Skip To Main Content

Northern Michigan University

The Official Website of the Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Wildcats
mswim

Men's Swimming and Diving Braden Golisek - Assistant Director of Sports Information

Ballardin Breaks Records, Men's Swim and Dive in Second after Day One of Calvin Invite

The 'Cats garnered 421 points, trailing only GVSU at 647

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The #8 NMU men's swim and dive team garnered 421 points on day one of the Calvin Invite, good enough for second of six teams. 

In first was the #4 Grand Valley State Lakers with 647, followed by NMU in second and #10 Findlay in third with 416 points. Hosts Calvin claimed 392.5, Indiana Wesleyan 162.5, and Lawrence 76. Full finals results can be found here. 

Matteo Ballardin and William LaCount had an explosive day in the pool, both garnering 32 points for their team. Ballardin not only claimed gold in the 200 IM, but he broke an NMU school record, a Calvin Invite record, and a Venema Aquatic Center pool record with his time of 1:45.63 in the finals. Ballardin was also a member of the seventh-place 400 medley relay team. LaCount posted a blistering 19.82 in the 50 free finals for gold, just .31 seconds off of an NMU school record. LaCount was also a member of the first-place 200 free relay team and sixth-place 400 medley relay team.

Gabriel Fulconi (25), Timothee Garin (25), and Alessandro Rosatelli (24) were the next highest point-getters for the 'Cats. Fulconi was a member of the first-place 200 free relay team and seventh-place 400 medley relay team and finished fifth in the 200 IM, Garin finished fifth in the 500 free, and Rosatelli finished fifth in the 200-free relay and sixth in the 200 IM.

Round two starts tomorrow morning, with the prelims beginning at 10 a.m., with streaming coverage on the Calvin YouTube page, here. Fans can also follow live results on the Meet Mobile app.

How It Happened
The evening started with three heats and 24 teams in the 200 free relay, and it was the NMU A team of William LaCount, Gabriel Fulconi, Jef Leroux, and Leo Nolles who claimed first with their time of 1:18.83, beating second place by just under two seconds. The NMU B team of Youssef Nahali, Max Swiatkowski, Alessandro Rosatelli, and Daniel Khmara finished in fifth at 1:22.02. 

Timothee Garin was the lone Wildcat in the A final, posting a time of 4:31.99 to finish fifth. 

The 'Cats had three swimmers in the 200 IM A final, and it was Matteo Ballardin who stole the show, earning gold and setting multiple records with his time of 1:45.63. Gabriel Fulconi and Alessandro Rosatelli finished fifth and sixth at 1:49.55 and 1:49.97.

NMU claimed gold in back-to-back gold, as it was LaCount touching the wall first in a tightly-contested 50 free finals, as his time of 19.82 was just 0.03 seconds ahead of second, and just 0.06 seconds ahead of fifth. In the B final, Leroux, Nahali, Khmara, and Swiatkowski finished 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th. 
 
The meet ended with the 400 medley relay, which featured four heats and 26 relay teams. The NMU A and B teams finished sixth and seventh with times of 3:18.27 and 3:19.83. 
 

Morning Session
Timothee Garin will feature for the Wildcats in the A finals of the 500 free, with Zachary Billotte in the B final.

NMU will have Matteo Ballardin, Alessandro Rosatelli, and Gabriel Fulconi in the 200 IM A final, Caleb Rice in the B final, and Nick Metzler and Andrew Tease in the C final.

The 50 free will have William LaCount in the A final, Jef Leroux, Youssef Nahali, and Daniel Khmara in the B final, and Max Swiatkowski in the C final.

The finals begin at 6 p.m. tonight, and can be live-streamed on the Calvin YouTube page, here, along with live results on the Meet Mobile app. 

This story will be updated after the finals. 

How It Happened
The 500 free was the first event of the morning for the men, with four heats and 25 swimmers. Zachary Billotte swam in heat two, posting a time of 4:39.30 to finish third in the heat and 9th overall. Heat three featured Timothee Garin, who finished second in his heat and 5th overall with a time of 4:33.82. Garin earned a spot in the A final this evening, and Billotte just missed the A final, but was the top time in the B final.

The 200 IM featured five heats and 36 swimmers. Andrew Tease kicked off the 'Cats in heat three, finishing sixth in the heat at 2:00.08. Heat four featured Alessandro Rosatelli and Nick Metzler, who finished third and seventh in their heats with times of 1:52.19 and 1:58.52, respectively. The fifth and final heat saw Matteo Ballardin, Gabriel Fulconi, and Caleb Rice, who finished second, third, and fifth in the heat with times of 1:51.91, 1:52.55, and 1:54.52. Ballardin, Rosatelli, and Fulconi all earned spots in the A final, with Rice holding the lone NMU spot in the B final, and rounded out with Metzler and Tease in the C final.

The 50 free had nine heats and 66 swimmers. Heat four saw Basil Massotte, who finished first in his heat with a time of 21.85. The fifth heat featured Hudson Lowery, who finished eighth at 22.40, and heat six saw Liam Boomer finish eighth at 22.16. The seventh heat featured Jef Leroux, Will LaCount, and Yousef Nahali. LaCount first at 20.11, Leroux fourth at 20.69, and Nahali fifth at 20.76. Heat eight featured Daniel Khmara finishing fourth at 20.93, and the final heat featured Max Swiatkowski placing sixth at 21.05. LaCount would earn a spot in the A finals, with Leroux, Nahali, and Khmara earning B final spots, and Swiatkowski in 17th for the C final. 



 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Zachary Billotte

Zachary Billotte

Sophomore
Liam Boomer

Liam Boomer

Senior
Gabriel Fulconi

Gabriel Fulconi

5' 11"
Junior
Daniel Khmara

Daniel Khmara

5' 9"
Senior
William LaCount

William LaCount

Senior
Jef Leroux

Jef Leroux

6' 5"
Senior
Hudson Lowery

Hudson Lowery

Senior
Leo Nolles

Leo Nolles

Senior
Caleb Rice

Caleb Rice

6' 0"
Senior
Alessandro Rosatelli

Alessandro Rosatelli

5' 11"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Zachary Billotte

Zachary Billotte

Sophomore
Liam Boomer

Liam Boomer

Senior
Gabriel Fulconi

Gabriel Fulconi

5' 11"
Junior
Daniel Khmara

Daniel Khmara

5' 9"
Senior
William LaCount

William LaCount

Senior
Jef Leroux

Jef Leroux

6' 5"
Senior
Hudson Lowery

Hudson Lowery

Senior
Leo Nolles

Leo Nolles

Senior
Caleb Rice

Caleb Rice

6' 0"
Senior
Alessandro Rosatelli

Alessandro Rosatelli

5' 11"
Junior