Grinnell, Iowa – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s swimming and diving team used a strong finish to move ahead one spot into a second place standing with a two-day total of 976 points at the 2015 Grinnell College Invitational held over the weekend at the Grinnell Natatorium in the Charles Benson Bear Recreation and Athletic Center. The Gusties scored 505 points on Saturday to move ahead of Augustana College who finished third with 915 points. Host Grinnell won the six-team meet with a score of 1,212 over the weekend.
“The men’s team knew it had to put together a strong finish if it was going to move ahead of Augustana on the final day,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “With all-out effort and sure will, the men accomplished that goal and finished the meet with a victory in the 400-free relay. We swam with a lot of confidence all weekend and I expect this meet to be a springboard to future success the rest of our season.”
Gustavus’s 400-free relay comprised of Ross Larson (Sr., Brookings, S.D.), Zac Solis (Sr., Centennial, Minn.), Jeff Nelson (Jr., Maple Grove, Minn.), and Kurt Youngdahl (Sr., Deephaven, Minn.) took gold after touching the wall in 3:13.73. Larson, Jacob Stern (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.), Ben Miller (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa), and Youngdahl rounded out the day’s relay events with a third place effort in the 200-medley-relay with a time of 1:39.64.
To go along with a relay win, the Gusties also benefited from pair of individual race victories courtesy of Zac Solis and Kurt Youngdahl. Solis took gold in the 200 free with a time of 1:46.01, while Youngdahl took care of business in the 500 free with a time of 22.01.
Jacob Stern rounded out the day’s top swims with a third place performance in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:02.29.
The Gustavus swimming and diving team will close out their MIAC schedule on Saturday, Jan. 24 with a home dual against the University of St. Thomas beginning at 1:00 p.m. in the Vic Gustafson Pool.