St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s swimming & diving team earned its first victory of the season by winning the inaugural Grace Goblirsch Invitational with a team score of 1,074 on Saturday afternoon at the Vic Gustafson Pool. The Gusties edged second place Carthage College by just 44 points. Morningside College finished third with a score of 418, and Saint Mary’s University rounded out the field in fourth with a 119.
“It was great to see the men get their first victory of the season,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “They have been pushing each other all season so today was a nice payoff for all their hard work. To do it at the Grace Goblrisch Invite is the icing on the cake. The men thrived in what was a fun and intense atmosphere at the Vic. Today’s performance is a great confidence boost and one to build on as we push forward.”
Of the afternoon’s three relay events, Gustavus took gold in two of them. Dante Colucci (Jr., Summit, N.J.), Jacob Stern (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.), Ross Larson (Sr., Brookings, S.D.), and Kurt Youngdahl (Sr., Deephaven, Minn.) teamed up to win the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:39.12. In the 400-freestyle relay, Larson, Zac Solis (Sr., Centennial, Colo.), Jeff Nelson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.), and Youngdahl joined forces to take first in 3:17.10.
Individual standouts included Ross Larson and Zac Solis who combined for three wins and six top three finishes. Larson dominated the backstroke races with golds in the 100 with a time of 55.94 and 200 with a time of 2:04.20. He also finished second in the 500 free in 5:05. 44. Solis posted a time of 1:46.80 to win the 200 free, a 17:26.63 to finish second in the 1,650 free, and a 4:23.79 to go runner-up in the 400 IM.
Kurt Youngdahl and Jacob Stern both provided a pair of top three finishes. Youngdahl took second in the 100 free (49.92) and third in the 50 free (23.37), while Stern went third in both the 100 breaststroke (1:01.52) and 200 breaststroke (2:20.57). Matt Kuckler (So., West St. Paul, Minn.) provided a silver medal in the 200 butterfly (2:10.11), and Ben Miller (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) added a third in the 200 backstroke (2:07.89).
The Gusties will have a short break from competition over Thanksgiving weekend before capping the first half of their season at the Jean Freeman Invitational being held Dec. 5-6 at the Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota.