.43).

Another returning All-MIAA swimmer is senior Steven Davis (Davidsville, Md./DeMatha), who won the 1,650 freestyle at the MIAA Championships. He holds the school record in the 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle at 9:49.79 and 16:16.22, respectively.

Senior Shawn Bergman (Chelsea) is a two-time All-MIAA selection. At the 2008 league championships, he placed first on the one-meter diving board and second on the three-meter diving board, and narrowly missed earning the league’s Most Valuable Diver award for the second consecutive year. He is the school record-holder in all of the diving competitions.

Other returning freestyle swimmers include junior Sam Jaffee (Bowling Green, Ohio), sophomore Rick Kinsey (Chelsea) and senior Brad Voss (Lansing/Holt). Voss is the fastest swimmer in school history in the 50 free (:21.37) and 100 free (:46.79). Sophomore Mike Harden (St. Johns) is also back after a wrist injury kept him out of the pool for his entire freshman season.

Sophomore Rafe Maxwell (Bay City/Western) is also returning after placing third in both the 100 and 200 butterfly at the MIAA championships. Davis can also swim in the butterfly events.

The top two breaststrokers in school history graduated, which leaves the door open for sophomore Zach McMunigal (Grand Blanc/Flint Powers Catholic).

Senior Andrew Wasson (Grand Ledge) joins Bergman on the diving boards. In each of the last two years, Wasson has made the finals on both the one- and three-meter, including a second-place finish on the one-meter last year.

A solid recruiting class is going to push the returnees to be better. Seven of the nine recruits are expected to swim in the freestyle events.