The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the University of Minnesota Challenge held on Friday and Saturday at the Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The two-day event was the final regular season meet before the Gusties take part in the MIAC Championships on Feb. 17-19. No team scores were kept, as the meet featured teams from around the region across Divisions I, II, and III.
Women
Top performers on the women’s side included Carley Mosher and Alissa Tinklenberg. Mosher turned in three top-10 finishes and two top-20 finishes. She swam a 5:14.74 in the 500 free to take ninth place, a 1:01.02 in the 100 backstroke to take 10th, and a 2:12.70 in the 200 back to also finish 10th. She added an 11th place finish in the 200 IM (2:13.77) and a 17th place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:02.04).
Tinklenberg recorded six finishes in the top-20, two of which were in the top-10. She placed ninth in the 100 back with a time of 1:00.99, and 10th in the 500 free with a time of 5:15.43. Her other top swims came in the 200 back (12th, 2:13.55), 100 free (13th, 54.50), 200 free (1:58.09), and 50 free (20th, 25.14).
Kelsey Lucia registered a top-10 finish by taking sixth in the 50 free, touching the wall in 24.41. Lucia also came in 12th place in the 100 free with a time of 54.33.
Other top Gustavus female performers included Dajana Vidovic, Steph Korba, Marnie Luke, Brogan Barr, and Sarah Hund. Vidovic went 54.04 in the 100 free to take 10th place, and 24.84 in the 500 free to finish 15th. Korba had a good meet in the butterfly races, taking 11th in the 200 (2:18.62) and 14th in the 100 (1:01.61). Luke placed 13th in the 200 butterfly (2:22.17) and 14th in the 400 IM (4:57.98), while Barr took 12th in the 400 IM (4:56.63) and 14th in the 200 butterfly (2:22.79). Hund rounded out the group by taking 14th place in the 50 free (24.82).
The 800-free relay team contributed the top Gustavus performance of the meet by taking first place with a mark of 8:00.81. The 800-free relay team’s time is currently its best of the season, breaking its previous top mark (8:05.78) by over five seconds. Other top performances in the relay events came from the 200-free relay (1:36.91) and 400-medley relay (4:04.45) teams. Both the 200 free and 400 medley finished runner-up.
Men
It was Whitaker Davis and Billy Schultze leading the way on the men’s side. Davis’ top-10 finishes came in the 400 IM, 500 free, and 200 butterfly. He swam a 4:20.59 (7th) in the 400 IM, a 4:38.91 in the 500 free (9th), and a 2:00.35 in the 200 butterfly (10th). Davis also placed 12th in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.02, and 16th in the 200 free with a time of 1:46.01.
Schultze notched Gustavus’ only top-five finish of the meet by taking fifth in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:09.53. His other top-10 mark came in the 200 IM, where he placed eighth in 2:00.18. Schultze’s other top races included the 100 breaststroke (12th, 1:00.32) and 100 free (19th, 48.36).
Other top individual performers for the men’s team included Paul Kirihara, Zach Gardner, Matt Van Fossen, Craig Nordquist, and John Rice. Kirihara recorded strong swims in the backstroke races, placing 10th in the 100 with a time of 54.12, and 17th in the 200 with a time of 2:03.52. Gardner went 4:27.93 in the 400 IM to take 12th, and 2:02.51 in the 200 backstroke to take 14th. Van Fossen placed 15th in the 100 butterfly (53.31), Nordquist came in 18th in the 400 IM (4:32.93), and Rice finished 19th in the 500 free (4:54.08).
The Gustavus 800-relay team turned in the top relay performance of the meet, touching the wall in 7:12.94 to finish third.