St. Paul – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams got their last taste of competition before the MIAC Championships this weekend at the MIAC Invitational held at the St. Thomas Natatorium on Friday and Saturday. No team scores were kept at the meet.
On the women’s side, the Gusties recorded six individual event victories. Alissa Tinklenberg (Sr., Willmar, Minn.) and Danielle Klunk (Jr., Appleton, Wis.) led the way by providing two of those wins each. Tinklenberg won the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.60 and the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.18. Klunk took first in the 200 free in 1:57.52 and 200 butterfly in 2:11.11.
Jennifer Strom (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) and Megan Tuttle (Jr., Deephaven, Minn.) registered wins and another finish on the podium. Strom swam a 2:27.27 to take the 200 breastroke and also posted a 1:08.95 to finished runner-up in the 100 breaststroke. Tuttle touched the wall in 18:19.52 to win the 1,650-free and finished third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:50.91.
Hayley Booher (Fy., Warrant, Vt.) tallied the squad’s other first place swim in the 200 back where she recorded a time of 2:10.10.
The Gustavus men’s team’s lone victory of the weekend came in the 800-free relay. Dave Brazel (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.), Ross Larson (Jr., Brookings, S.D.), Zach Garnder (Sr., Bloomington, Minn.), and Seth Berry (Fr., Bloomington, Minn.) teamed up to win the race by over two seconds with a time of 7:27.36.
Zach Garnder had a busy weekend, turning in three finishes inside the top five. He placed fourth in the 400 IM (4:25.42), and fifth in both the 200 IM (2:02.86) and 500 free (4:57.05).
Andy Olson (So., Elk River, Minn.), Peter Crady (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.), and Bennet Woltjer (So., Kandiyohi, Minn.) all added a finish on the podium. Olson finished third in the 1,650 free in 17:43.98 and took fifth in the 400 IM in 4:27.95. Crady came in third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.30, while Wolter’s top diving mark came in the one-meter competition where he scored a 230.20.
The Gustavus swimming and diving teams will now hit the pool for two weeks of final tune-ups for the MIAC Championships set to take place on Feb. 13-15 at the Aquatic Center located on the campus of the University of Minnesota.