Some dynasties just never really end.
For the 47th time, the men’s swim and dive team has won the Horizon League championship, and for the 31st time, the women’s team has done the same. It is an unbelievable stretch of success that will seemingly never end, especially with the strength of the program under head coach Mitch Alters.
Let’s dive back into the conference championship meet from last weekend and see who stood out.
Day 1 of competition, Feb. 19
Oakland kicked off the weekend with absolute dominance in the 200 medley relays as the men’s and women’s teams finished in first place. Grace Albrecht, Isabella Gary, Jordyn Shipps, and Ronja Riihinen led the women’s team. They narrowly beat out second-place Cleveland State by 0.18 of a second. The men’s squad won much more comfortably by nearly three seconds. Harry Nicholson, Christopher Palvadre, Sofus Balladone and Charlie Brown made up the unit.
The only other first-place finish of the day went to the men for the 800 free relay. Joey Countryman led the group for the first 200, followed by Jack Wike, Karel Subagyo, and Jonas Cantrell.
After the first round of events, the women led the way up 72 points to 66 for Youngstown State and IU Indianapolis. For the men’s part, they stood in second, down 114-108 to IU Indy.
Day 2 of competition, Feb. 20
On the second day of the meet, the men’s team really got going and took the lead. It all started with the 500 free, where Cantrell earned another first-place finish. Subagyo came closely behind in third place.
Shipps of the women’s squad had an excellent meet in her senior year with the Golden Grizzlies; she finished off a stellar career with a first-place race in the 200 IM. She finished nearly three seconds faster in her final swim than her preliminary swim. On the men’s side of the 200, they claimed the top two spots, courtesy of Wike and sophomore Max Haney.
Moving on to the 50 free, Grace Chelf of Cleveland State took first for the women, narrowly edging out Riihinen by 0.36 of a second. The men’s team took all three spots on the podium for the 50 free. Brown, Micah Scheffer, and Nicholson took first, second and third, respectively. It was a resounding victory for the Golden Grizzlies, a win that demonstrated the speed and strength of Oakland.
Expectedly, diving standouts Ellie Chalifoux and Victoria Sanders came first and second in the one-meter dive. That dynamic duo has done damage on the diving board for the last couple of years, so it’s only right they finish at the top in this championship meet.
Towards the end of the evening, the 200 free relay went down. OU’s women’s team came up just short in second place to Milwaukee. Still, Sam Thiessen, Shipps, Albrecht and Riihinen performed admirably. To no one’s surprise, the Golden Grizzly men continued to dominate the day. Scheffer, Nicholson, Wike and Brown again earned first place.
The final scores from day two were 284 for the women and 346 for the men. Both teams were in first; there were no surprises.
Day 3 of competition, Feb. 21
Shipps continued her strong weekend with a first-place finish in the 100 fly. Joining her in the top eight were teammates Rhianna Hensler, Kaitlyn Killinger, Sophia Davis and Mia Keranen.
On the men’s side of the 100 fly, Balladone got it done for the Golden Grizzlies, narrowly finishing ahead of Jacob Gramer from Youngstown State by 0.03 of a second. Oakland would then go on a short down streak, failing to place swimmers in the top three for the men’s and women’s 400 IM.
Thanks to Mia Englender, the streak wouldn’t be extended, as the junior from OU finished in second in the women’s 200 free. Cantrell also earned second place among the men, joined by Subagyo in fourth.
For the 100 breast, the women again failed to secure first. Gary represented the Golden Grizzlies nicely with a third-place finish. The men fared a bit better, as Palvadre and Alex Lakin came in first and second, respectively.
OU had a similarly strong showing in the 100 back. Albrecht stayed on an absolute tear this weekend, claiming first place for the women’s team. In an absolute washout by the men, Nicholson, Haney and Wike took first through third for the backstroke.
As the third day neared its end, the women’s 400 medley relay remained. Albrecht, Gary, Shipps and Riihinen made up the squad; they fell just short of first behind Milwaukee by just under a second. The men’s team was right there to pick them up, as Nicholson, Palvadre, Balladone and Brown earned yet another first-place finish for the men.
By the end of the third day, the women led 545 to Milwaukee’s 453 in second place, and the men lead 656 to IU Indy’s 450.
Day 4 of competition, Feb. 22
The fourth and final day was filled with excitement and intense competition. Cantrell got the Golden Grizzlies going early with first place in the 1650 free.
Albrecht was right there to pick up her second first-place finish in the backstroke, this time winning the 200-yard race. Some similar faces from the men’s 100 back reappeared for the 200 back. Nicholson again claimed first, followed by Haney, while Wike slipped to fourth.
Both the men’s and women’s teams took home first for the 100 free courtesy of Brown and Riihinen, respectively. The 200 breast for the men was all Golden Grizzlies as Palvadre took first again. Carson Ricker and Lakin would join him in second and third.
After that, Jordyn Shipps took home first in the 200 fly. Teammate Auben Nugent didn’t let the men down, either; he earned second in the event.
Oakland’s fantastic divers, Chalifoux and Sanders, took first and third in the three-meter dive to wrap up the diving events.
Finally, all that remained were the 400 free relays. And what better way to end the competition than to claim first in both races? That’s exactly what Oakland did. The women took home the final race behind Riihinen, Albrecht, Pietras and Shipps. At the same time, the men got it done with Nicholson, Wike, Palvadre and Brown.
As the final scores were tallied, Oakland held a resounding victory on both sides, securing them their 47th and 31st titles for the men and women, respectively.
Numerous awards were handed out to the team afterward. Chalifoux earned female diver of the meet, while Albrecht earned female freshmen of the meet. Nicholson earned male swimmer of the meet, joined by Alters with men’s swimming coach of the year. Additionally, Will Brenner, Oakland’s women’s diving coach, earned a coach of the year award.