The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s swimming and diving team had six swimmers earn All-America honors at the 2006 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The championships took place March 16-18 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The swimmers include Brian Amundson (Jr., Blaine, Minn.), Clement Auyeung (Fr., North Mankato, Minn.), Scott Hagemeyer (Jr., Willmar, Minn.), Ben Hanson (So., Minnetonka, Minn.), Matt Stewart (Fr., Burnsville, Minn.) and Tyler Wakefield (Fr., Hutchinson, Minn.).
Coach Jon Carlson’s squad earned All-America honors in two relay events by placing in the top eight and honorable mention All-America honors in three others. Individually, the Gusties had one individual earn All-America honors and four individuals earn honorable mention All-America honors.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Matt Stewart, Tyler Wakefield, Brian Amundson and Scott Hagemeyer posted the best Gustie finish at the 2006 Championship, placing sixth with a time of 3:04.60 to earn All-America honors. Amundson, Wakefield and Hagemeyer also teamed with Clement Auyeung to claim All-America honors in the 200 freestyle relay with an eighth-place time of 1:23.47. The 200 freestyle relay also eclipsed the school record by 0.02 seconds with a 1:22.75 clocking in the preliminaries.
The team of Matt Stewart, Greg Pokorski (So., Rochester, Minn.), Billy Cuevas (Fr., Woodbury, Minn.) and Ben Hanson earned honorable mention All-America honors with an 11th-place time of 6:51.38 in the 800 freestyle relay.
Gustavus also picked up honorable mention All-America honors with 12th place finishes in both medley relays. The 400 medley relay of Jeff Pearson (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.), Hanson, Connor Ziegler (So., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) and Amundson finished with a time of 3:30.54, while the 200 medley relay of Hagemeyer, Hanson, Ziegler and Amundson touched the wall with a time of 1:35.09.
Ben Hanson was the lone individual earning All-America honors for Gustavus. Hanson broke his own school record in the 1650 freestyle with an eighth-place time of 15:52.72. Hanson also earned honorable mention honors with a 12th place finish in the 500 freestyle. The sophomore stopped the clock with a time of 4:34.73.
Brian Amundson, Scott Hagemeyer, Matt Stewart and Connor Ziegler earned honorable mention All-America honors by placing in the top sixteen of their event. Amundson earned honorable mention honors in the 100 freestyle by placing ninth with a time of 45.78 seconds.
Stewart earned honorable mention honors in the 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. The freshman finished 11th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:34.34 and 13th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:41.78, breaking Ben Hanson’s school record in the 200 freestyle with a clocking of 1:41.62 in the preliminaries.
Hagemeyer earned honorable mention honors in the 50 freestyle. The junior finished in a tie for 15th with a time of 21.25. Amundson narrowly missed honorable mention honors after qualifying in a three-way tie for 15th place. He was the odd-man out in the ensuing swim-off and finished in 17th place.
Ziegler was the final Gustie to claim honorable mention All-America honors as an individual, placing 16th in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:53.73. The sophomore eclipsed Will Sutor’s school-record time of 1:53.53 with a 1:52.59 clocking in the preliminaries.
The Gusties recorded 118 points to place eleventh out of 53 teams at the national meet. The eleventh place finish is the third-highest finish in school history at the national championships. In February, the Gusties claimed their fifth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Title and 20th in school history. Gustavus recorded 867 points to finish 65 points ahead of second place St. Olaf College.