After three days of competition at the 2011 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships, the Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team finished in third place with a three-day total of 612 points, picking up 208 points on Saturday night. St. Olaf scored 759.5 points to win the 2011 MIAC Championship. St. Thomas came in second place, rounding out the top three with 640 points.
Whitaker Davis was the top Gustavus swimmer on Saturday, winning the 1650 freestyle in record-breaking fashion. Davis won the mile with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 15:36.96, breaking the MIAC and meet record in the process. John Rice added a third place finish in the 1650 free, touching the wall in 16:16.64, fast enough to make the NCAA B cut. Wes Jones also finished in the top-eight in the event, placing eighth with a time of 16:49.83.
Billy Schultze turned in Gustavus’ other top performance of the night. Schultze came in second place in the 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:06.80. Elliot Hoekstra finished fourth in the 200 breaststroke in 2:11.19.
Paul Kirihara went 1:52.83 in the 200 backstroke, hitting the NCAA B cut and finishing third in the event. Sam Hanson provided the top Gustavus diving performance of the meet by finishing seventh in the three-meter with a score of 785.15.
The Gustavus 400-free relay team of Sam DeFranco, Zach Nachtsheim, Billy Schultze, and Whitaker Davis capped off the meet with a fourth place finish, touching the wall in 3:08.86.
2010-11 MIAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships
Team Champion: St. Olaf
2010-11 MIAC Swimmer-of-the-Year: Chris Bateman, St. Olaf
2010-11 MIAC Diver-of-the-Year: Eric Brenner, Carleton
2010-11 MIAC Swimming Coaches-of-the-Year: Dave and Bob Hauck
2010-11 MIAC Diving Coach-of-the-Year: Gabe Korteum, Carleton/St. Olaf
Final Team Standings
1. St. Olaf – 759.5
2. St. Thomas – 640
3. Gustavus – 612
4. Saint John’s – 564
5. Carleton – 471.5
6. Macalester – 149
7. Saint Mary’s – 133
8. Hamline – 127