The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team finished in second place with 661 points at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Collegeville, Minn. The Gusties tallied four event wins on the day, two of which were by Paul Kirihara who won the 100 (55.15) and 200 backstroke (2:00.67). Saint Cloud State University won the meet with 829 points.
Whitaker Davis had a solid day and contributed significant points by winning the 500 freestyle (4:49.20) and taking second in both the 200 freestyle (1:45.79) and 200 butterfly (2:03.63). Skylar Davis tallied Gustavus’s other win by taking the 400 IM (4:18.72). Other top Gustavus finishers included Andrew Michelson, William Schultze, and Matt Van Fossen. Michelson took third in the 1000 free (10:56.51), Van Fossen finished third in the 100 butterfly (54.44), and Schultze placed third in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.71).
The 200 medley relay team of Kirihara, Schultze, Van Fossen and Sam DeFranco took third (1:39.85) while the 800 free relay team of Skylar, Whitaker, Shultze, and Gunnar Teigen took third (3:13.98). The University of St. Thomas placed third (657 pts) in the meet while Saint John’s took fourth (364 pts).
The Gustavus swimming and diving team will be in action next on January 15, when it hosts Carleton College in a dual meet at 6:00 p.m. in the Lund Natatorium.