The Gusties posted three all-conference finishes on day two of the MAC Championships. Photo courtesy of Angie Peters.
Minneapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s swimming and diving team is in fifth place with 305 points after day two of the MIAC Championships being held in the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The University of St. Thomas is the two-day leader with a score of 524.5, St. Olaf College sits second with a 410.5, Carleton rounds out the top three in third with 370, and Saint John’s sits just ahead of Gustavus in fourth with 343.
“Tomorrow is our best day – in terms of how entries go – but Saint John’s and Carleton are both swimming great,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “However, that’s not to say we’re not swimming great either. Tonight in particular, everyone across the board was dropping time. We might have not have placed the best in a few races, but as a whole, our times are dropping and I’m very pleased with how we’ve competed and where we’re at.”
Leading the way once again was senior Zac Solis (Centennial, Minn.) who is putting together a dream finish at the final conference meet of his career. After his win in the 500 on Thursday, Solis followed up with a gold medal swim in the 200 free on Friday night. He finished the race in 1:41.18 – less than a second in front of the second place finisher from Carleton.
“I am so proud of what Zac has already accomplished this weekend,” Carlson said. “I’m pumped for him as he continues to impress and inspire. Zac swam such a smart race and it’s going to be exciting to see what he does tomorrow in the mile.”
Also earning a spot on the podium was Jacob Stern (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.). Stern touched the wall in 57.50 to take third in the 100 breaststroke.
“Things just clicked in the 100 breaststroke for Jake,” said Carlson about the junior’s race. “He has found his stroke over the past few days and has taken off since. It’s going to be fun to watch him compete in the 200 breaststroke tomorrow as he attempts to take some of this momentum into that race.”
Coach Carlson’s club also benefited from its best relay finish of the weekend. The 800-free relay comprised of Zac Solis, Kurt Youngdahl (Sr., Deephaven, Minn.), Jeff Nelson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.), and Ross Larson (Sr., Brookings, S.D.) turned in a time of 6:57.18 to place second behind St. Thomas.
“The 800-free relay was so much fun to watch,” commented Carlson. “All four guys stepped up and posted amazing swims – far better than we could have expected. That was a great way to finish off the day.”
Other top Gustavus performers from day two included Ross Larson with a sixth place finish in the 100 back (53.25) and Ben Miller (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) with an eighth place showing in the 100 butterfly (53.33)
The meet will conclude with two more sessions Saturday. The morning sessions will begin at 10:30 a.m. (doors at 9 p.m.) and will feature preliminary races. Saturday’s championship doors will open at 3 p.m. for preliminary heats of the 1,650-yard freestyle and diving. The heat sheet for Saturday’s prelim session is available online.
From The MIAC
Tickets are available at either a single-session rate, or all-session passes will also be available for fans who plan to attend the entire event. Single-session passes cost $8 for adults and $4 for students, and all-session passes are $40 for adults and $20 for students. Heat sheets are included in the cost of admission. Children 5 and under are admitted free, and MIAC passes will be honored for all six session. No other passes or discounts will be accepted.
As in years past, all six sessions will be broadcast live online thanks to Webcast America. Fans will also be able to watched archived video of each session following the event and purchase DVDs of the broadcasts via Webcast America’s site. MIAC Media’s Mike Gallagher will handle play-by-play duties for four of the six sessions, with St. Catherine swimming alumnae Lauren Kranig taking over for the other two sessions. There will also be “live” results available online with results updated shortly after the conclusion of each event for fans following the action from afar.
The MIAC has an exclusive Web site for the 2015 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships. The site features the complete event schedule, psych sheet, ticket information and venue information. The site will be constantly updated throughout the event with heat sheets, links to follow the action live, results, recaps, photos and more.
Fans can also monitor MIAC women’s swimming and diving on-the-go thanks to the the MIAC mobile app, which is a free download for both Apple and Android devices. Also, connect to the conference on its Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages and use the official event hashtag #MIACSD to interact throughout the championships.