The Gustavus men’s and women’s teams got off to a strong start after day one of the Carthage Invitational in Kenosha, Wis. on Friday. The Gustie men had six top five finishes, including first place in the 800 freestyle relay. The Golden Gustie women earned three top five finishes. The meet will concluded Saturday with races starting at 9:00 am.
Ben Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) excelled on the men’s side as he had three top five finishes. Hanson finished in third place in the 200 butterfly (1:55.62), just missing a National “B” qualifying time by :00.43 seconds. He also touched the wall fourth in the 500 freestyle. Hanson was also a member of the winning 800 freestyle relay team (7:01.22). The team members included Billy Cuevas (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.), Skylar Davis (So., Palatine, Ill.), Whitaker Davis (Fy., Palatine, Ill.), and Hanson.
Skylar Davis finished third in the 500 freestyle with a National “B” qualifying time of 4:38.92. In addition to Hanson taking fourth in the event, Matt Stewart (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) touched the wall fifth in the 500 freestyle. Connor Ziegler (Sr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) placed fourth in the 200 butterfly behind Hanson.
On the women’s side, Christi O’Connor (So., Great Falls, Mont.) turned in the top performance by finishing third in the 200 backstroke (2:14.02). Anika Erickson (Fy., Milaca, Minn.) stopped the clock fourth in the 100 breaststroke in 1:11.06, while Carrie Gundersen was the other top five finisher for the women. Gundersen (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) finished fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:23.67).
No team scores were provided.