The Gustavus women’s swimming and diving team team competed at the Minnesota Challenge hosted by the University of Minnesota at the U of M Aquatics Center on Friday and Saturday. No team scores were kept, but the Gusties swam well, particularly in the relay events. The 200 free relay team of Emily Amundsen, Jonna Berry, Serena Elthon, and Dajanna Vidovic started the meet off with a splash as it finished third in a time of 1:40.28.
After the 200 free relay kicked things off in fine fashion on Friday, the 400 medley relay team of Jonna Berry, Anika Erickson, Steph Korba, and Dajanna Vidovic finished the day with a fifth place finish in a time of 4:12.41. On Saturday, the 800 free relay squad of Berry, Mary J. Behr, Vidovic, and Carrie Gundersen posted a fourth place finish (8:14.07) and the 400 free relay team of Emily Amundsen, Carrie Gundersen, Janae Piehl, and Vidovic placed sixth in a time of 3:45.99.
Individually, Carrie Gundersen led the way with a third place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:14.12). Gundersen also recorded a 12th place finish in the 100 free (56.09), and a 13th place finish in the 200 free in a time of 2:00.63. Other top individual performances included Anika Erickson placing seventh in the 200 backstroke (2:31.81), Marnie Luke finishing eighth in the 400 individual medley (4:55.94) and ninth in the 200 butterfly (2:20.68), and Dajanna Vidovic finishing 8th in the 100 free with a time of 55.62).free relay team of Matt Stewart, Clem Auyeung, Dave Pearson, and Tyler Wakefield also placed second (3:10.62). Gustie relay teams took three of the top six spots in the 400 free relay as the Gustie team of Gunnar Tiegen, Lance Switzer, Peter Roth, and Zach Nachtsheim tied another Gustavus relay team of Craig Nordquist, Whitaker Davis, Skylar Davis, and Billy Schultze for fifth place with identical times of 3:17.93.
Individually, some of the top performances of the weekend included Dave Pearson (54.22), Paul Kirihara (54.66), and Zach Nachtsheim (54.85) finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively in the 100 backstroke, Matt Stewart finishing sixth in the 100 butterfly (51.72) and seventh in the 200 butterfly (1:57.00), Casey Enevoldsen placing seventh in the 1650 freestyle (17:04.38), and Skylar Davis finishing seventh in the 400 individual medley (4:21.16).
The Gusties will now spend the next two weeks tapering for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships which will be held at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center, Feb. 19-21. The Gusties, who are the defending champions, have won six MIAC titles in the past seven years.