Daniel Garcia Rips 3rd Fastest 100 Breast in Division 2 History – 51.93

2022 Calvin Winter Invite

• December 1 – 3, 2022
• Venema Aquatic Center – Grand Rapids, MI
• 25 yards (SCY)
• Results: “2022 Calvin Winter Invite” on MeetMobile

Final Scores

Women

1. Grand Valley State University – 2129.5
2. Northern Michigan University – 1909.5
3. University of Findlay – 1427.5
4. Calvin University – 942.5
5. Indiana Wesleyan University – 893
6. Grove City College – 602
7. Kalamazoo College – 510

Men

1. Grand Valley State University – 1862.5
2. Northern Michigan University – 1811
3. University of Findlay – 1547
4. Calvin University – 1450.5
5. Grove City College – 601
6. Kalamazoo College – 546

Men’s Meet Recap

Findlay junior Daniel Garcia lit up the men’s meet, setting five school records over the course of the three day meet. He set three individual school records in the 200 IM, 100 breast, and 200 breast, with the latter two ranking him in the Division II all time top five.

On the first day of the meet, he broke his 1:47.92 200 IM school record from last season by two seconds, ripping 1:45.86 to win the event. He also split a 51.87 100 breast split on the 400 medley relay, teaming with Randy Keener (48.54 100 back), Tim Stollings (45.86 100 fly), and Camillo Marrugo (43.46 100 free) to win the event in a new school record of 3:09.73.

Garcia undercut his relay split in his individual 100 breast, blazing 51.93. That mark set new pool, school, meet, and conference records. It also vaults him up to #3 in Division II history, less than half a second off Anton Lobanov‘s division record of 51.63, which has stood since 2015.

This season, it’s the fastest in the division and stands up as the 11th fastest time in the NCAA regardless of division. It’s also a best for Garcia by over a second. He recorded his previous best of 53.20 finishing sixth at 2022 NCAAs.

From his splits, you can see that Garcia has improved his entire race, but what stands out is his speed on the first 50. At the Calvin Invite, he opened the race almost a second faster than he did at NCAAs. Then, he was able to back that up with a 27.75 second 50, also under his NCAA pace.

In his final individual race of the meet, Garcia won the 200 breaststroke in 1:55.94, posting the second fastest time in Division II this season. Findlay dominated the event, going 1-2-3 as junior Luca Chiandussi earned second (1:59.97) and junior Marko Priednieks (2:00.59) took third.

It was a closer meet on the men’s side than the women’s, with Grand Valley State University topping Northern Michigan by 51.5 points. Highlighting Grand Valley’s meet was junior Eric Hieber, who won both the 500 free and 1650 free. He posted 4:23.55 in the 500, setting a new school record in a personal best by almost two seconds. Last season at NCAAs, Hieber finished 10th. His time at the Winter Invite would easily put him in the ‘A’ final, and would have landed him on the podium in third.

In the 1650 free, Hieber clocked 15:18.04, which is the closest he’s been to his lifetime best of 15:15.41 since he set the mark in 2021.

Women’s Meet Recap

The Grand Valley State women dominated the meet, winning by 220 points ahead of Northern Michigan University. Freshman Lucy Hedley played a big role in the team’s win, sweeping her three individual events, the 200 (1:50.44), 500 (4:54.87), and 1650 free (17:24.95). Her 500 free time was a freshman record for Grand Valley State.

Another freshman, Findlay’s Emily Mears-Bentley also had an excellent weekend. Mears-Bentley set three individual school records. She won the 100 fly in 54.64, setting new pool and school records. This is her first season in yards, and she’s clearly adjusted from meters quickly.

Leading off Findlay’s 800 freestyle relay, she clocked 1:50.28 for her second school record of the session. Her lead-off time also would have won the individual event, as it was faster than the 1:50.44 Hedley clocked to win. She set her final individual school record in the 100 free, winning the event in 50.52. That’s the fourth best time in Division II this season, making her one of the names to watch in March at NCAAs.

In the relays, it was second-place Northern Michigan that shone. They won all five relays and set pool records in both the 200 medley and 400 free relays. In the medley relay Camilla Carbone (25.70 back), Zoe DeKievit (2890 breast),Txell Font-Cantarero (24.88 fly), and Olivia Haerr (23.69 free) combined for a 1:43.17. In the last relay of the meet, Haerr (51.06) teamed with Michaela Nelson (51.42), Nadia Helm (51.51), and Pilar Perello-Ferrer (51.40) to swim 3:25.39. Both these times are less than a second off the times they swam at 2022 NCAAs, where they finished ninth in the 200 medley and 11th in the 400 free.