Dante Colucci controlled the backstroke races in Gustavus’s loss to Carleton Friday night.
Northfield, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s swimming and diving team began the new year with a 135-110 loss to Carleton College on Friday night at the Thorpe Pool.
“It was a great meet from start to finish,” commented Head Coach Jon Carlson. “The two teams traded races back-and-forth before Carleton came through in the end and put the meet away with a strong finish. I was proud of the way the guys swam – it’s a good way start to January and the rest of the season.”
Gustavus benefited from the standout performances of Zac Solis (Sr., Centennial, Colo.), Dante Colucci (Jr., Summit, N.J.), and Kurt Youngdahl (Sr., Deephaven, Minn.). Solis dominated the distance races with a pair of victories in the 500 freestyle in 4:54.58 and 1,000 freestyle in 10:10.06. Colucci ruled the backstroke by winning the 100 with a time of 54.21 and 200 with a time of 2:01.54. Youngdahl out-touched the field in the 100 free (49.07) and added a fourth place finish in the 50 free (22.30).
Also posting multiple finishes inside the top three was Jeff Nelson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.), Jacob Stern (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.), and Anders Wallock (Fr., Wheaton, Ill.). Nelson provided big points with a a pair of second place swims in the 200 free (1:50.58) and 200 IM (2:05.50). Stern took third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.91 and 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:20.38. Wallock recorded third place performances in the 500 free in 5:12.77 and 1,000 free in 10.39.38.
The Gustavus swimming and diving team will be back in the pool next weekend when it travels to Grinnell, Iowa to take part Grinnell College Invitational on Jan. 16-17.