INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Gustavus women’s swimming 200 freestyle relay team took 10th place Thursday at the NCAA Division III Championships, earning All-America Honorable Mention status. The team of Kennedy Holwerda (Sr., Willmar, Minn.), Maggie Webster (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), Alyssa Lokensgard (So., St. Peter, Minn.), and Kate Reilly (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) clocked a time of 1:33.88 in the consolation final.
In the prelims, the Gusties tied for eighth place with MIT, each touching the wall in 1:34.51, forcing a one-on-one swim-off to advance to the championship final. In the swim-off, MIT was able to edge the Gusties 1:33.35 to 1:33.79, both times that would have seeded second and third in the prelims.
“Today was a fantastic day,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said. “To do a swim-off at the national meet is pretty cool. They swam so fast in the swim-off and then came back for the night session and put up another great time. I’m really proud of what this team accomplished and excited for the rest of the meet.”
Reilly also swam the 100 butterfly and took 42nd place in 1:00.56. The 400 medley relay team and Webster in the 200 free declared false starts.
On Friday, the women have a day off while Tanner Sonnek (Jr., North Mankato, Minn.) of the men’s team will compete in the 100 breaststroke.