The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team picked up wins in eight events, including both relays, to win a season-opening dual against Minnesota State, Mankato, 180-120, on Saturday at the Lund Natatorium in St. Peter.
The Gusties started the meet off on a good note, with the “A” 200 medley relay of junior Scott Hagemeyer (Willmar, Minn.), sophomore Ben Hanson (Minnetonka, Minn.), sophomore Connor Ziegler (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) and junior Brian Amundson (Blaine, Minn.) clocking a 1:39.00 time for the win. Hagemeyer and Amundson later teamed with freshmen Dave Pearson (Woodbury, Minn.) and Tyler Wakefield (Hutchinson, Minn.) to win the 200 freestyle relay by over five seconds. The time of 1:26.89 missed tying the pool record by 0.06 seconds.
Hagemeyer picked up four first-place finishes on the day, adding both the 100 backstroke (53.55 seconds) and 100 freestyle races (47.29 seconds) to the relay victories. Amundson (Jr., ) also added a win to his relay wins, taking the 50 freestyle in a time of 22.00 seconds.
Wakefield, Pearson and Greg Pokorski (So., Rochester, Minn.) each contributed a pair of runner-up finishes for Gustavus. Wakefield finished second in the 200 freestyle (1:48.05) and the 500 freestyle (5:05.20), while Pearson was second in both the 200 breaststroke (2:21.66) and the 50 freestyle (22.53). Pokorski was runner-up in the 1000 freestyle (10:25.18) and the 200 individual medley (2:04.05).
David Hawkinson (Fr., Prior Lake, Minn.) won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving titles, finishing ahead of Minnesota State’s Jake Beggs in both competitions, while freshman Billy Cuevas (Woodbury, Minn.) captured the other Gustavus championship, winning the 200 fly in a time of 2:00.83. Cuevas also picked up a runner-up finish in the 100 fly, placing behind MSU’s Marty Wahle.
Mac Egan (500 and 1000 freestyle), Scott Kent (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Zac Ruzycki (200 backstroke and 200 individual medley) each won a pair of events for the Mavericks.
The Gusties will return to the pool next weekend, hosting MIAC heavyweight St. Olaf in a dual on Friday night at the Lund Natatorium in St. Peter.