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Men's Swimming and Diving 11/7/2025 7:08:00 PM Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

Ballardin Wins Skins, Claims Silver in 100 IM on Friday Night

MARQUETTE, Mich. - The #8 Wildcats welcomed the #11 Wayne State Warriors to the PEIF Pool to open the weekend slate of races.

Before the pool got to the skins competition, the teams raced in the 200 medley relay, 100 IM, 200 free relay, and both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. NMU won 8 podiums.

In the skins, Ballardin claimed gold, defeating Gabriel Arias Hernandez in the fly final. Ballardin was sixth in the free, third in the breast, and second in the back en route to his first-place finish. Ballardin also claimed silver in the 100 IM to go along with two podium finishes with the 200 medley and free relay teams. On the board, Diego Carrillo claimed silver in the 1-meter and bronze in the 3-meter.

The Wildcats are back in the pool tomorrow morning against Wayne, with competition starting in the PEIF Pool at 10 a.m.

How It Happened
The meet opened with the 200 medley relay. Eight teams raced, consisting of four NMU teams and four teams from Wayne State. NMU A captured first place, followed by NMU B and C in third and fourth place. The A team of Rocheleau, Tease, LaCount, and Khmara touched the wall at 1:32.11, followed by the B team of Ballardin, Rosatelli, Boomer, and Fulconi in third at 1:33.93.

The 100 IM consisted of five heats of 36 swimmers. Swiatkowski jumped out to the lead after heat two, posting his time of 55.34. The fourth heat brought a new swimmer atop the podium, as Tease posted a time of 54.06 to sit alone in first ahead of the final heat. The fifth and final heat placed seven of its eight swimmers ahead of Tease, led by Ballardin and Fulconi in second and third for the 'Cats, with times of 52.37 and 52.58, respectively. LaCount finished fifth, and Rosatelli finished seventh, with Tease in eighth.

The 200 free relay was the final event before skins. In the only heat of the event, the NMU A team of LaCount, Khmara, Nahali, and Fulcini claimed gold at 1:22.59, followed by the NMU B team of Massotte, Swiatkoswki, Rosatelli, and Ballardin in third at 1:26.07, just one half of a second behind the Wayne A team.

The skins portion of the event started with freestyle, and Fulconi, LaCount, Ballardin, and Rosatelli were selected to compete. Rosatelli was eliminated after he finished in seventh in the free, as Fulconi claimed first. The breast followed, eliminating a pair of WSU swimmers, and three 'Cats remained halfway through the skins. The 50 back claimed Fulconi and LaCount, finishing third and fourth, and it would be Ballardin facing off against Arias Hernandez in the fly finals, who had won both the breast and back. Thanks to a good turn, Ballardin was able to pull ahead, and would be crowned the winner of the skins elimination contest.

The 1-meter diving took place during the pool events, and it was Carrillo finding the podium with his score of 431.00 to claim silver. Travis Thornton claimed fourth, and Ryan Foucault fifth. The evening officially capped off with the 3-meter, as it was Carrillo in third and Thornton in fourth.

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Players Mentioned

Diego Carrillo: 5' 9"; Junior

Ryan Foucault: 5' 10"; Junior

Travis Thornton: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Diego Carrillo
: 5' 9"; Junior

Ryan Foucault
: 5' 10"; Junior

Travis Thornton
: Freshman