Ben Hanson finished in the top five in three individual events during the weekend.
Christi O’Connor had a top five finish in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
The Gustavus women’s swimming team finished second with 1,224 points behind St. Cloud State University after the Carthage Invitational concluded on Saturday in Kenosha, Wis. The Gustavus men’s swimming team turned in a fifth place performance with 852 points behind first place St. Cloud State University. Both squads turned in twelve more top five finishes including one National “B” Provisional qualifying finish on Saturday.
Gustavus Men’s Swimming Highlights
Matt Stewart (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) edged out teammate Ben Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) for first place in the 200 freestyle by 0.35 seconds. Stewart’s time of 1:43.59 just missed the NCAA “B” Provisional qualifying time by 0.27 seconds.
The Davis brothers turned in top five performances in the 1650 freestyle as Skylar (So., Palatine, Ill.) finished third in 16:18.19 for a NCAA “B” Provisional qualifying time, while Whitaker (Fy., Palatine, Ill.) touched the wall fifth.
The other top five finishes for the day included Connor Ziegler (Sr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) finishing third in the 100 butterfly (52.21), the 400 freestyle relay team finishing fifth (3:13.4) and the 200 medley relay team finishing fifth (1:38.28). Tyler Wakefield (Jr., Hutchinson, Minn.), Hanson, Stewart, and Ziegler were members of the 400 freestyle team. The 200 medley relay team members included Paul Kirihara (Fy., Bloomington, Minn.), Jonah Winter (Sr., Park Rapids, Minn.), Ziegler, and Stewart.
Gustavus Women’s Swimming Highlights
Anika Erickson (Fy., Milaca, Minn.) claimed the only first place finish by the Gustavus women’s swim team during the two-day meet in the 200 breaststroke in 2:30.43. Carrie Gundersen (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) came close as she finished second in the 1650 freestyle (18:33.57).
Christi O’Connor (So., Great Falls, Mont.) continued to shine as she finished fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:02.05) and was a member of two top five relay teams. O’Connor was joined by Erickson, Alecia Gooch (Sr., Minot, N.D.), and Janae Piehl (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) for fifth place in the 200 medley relay (1:55.26). O’Connor was also a member of the 400 freestyle relay team that finished third in 3:43.90 with Gundersen, Piehl, and Britney Manthey (Jr., Rochester, Minn.).
This weekend’s meet was the last competition for the Gustavus swim team before the Christmas Holiday. Both squads will next compete at the St. John’s/St. Benedict Winter Invitational on Saturday, January 8.