Albion turned in a strong performance against Wabash and Hillsdale as the Britons claimed a pair of triumphs on Saturday.
Albion Press Release
ALBION, Mich. – It was supposed to be the Division III Meet of the Week, but Albion College turned its 213-87 victory over Wabash College into a tidal wave of momentum Head Coach Jake Taber hopes carries the Britons from now until the end of the season.
Albion took first place in every event, with Sebastian Tostado winning the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke, and 100 individual medley, Derek Bosko winning the sprint freestyle events, Mac Robertson winning the distance freestyle events, Gerardo Huidobro winning the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly and Jake Burris achieving a NCAA Championship qualifying score in 3-meter diving in addition to scoring first place on the 1-meter board.
“We had a great environment,” Taber said. “It was so much fun from start to finish.
“We are excited about where we are this early in the year,” he added. “I hope it raises our training. If we race like this there is every reason to believe we can train with confidence and meet our goals at the end of the season.”
Robertson, a first-year student-athlete from Zeeland, Mich., set the tone for the meet when he tracked down Wabash sophomore Chris Dabrowski to win the 1,000 freestyle. Robertson completed the final 50 yards in 27.06 seconds to edge Dabrowski by two-tenths of a second.
“Mac’s swim was an inspiration,” Taber said. “His teammates watched him dig deep and we were off and running.”
In the first event of the day, Tostado, Huidobro, Nate Kozycki and Bosko achieved a time of 3:31.63 to just shy of Albion’s pool record in the 400 medley relay.
Burris achieved a score of 286.95 in 3-meter diving.
Albion will take its first look at its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rivals Oct. 21 when the league teams gather in Holland, Mich., for a relay meet.
ALBION, Mich. – Sensing an opportunity for his team to upset Division II Hillsdale College, Albion College Head Coach Jake Taber tinkered with the lineup late in the dual meet.
Taber’s decision to move Alexandra Horman into the 100-yard individual medley paid off as Albion scored what is believed to be the program’s first ever victory over Hillsdale, 158-133.
A first-year swimmer who prepped at Forest Hills Central High School, Horman edged Hillsdale’s Danielle Lebleu by .24 seconds. Horman also scored first place in the 400 medley relay (with Kylene Slocum, Anna Moore and Mary Noble) and the 100 freestyle, and she was the runner-up in the 200 butterfly.
“I figured we needed to win one of the last two events,” Taber said. “I originally had Alex in the relay, but the IM ended up being the difference. Alex had a gutsy swim to get her hand on the wall first.”
Moore scored first place in the 50 and backstroke events and she also joined Nicole McCann, Molly Blank and Abigail Slager for first place in the 200 freestyle relay.
It didn’t hurt Albion’s cause to compete unopposed in the diving events. Lauren Young and Julia Russell were the top two performers in the 3-meter competition, while Marisa DeCamp, Young and Russell swept the 16 points in 1-meter.
“We had a great environment,” Taber said. “The meet was so much fun from start to finish. We had a lot of fun today.”
Albion will look to continue the fun Oct. 21 when it squares off against its Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rivals for the first time this season with a relay meet in Holland, Mich.
