Hope's Delaney Wesolek touched out Calvin for MIAA title: 'We knew she had that in her'
HOLLAND - As they approached the final turn, Hope swimmer Delaney Wesolek knew she was losing ground.
Her narrow lead had evaporated and she had 25 yards to the finish.
The senior pushed off the final turn trailing Calvin's Isabelle Gable in the anchor leg of the 400-yard medley relay to close out the first full day of racing at the MIAA Championships on Thursday at Holland Community Aquatic Center.
Then she found another gear.
Little by little, Wesolek surged, finally repassing Gable with a stroke to go before touching the wall in first place.
"After the turn, I was breathing right at our team, so I could see everyone cheering. They really pushed me to do it for our team," Wesolek said. "It means a lot to have a moment like that. Being able to go out and represent the wonderful ladies I train with every single day for four years has been amazing and putting a bow on it was really special to be a part of."
That also meant she was not breathing toward her opponent, and couldn't see the ground she was making up.
"Honestly, I could not see her at all. I just was confident in the training my coaches have given me and I knew I could do it, and that pushed me to finish it," she said. "I kind of blacked out and put my head down. It was a great feeling to celebrate with my team."
Katie Herrmann, Lauren Ryle, Greta Gidley and Wesolek won the event in 3:46.11, just a tenth of a second ahead of Calvin for a win and an MIAA record and one of the top 10 times in the country in Division III.
"I wasn't nervous because I knew she could do it," Gidley said. "We knew she had that in her. I am so happy to be next to her when she is doing amazing things."
Wesolek turned in a split of 51.13 on the anchor leg. It was her second spectacular split of the night.
"MIAAs is an electric event, and you saw that tonight," Taber said. "Look at what Delaney did all night. To have gotten caught and been second at the turn, then do that - she races with as much heart as anybody. It was very much a senior swim."
The women opened the night with an MIAA record in the 200 free relay at 1:33.26. Lauren Ryle (23.55), Wesolek (23.25), Laurel Wasiniak (23.33) and Sara Kraus (23.24) sprinted to the title.
"The energy after the boys winning the 200 free relay. That was so exciting and got us going. We were riding a high," Wesolek said.
The bookended relay dominance in MIAA record fashion propelled Hope well ahead with two days remaining in the meet. Hope has 441 points and Calvin is second with 348, followed by Albion (183).
Ben Catton, Christian Hoeksema, Colin Kalkman and Graham Eisenmann won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:20.95 to start the first full finals night of the MIAA Championships.
Catton (20.16), Hoeksema (20.49) and Kalkman (20.08) are Holland Christian graduates.
The performance helped keep the Hope men in the hunt with 378 points, just six behind Calvin with two days remaining.
"It was really important to win that. Calvin was supposed to win all five relays on paper and we felt like we were going to race that really well and we loved the way that set up for us," Taber said. "We learned that they are gamers."
Catton, Henry Booker, Bailey Smith and Conner Halberg took second in the 800 free relay on Wednesday night and broke the school record (6:40.12). Catton broke the 200 free school record to lead off the relay in 1:38.91.
Catton finished third in the 50 free (20.31), finishing behind Calvin's David Bajwa (20.09) and Forrest Peterson (20.20).
Kalkman, Christian Dunaitis, Catton and Eisenmann took second in the 400 medley relay (3:16.72), behind Calvin, which set an MIAA record with a 3:13.40.
Hope's 1-2-3-4 punch
Hope swept the women's 200 IM getting the top four spots and five of the top six to take control of the meet.
Junior Greta Gidley broke the MIAA record to finish in 2:00.79. Sara Kraus was second in 2:04.68, followed by Anna Stolle (2:05.49) and Katie Hermann (2:05.71). Dillon Horsley was sixth in 2:11.78.
"It was a great night," Gidley said. "It is the first time I have been 2:00 twice in one day. Our sights are set on nationals in this event, so that gives me a lot of confidence heading into March."
Local winners
Albion junior Hannah Fathman, a Hamilton native, claimed the MIAA title in the 50 freestyle. She finished in 22.82 to earn her second title in the event.
Two years ago, the former Hamilton state champion won the MIAA crown in the 50 free as a freshman.
"It means so much. Every since my injury, it has been challenging to find my love for the sport, but I love a challenge. I was ready to go with my team behind me," Fathman said. "The biggest difference is I used to train with the mindset that I needed to want it more than the girl next to me. I have learned that I have to NEED it more than the girl next to me, and that has made all thd difference."
Calvin's Meghan Bengelink (Holland Christian) was fourth (23.78).
On the boards, Calvin's Wil Goodpaster (Hamilton) won 1-meter diving with 469.80 points, while Hope went 1-2-3 in women's 3-meter diving led by Abby Koops (428.10), Cameron Hamilton (384.45) and Soph Farbarzhevich (375.80).
Brothers in arms
Hope's Bailey Smith won the men's 500 free in 4:35.26, but the most interesting storyline of the event was the fact that two brothers swam against each other, one Hope and the other Calvin.
Calvin freshman Ryan Halberg finished third in the event in 4:38.95, just ahead of brother Conner (4:39.02), a junior at Hope.
It is a rare time that siblings are on the rival teams, and even rarer that siblings competed in same event on both sides of the rivalry.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope's Delaney Wesolek touched out Calvin for MIAA relay title
