The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team has qualified ten swimmers to compete in the 2006 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The championships will take place March 16-18 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carleton College will serve as this year’s host. The Gusties will be competing in four relay events and nine individual events.
The swimmers include Brian Amundson (Junior, Blaine, Minn.), Clement Auyeung (Freshman, North Mankato, Minn.), Billy Cuevas (Freshman, Woodbury, Minn.), Scott Hagemeyer (Junior, Willmar, Minn.), Ben Hanson (Sophomore, Minnetonka, Minn.), Jeff Pearson (Senior, Woodbury, Minn.), Greg Pokorski (Sophomore, Rochester, Minn.), Matt Stewart (Freshman, Burnsville, Minn.), Tyler Wakefield (Freshman, Hutchinson, Minn.), and Connor Ziegler (Sophomore, Sauk Rapids, Minn.).
Head Coach Jon Carlson’s squad will compete in four of five relay events at the national meet. The Gusties have automatically qualified in the 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay. The team of Matt Stewart, Tyler Wakefield, Brian Amundson and Scott Hagemeyer is seeded third in the 400 freestyle relay heading into the national meet with a conference and a school record time of 3:03.72. The team of Amundson, Clement Auyeung, Wakefield and Hagemeyer is seeded fourth in the 200 freestyle relay with a conference and school record time of 1:22.77.
The team of Ben Hanson, Stewart, Billy Cuevas and Greg Pokorski will compete in the 800 freestyle relay. The Gusties are seeded eighth with a school-record time of 6:50.40. Hanson, Hagemeyer, Amundson and Connor Ziegler are seeded eighth in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:33.89.
Ben Hanson, Scott Hagemeyer, Brian Amundson, Matt Stewart, Connor Ziegler and Jeff Pearson will compete in individual events at the national championships for Gustavus. Hanson is seeded in the top-15 in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 1650 freestyle, setting school records in all three events at the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships. The sophomore is seeded third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:32.46, eighth in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:54.62 and 15th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.64.
Hagemeyer will be competing in three individual events at the championships. The junior recorded provisional qualifying times in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Hagemeyer, the school record holder in all three events, is seeded ninth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 51.61, 11th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 45.85 and 12th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.88.
Amundson will be competing in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle in the national meet. Amundson is seeded 12th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 45.90 and 14th in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.93.
Stewart is seeded 12th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:36.48 and 17th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.84. Ziegler is 17th in both the 100 and 200 butterfly races with times of 50.92 and 1:53.73, respectively.
Jeff Pearson, a senior qualifying for his first national meet, is seeded 14th in the 200 backstroke with a school-record time of 1:52.51.
Gustavus recently won its fifth consecutive MIAC Title and 20th in school history. The Gusties claimed six individual event titles and three relay event titles at the conference meet to finish 65 points ahead of second place St. Olaf College with 867 points. Gustavus set a school record by scoring 176 points and finishing seventh overall at the NCAA Championships last year.
The championships will begin Thursday, March 16 and conclude on Saturday, March 18. Each day, the prelims will begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT) with the finals scheduled to start 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Official NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships Website