2024 GLIAC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: Friday, February 9 – Monday, February 12
- Location: Holland Aquatic Center, Holland, MI
- Defending Champions: Grand Valley State men (9x); Grand Valley State women (1x)
- Championship Program
- Streaming
- Championship Central
- COMPLETE MEET RESULTS
TEAM STANDINGS (FINAL)
MEN
- Grand Valley State University – 915
- Northern Michigan University – 617.5
- Wayne State University – 594.5
- St. Cloud State University – 499.5
- Saginaw Valley State University – 407
- Davenport University – 281.5
- Augustana University – 224
WOMEN
- Grand Valley State University – 999
- Wayne State University – 743
- Northern Michigan University – 726
- Davenport University – 464.5
- Saginaw Valley State University – 354.5
AWARDS
MEN
- Swimmer of the Year: Mohamed Khalil Ben Ajmia (Wayne State)
- Diver of the Year: Matthew Blommel (Grand Valley State)
- Freshman of the Year: Mohamed Khalil Ben Ajmia (Wayne State)
- Coaching Staff of the Year: Grand Valley State
WOMEN
- Swimmer of the Year: Jordan Fox (Wayne State)
- Diver of the Year: Mikaela Senkus (Wayne State)
- Freshman of the Year: Alicja Pinkowicz (Davenport)
- Coaching Staff of the Year: Grand Valley State
The 2024 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships took place this past weekend at the Holland Aquatic Center in Holland, MI. GLIAC is one of the rare conferences in which there are more men’s swim and dive programs (7) than women’s programs (5).
Grand Valley State won both the men’s and women’s team titles convincingly, earning their 10th-straight men’s GLIAC title and their 2nd women’s title in a row. For their efforts the Grand Valley coaching staff of Andy Boyce (head coach), Eric Murray (associate head coach), and Steve Burciaga (head diving coach) earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors for both men and women.
Wayne State freshman Khalil Ben Ajmia won both Men’s Freshman of the Year and Swimmer of the Year honors for his performances in the distance free events. Ben Ajmia, who came to Wayne State from Tunisia, ripped a new GLIAC Record in the men’s 500 free, swimming a 4:19.23. He blew away the championship record of 4:23.64 and clipped the conference record of 4:19.63, which Grand Valley senior Eric Hieber had set at the Calvin Invite at the end of November. Hieber took 2nd in the race with a 4:23.63.
Ben Ajmia wasn’t done there, however, he would then go on to take down the championship record of 15:15.03 in the 1650 free, tearing to a Wayne State program record of 15:06.46. Of course, Ben Ajmia picked up NCAA DII ‘A’ cuts with both of those performances.
Another Wayne State swimmer, grad student Jordan Fox, earned the Women’s Swimmer of the Meet honors. Fox, who grew up in Australia, cracked the championship record in the women’s 500 free, swimming a 4:50.53 to win the event. She also won the women’s 200 free in 1:48.33, taking the 200 back in 1:59.20 as well.
Northern Michigan sophomore Leo Nolles was on fire in the sprint events. Nolles made a ton of noise on the first night of the meet when he split a blistering 18.79 to anchor Northern Michigan’s men’s 200 medley relay. He then made sure to remove any doubt as to whether that split was a fluke or not, as Nolles would go on to anchor the NMU 200 free relay in 18.97. Interestingly enough, both of those NMU relays came in 2nd. Nolles also won the men’s 50 free individually, clocking a 19.62 to win the race by 0.32 seconds.
Grand Valley senior Alysa Wager set a new championship record in the women’s 100 fly, swimming a 54.50. It was her own record she broke, as Wager had set the previous record at last year’s meet with a 54.60. Wager was also a member of the GVSU women’s 400 medley relay that broke the championship record. Vittoria Proietti (56.47), Sara Alvarez Fernandez (1:02.64), Wager (54.19), and Lucy Hedley (49.86) combined to clock a 3:43.16, taking more than a second off the championship record of 3:44.17, which had stood since 2014.
Grand Valley junior Matthew Bosch was phenomenal in the men’s 200 free, swimming a 1:34.53 to win the event and break the championship record as well as the conference record. Bosch held the previous GLIAC record with a 1:34.87, which he swam at last year’s DII NCAAs.
Bosch also helped Grand Valley to a new championship record in the men’s 800 free relay. Austin Millard (1:38.89), Roger Miret Sala (1:36.53), Hieber (1:37.59), and Bosch (1:34.82) teamed up for a 6:27.83, shattering the previous championship record of 6:32.78, which GVSU set last year with a relay that featured everyone from this year except for Bosch.
Bosch and Hieber also helped Grand Valley to a new championship record in the men’s 400 free as well. Evan Scotto Divetta (44.50), Carsyn Christoffel (43.90), Hieber (44.28), and Bosch (42.75) combined for a 2:55.43, breaking the previous championship record of 2:56.06, which GVSU set last year.
Wayne State’s Allison Vassilakos won the women’s 1650 free by a massive margin (more than 23 seconds), also shattering the GLIAC record with her swim. She went 16:29.09, picking up DII ‘A’ cut, taking down the championship record of 16:40.57, and besting the conference record of 16:34.44.
Vassilakos would go on to prove she isn’t just a distance swimmer, helped the Wayne State women’s 400 free relay to a new championship record. She led the team off in 51.38, and was followed by Barabara Munoz Quintero (51.44), Sabine Branford (51.01), and Jordan Fox (50.33). They swam a 3:24.16, clipping the previous championship record mark of 3:24.40.
Lucy Hedley, a Grand Valley sophomore, clipped the championship record in the women’s 100 free, winning the event with a 50.02. She won the race by over a second in finals, coming in just under the champ record of 50.09, which had stood since 2014.
Another GVSU swimmer, freshman Andrew Goh, blasted a new conference record in the men’s 200 breast, swimming a 1:56.28. Goh came in just under the championship record (1:56.44) and GLIAC record (1:56.32).
