The Gustavus men’s swimming and diving team recently claimed its fourth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Title and 18th in school history. The Gusties recorded nine individual event titles and four relay event titles to compile 876 points to finish 56 points ahead of second place Saint Olaf College. Gustavus freshman Ben Hanson (Minnetonka, Minn.) won three individual events and anchored a winning relay team and was named the MIAC Male Swimmer of the Meet. Head coach Jon Carlson was named the MIAC Men’s Co-Coach of the Year along with Dave Hauck from Saint Olaf College. The conference meet took place at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center in Minneapolis, Minn. February 17-19.
Gustavus had 11 different individuals earn all-conference honors. Senior Will Sutor (Fergus Falls, Minn.), sophomore Scott Hagemeyer (Willmar, Minn.), and freshman Ben Hanson (Minnetonka, Minn.) each claimed three event titles earning all-conference in each. Sutor won the 100-yard butterfly with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 50.02 and set a MIAC Meet record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:53.53, which is a NCAA provisional qualifying time. The senior also claimed the 200-yard individual medley event with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:53.84.
Sophomore Scott Hagemeyer repeated as conference champion in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke claiming all-conference honors in each. Hagemeyer recorded a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 50.61 in the 100-yard backstroke, which also set a new MIAC record. The sophomore also recorded a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 45.57 in the 100-yard freestyle and a NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.93.
Freshman Ben Hanson Hanson won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:36.92, which is a NCAA provisional qualifying time and a new MIAC meet record. Hanson claimed the 200-yard freestyle title with NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:42.81. The Minnetonka native also claimed the 1650-yard freestyle event eight seconds ahead of the competition with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:02.75 setting a MIAC meet record. Hanson earned MIAC All-Conference honors in each of the events listed above and was named MIAC Male Swimmer of the Meet.
Sophomores Brian Amundson (Blaine, Minn.) and TJ McMillan (Tonka Bay, Minn.) earned multiple all-conference honors. Amundson claimed all-conference honors with second place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. The sophomore added his third honor by placing third in the 200-yard freestyle. McMillan earned all-conference honors in two events. The sophomore placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke and third in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Junior Jeff Pearson (Woodbury, Minn.) and first-year Connor Ziegler (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) also earned all-conference honors. Pearson placed second in the 200-yard backstroke with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:53.59. Ziegler placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:55.49.
Gustavus earned all-conference honors in all five relays events, claiming event titles in four. The team of Hagemeyer, Amundson, Sutor, and senior Evan Christianson (Hutchinson, Minn.) won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:22.89. The winning time set a new MIAC record and automatically qualified the relay team for the NCAA Championships. The same team won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:04.61, which set a new MIAC meet record.
The team of Hagemeyer, junior Brad Hammer (Rock Island, Ill.), first-year Jonah Winter (Park Rapids, Minn.), and Amundson won the 200-yard medley relay. The team recorded a time of 1:33.59, which is a NCAA provisional qualifying time. The 800-yard medley team of Sutor, first-year Greg Pokorski (Rochester, Minn.), Amundson, and Hanson recorded a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 6:53.58 to claim the relay event title. The team of Hagemeyer, Hammer, Sutor, and Hanson earned all-conference honors with a second place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. The team recorded a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:28.07.
Gustavus’ fourth consecutive conference title is an accomplishment that has only been achieved one other time in school history. The Gusties claimed six straight conference titles from 1954-1960. The season is not over for Gustavus as six swimmers will be competing at the 2005 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. The swimmers include Brian Amundson, Evan Christianson, Scott Hagemeyer, Ben Hanson, Greg Pokorski, and Will Sutor. The championships will be hosted by Hope College in Holland, Michigan March 17-19.