Photo Courtesy of MIAC Championships - BJ Pickard
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – For the 24th time in program history, the Gustavus men’s swim & dive team is the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion. The men accumulated an impressive 1,030 points over the four-day event. Saint John’s took second with 731 points. The Gustie women finished in second with 714 points. St Kate’s won the meet with 809 points.
“I’m very pleased with the weekend, the team stepped up time and time again,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “The men put on a dominating performance all the way through. The women’s team put up a good battle but St. Kate’s is a very tough opponent. We’ll now wait and see where the swimmers who got national cuts will fall. All in all, it was about as perfect as a weekend a coach could ask for.”
Additionally, sophomore Matt Strom was named MIAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year and Head Coach Jon Carlson was awarded Men’s Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year.
“Matt winning Men’s Swimmer of the Year was very deserving, he dominated the three events he was in and I’m proud that he earned it.”
Matt Strom led off for the Gusties winning the 1650 Free with a finals time of 15:47.27 and Callen Zemek came in right after at 15:49.42 for second place with both times qualifying for B cut.
Peyton Richardson and Dane Hudson placed second and third in the 200 Backstroke, Richardson touched the wall at 1:52.67 and Hudson clocked a 1:54.23.
Marit Isaacson was the top finisher for the Gusties in the 200 Backstroke (2:05.58), while Annika Johns placed sixth with a time of 2:08.16, and Mikayla Witte came in eighth (2:09.36).
Junior Andrew Becker set a new school record in the 100 Free with a time of 44.66, beating out the previous time of 45:00 recorded in 2019. The time also qualified as a 2019 selection time. Dutch Franko-Dynes clocked a 46.14 in second and Kieran Ripken took third (46.21).
Continuing to set new program records, Ellen Hofstede broke her own record from last season (50.81) in the 100 Free with a 50.10, proving solid for ST19 and B cut. Lucy Peterson placed fourth in the event (52.88).
Newcomer Nyden Hill won the 200 Breaststroke for Gustavus, touching the wall at 2:05.80 with Tyler Teichmiller right behind him in second (2:06.67).
First-year Jonathon Cordano took first place in the 200 Fly (1:54.40) while Erik Small took second (1:54.41).
Lillie Ortloff was the top Gustie finisher in the 200 Fly, ranking sixth (2:13.61).
On the diving board, sophomores Kaja Pratt (402.45) and Emmalyn Dickerson (496.75) placed third and fifth in the 1 meter five for NCAA A Qualification.
The team of Andrew Becker, Kieran Ripken, Dane Hudson, and Dutch Franko-Dyne won the 400 Relay with a time of 3:01.49. The Gustie women placed second with the team of Marit Isaacson, Abby Yartz, Lucy Peterson, and Ellen Hofstede (3.27.81) which proved solid for ST19 time and B Cut.
Now the Gusties will wait to see which individuals are selected to compete in the NCAA Championships.