Matt Stewart’s seventh place finish in the 500 freestyle highlighted Gustavus’ first day at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships which are being held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. Stewart, a senior from Burnsville, posted a time of 4:28.02 in the preliminaries Wednesday morning, which was good for eighth place and a spot in finals. In the finals on Wednesday night, Stewart registered a time of 4:27.85 for a seventh place finish. Alex Fraser of Amherst finished first in a time of 4:21.95. Stewart earned All-America honors by finishing in the top eight.
Whitaker and Skylar Davis also swam the 500 freestyle, however neither qualified for the consolation or finals races. Whitaker Davis finished 24th in a time of 4:35.79 and Skylar finished 26th in a time of 4:38.5.
Carrie Gundersen turned in the finest performance of her career in 500 freestyle and finished tenth in a conference and school record time of 4:57.25. Gundersen had qualified for the national meet with a time of 5:01.05 and posted a time of 4:59.18 in the preliminaries on Wednesday morning.
Anika Erickson also swam the 50 freestyle in the preliminaries. Erickson finished 58th in a time of 25.40.
The Gustavus men’s 200 medley relay team of Dave Pearson, Skylar Davis, Matt Stewart, and Whitaker Davis finished 20th in a time of 1:37.50.
Thursday will be a big day for Gustavus as Matt Stewart will swim the 200 butterfly and the 200 free. Stewart enters the national meet seeded first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:49.28 and eighth in the 200 free with a time of 1:39.42. The Gustie men will also take part in the 200 free relay and the 400 medley relay. Carrie Gundersen will represent the women’s team as she will compete in the 200 freestyle.