A Gustavus swimmer in the midst of a butterfly stroke
A swimmer pushes to finish a breaststroke
The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team turned in a strong performance by finishing first at the Gustavus Invitational at Lund Natatorium on Saturday. The Gusties claimed top honors with 1,252 points, well ahead of Division II Minnesota State University, Mankato at 573.5 points, St. Thomas at 536 points, and Saint Mary’s at 147.5 points. Coach Carlson’s squad grabbed seven top finishes in the last meet before the MIAC Championships.
Event winners included Matt Stewart in the 200 freestyle (1:44.18) and the 200 butterfly (1:57.80), Casey Enevoldsen in the 1650 freestyle at 17:34.75, Craig Nordquist in the 200 backstroke (2:01.70), Skylar Davis in the 500 freestyle (4:46.72), and Billy Cuevas in the 200 IM at 1:59.47. The 200 freestyle relay of Jonah Winter, Tyler Wakefield, Clement Auyeung, and Stewart touched the wall first in 1:26.67.
The Gusties also showed their depth with eleven second-place finishes as well. Tyler Wakefield took second in the 50 and 100 freestyle in 22.24 and 48.43, respectively. Dave Pearson swam well as he finished second in the 200 breaststroke (2:22.58) and the 200 IM (2:03.00). Skylar Davis touched the wall second in the 400 IM (4:18.44), while Ben Hanson took second-place in the 200 freestyle at 1:44.30. Other runner-up finishes included Stewart in the 100 butterfly (52.47), Cuevas in the 200 butterfly (2:00.98), Greg Pokorski in the 200 backstroke (2:04.01), and Whitaker Davis in the 500 freestyle (4:56.81). The 200 medley relay team of Paul Kirihara, Connor Ziegler, Winter, and Stewart also finished second in 1:38.76.
Gustavus will compete at the MIAC Championships on February 14-16 at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center.