ROCHESTER, Mich. – In the first annual Golden Grizzly Classic, presented by Jim Caulsey Buick GMC, the Oakland University swimming and diving team secured a third-place finish overall.
After four days of competition, the Dartmouth women's team and the Grand Canyon men's team were named the champions in this first-year swim meet. Throughout the meet, Oakland athletes set multiple personal bests, leading to the introduction of the new "PB" chains, which were being passed around the team. The competition provided valuable highlights to carry into the remainder of the season and conferences.
DAY ONE
The first day of the Golden Grizzly Classic featured two relays for both the men and women: the 800 free and the 200 medley.
To kick off the Classic, Oakland's A team, which included Kelley Hassett, Viviane Partridge, Erika Pietras, and Mia Englender, secured third place in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:24.91. Oakland's B followed closely behind, finishing fourth in 7:28.49. In the men's 800 free relay, the Golden Grizzlies achieved a second-place finish, with Harry Nicholson, Joseph Countryman, Cooper Dillman, and Max Haney recording a final time of 6:30.09. Similar to the women, the men's B team also came in fourth place overall.
In the 200 medley relay, the Oakland women finished third, with Lydia Soldatke, Maya Dobry, Brooke Mahneke, and Avery Beal leading the team to the top spot for OU with a time of 1:41.78. To wrap up the night, the men clinched first place with a time of 1:26.66 in the 200 medley relay. Nicholson, along with Alexander Lakin, Micah Scheffer, and Charles Brown, contributed to the team's victory.
At the end of day one, Oakland's men were leading the rankings with 224 points, while the women were in third place with 208 points, just 10 points shy of first.
DAY TWO
Day Two of the Golden Grizzly Classic featured several events, including the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 200 free relay, women's 1-meter dive, and men's 3-meter dive.
The finals began for the men with Ike Martinez and Victor Teeters going 1-2 in the 500 free, respectively. Martinez clinched the top spot with a time of 4:25.74, while Teeters followed closely behind at 4:28.20. Dillman also had a strong performance, tying for fourth alongside William Debroux from Wayne State. In the women's 500 free, Hassett led the women's team with a fifth-place finish, recording a time of 4:56.26.
Grace Albrecht contributed to the team's success in the women's 200 IM, finishing fourth with a time of 2:03.06, closely followed by Clarissa Bezuidenhout in fifth place. Kendra Venter delivered an impressive performance in the 50 free, securing second place with a time of 23.15. On the men's side, Haney achieved a podium finish in the men's 200 IM, taking second and clocking in at 1:46.45. Brown and Scheffer went 4-5 in the 50 free, adding valuable points to the team's total.
Over at diving, Victoria Sanders won the 1-meter dive with a score of 284.65. In the men's 3-meter dive, Owen Cox placed ninth, while Liam James finished in tenth.
The 200 free relay was the event to watch, with both the women's and the men's races coming down to the wire. The women's team, consisting of Venter, Albrecht, Pietras, and Beal, tied for second with Dartmouth at an impressive 1:32.37. The men's team took silver with 1:18.40, which broke the previous pool record. However, the win and new record went to Grand Canyon at 1:18.08.
At the conclusion of day two, the women jumped up to second place with 675 points, while the men fell to third with 685.5 points.
DAY THREE
On day three, events consisted of 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, women's 3-meter dive, men's 1-meter dive, and the 400 medley relay.
To start the night, there was a three-way tie for fifth place in the 100 fly. Oakland's top swimmers, Mahneke and Ava McNamara, along with Lane Murray from Dartmouth, all came in with a time of 55.80 in the finals to earn a shared fifth-place finish. On the men's side, Scheffer earned a solo fifth-place result with a time of 47.42.
Hassett found herself an individual top-two finish in the 400 IM, earning second with a time of 4:26.54. Dillman, in the same event, claimed third place for the Golden Grizzlies. In the 200, Pietras finished in fourth place while Countryman tied for first place with Mario Perez from Grand Canyon, both completing the race in 1:36.42.
Lakin and Soldatke joined Countryman with strong championship performances. The 100 breast belonged to Oakland, with Lakin winning the event in 53.59. Trevor Boot followed closely, finishing third just over a second behind Lakin. Soldatke continued to dominate the backstroke events this season, winning the 100 well ahead of the runner-up. Bezuidenhout and Albrecht also had notable finishes, securing fourth and fifth places in the event.
The relays once again proved to be the highlights of the Classic, with the men's 400 medley relay showcasing fierce competition. Oakland's A and B relay teams went 2-3 in the championship heat, with the winning team from Grand Canyon accomplishing another pool record.
In diving, Sanders finished third in the 3-meter, while James took sixth in the 1-meter. Other top performances from the Black and Gold include Hickman's seventh place in the 100 breast, Haney and Stoll's fourth and sixth place finishes in the 100 back, and the women's fourth place 400 medley relay finish.
As the third day concluded, the Oakland women held onto second place with 1,240 points, and the men stayed at third with 1,212 points.
DAY FOUR
On the final day of the Golden Grizzly Classic, the pool hosted the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 freestyle relay, and platform diving.
In the longest event of the Classic, the 1650 free, Dillman was crowned the champion, clocking in an impressive time of 15:36.80. Teeters earned a top spot with Dillman, placing fourth. Hassett placed fourth in the 1650 free as well, finishing on top for Oakland.
With many pool records being broken over the course of the four-day meet, the Golden Grizzlies finally earned one of their own. Soldatke swam and won the 200 back in a record-breaking time of 1:56.03, just .06 seconds faster than the previous record she set against Cincinnati and Purdue back in early November. Bezuidenhout and Haney joined in the celebrations, with Bezuidenhout finishing in second place behind Soldatke and Haney winning the men's 200 back.
The 100 free saw a 4-5 finish from Venter and Beal on the women's side, and a third-place victory from Brown for the men, with a time of 43.50. In the 200 breast, Hickman earned the OU women's team sixth place, and Lakin and Carson Ricker claimed third and fifth place, respectively, for the men. Englender and Martinez were the top swimmers for Oakland in the 200 fly.
Platform diving was held at Eastern Michigan on the final day, where James was the sole competitor from Oakland participating. James finished in fifth place with a final score of 235.30.
With the Classic coming to an end, the women's and men's teams finished in second place in the 400 free relay. Oakland's Venter, Pietras, Soldatke, and Beal swam in 3:20.56, finishing only 0.14 seconds behind the top team from Grand Canyon, who tied the pool record with a time of 3:20.42. Similarly, the men's team of Nicholson, Scheffer, Countryman, and Brown was only behind the top team from Grand Canyon that ended up setting the pool record.
FINAL RESULTS
Women's Teams
- Dartmouth College - 1,940
- Grand Canyon University - 1,776
- Oakland University - 1,768
- Eastern Michigan University - 1.471
- Wayne State University 695
Men's Teams
- Grand Canyon University - 2,091
- Dartmouth College - 2,076.5
- Oakland University - 1,786
- Wayne State - 1,209.5
UP NEXT: The Golden Grizzlies will return after the holiday break, hosting Miami (OH) and Denison at the OU Aquatic Center on January 9th and 10th.
How to Follow Oakland Swimming and Diving: For complete information on Oakland Swimming and Diving, follow the team on
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