TERRE HAUTE, Indiana — On sheer roster volume alone — just 13 swimmers, with the lone diver out due to injury — it was going to be difficult for the Franklin men to dethrone Rose-Hulman at the HCAC Championships. But the undermanned Grizzlies showed the force that they're capable of becoming.
The Griz men finished with 624 points, ending up second behind the Engineers and 105 points ahead of third-place Transylvania.
Bryson Howe and
Nick Coy got the Grizzlies' final session started by medaling in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Howe finished third with a time of 16:42.61, while Coy was fourth in 17:22.62.
Will Johnson then picked up a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke, hitting the wall in 1:58.34.
Franklin was dominant in the 100 freestyle, with
Zachary Jackson-Blaine going 46.10 to pick up his second individual championship of the meet. Fellow junior
Kaden Cummins was second in 46.69, while freshman
Keaton Stephenson was fourth in 47.36.
Sam Hittel placed fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:11.59), while the Grizzlies got a pair of medalists in the 200 butterfly with
Isaac Layton (second, 1:55.48) and Christopher Mains (fourth, 1:57.66).
Capping off the week, Franklin's 400 free relay squad of Stephenson, Cummins, Howe and Jackson-Blaine were second in 3:09.50.
Stephenson was named the Newcomer of the Meet after scoring 45 individual points, including a victory in the 200 freestyle.
With this meet, the Griz bid goodbye to just one senior, Franklin native Coy.
"Nick brought every part of leadership to this team," Griz coach Zach Rayce said. "He's the only senior we've got, and I wouldn't trade him for anybody. ... He has helped me bring this culture from a place where it would've been hard to change it, to something I'd be proud of. I thought it would take me four to five years, and it took me two because of what
Nick Coy has really done."
The rest of the team, however, returns — and Rayce is hopeful that with a larger roster and more experience, the Grizzlies can return to the mountaintop next February.
"You give us a year, and we'll be dangerous," he said. "Our speed was there, and next year we'll see how the story changes."
2026 HCAC CHAMPIONS
Zachary Jackson-Blaine: 50 and 100 freestyle
Keaton Stephenson: 200 freestyle
200 freestyle relay (Jackson-Blaine,
Will Johnson,
Bryson Howe,
Kaden Cummins)
800 freestyle relay (
Isaac Layton,
Sam Hittel, Cummins, Stephenson)
