The Anderson Pool on the campus of St. Thomas, site of this weekend's MIAC Invite.
St. Paul – In their final regular season meet before the 2013 MIAC Championships, the Gustavus men’s and women’s swimming and diving team competed in the two-day MIAC Invitational hosted by the University of St. Thomas in the Anderson Pool on Feb. 1-2. Although there were no team scores kept at the keep, the Gusties had a strong showing in their final competition against collegiate opponents before the conference meet.
Alissa Tinklenberg paced the Three Crowns with a win and four second place finishes on the weekend.
Leading the Black and Gold on the women’s side was Alissa Tinklenberg (Jr., Willmar, Minn.) who was certainly kept busy over the weekend, recording five individual top-three finishes and assisting in the top-three marks of four different relays.
On a solo level, Tinklenberg’s top swim of the two-day meet came in a first place finish in the 400 individual medley where she touched the wall in 4:46.50. Along with her 400 IM victory, Tinklenberg added four runner-up swims. She posted times of 1:00.33 and 2:10.22 in the 100 and 200 backstroke races, respectively, went 5:17.40 in the 500 freestyle, and rounded the weekend out with a 2:15.60 in the 200 IM.
Rookie Ashley Lager (St. Peter, Minn.) also had a good meet with three swims that put her on the podium. Lager’s top swim came in the 100 backstroke where she finished first just ahead of her teammate Tinklenberg with a time of 59.30. She also added third place marks in the 200 free (2.00.70) and 200 back (2:13.34).
Providing Gustavus’ final two individual event wins of the weekend was Brogan Barr (Jr., Pueblo West, Colo.) and Julia Kramer (Fy., Burnsville, Minn.). Barr won the 200 butterfly after touching the wall in 1:45.75, while Kramer took the 200 breaststroke after posting a time of 2:30.39.
Rounding out the squad’s top individual performers was Morgan Field (Fy., Albert Lea, Minn.), Kimberlie Massey (Fy., Great Falls, Mont.), and Gabe Gazzola (So., Woodbury, Minn.). Field placed runner-up in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:08.60, and Massey added third place swims in the 400 IM (4:55.48) and 1,650 free (18:50.80). Gazzola rounds out the group by taking third in the 200 IM (2:16.98).
The Gusties’ top relay performance came on Saturday afternoon when the 800-free relay team comprised of Leah Anderson (Fy., Apple Valley, Minn.), McKenna Jones (SO., Faribault, Minn.), Ashley Lager, and Alissa Tinklenberg out-touched the field with a time of 8:01.95.
Zac Solis provided three fifth place marks for the Gustie men.
On the men’s side, Zac Solis (So., Centennial, Colo.) was the top Gustie swimmer after recording three finishes inside the top five. Solis placed fifth in the 500 free (4:57.64), 400 IM (4:29.08), and 200 back (2:01.16).
Andy Olson (Fr., Zimmerman, Minn.) turned in the men’s team’s top swim of the weekend with a runner-up finish in the 1,650 free, finishing in 17:51.16.
Zach Gardner (Jr., Bloomington, Minn.) came in fourth in the 400 IM in 4:27.67 and fifth in the 200 IM in 2:03.60, while Dante Colucci (Fr., Summit, N.J.) placed fifth in the 100 back with a time of 56.44.
The Gustavus swimming and diving teams will now have two weeks to prepare for the 2013 MIAC Championships which will be held Feb. 14-16 at the Aquatic Center of the campus of the University of Minnesota.