Minneapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the opening day of the Jean Freeman Invitational held Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota on Friday night. It was junior Alissa Tinklenberg (Willmar, Minn.) stealing the show for the Gusties after breaking the school record in the 200 individual medley, meeting the NCAA B cut in the 500 freestyle, and contributing to a pair of first place relay teams. No team scores were kept at the meet.
“Both the men and women swam beautifully tonight and this was a great turnaround performance for them both,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “Tinklenberg was obviously the headliner, breaking the school record in the 200 IM and also hitting a B cut in the 500. An amazing swim by her in the 200 IM, you just don’t see many records fall this early in the season. Hopefully we can build on our success tonight and finish the weekend strong tomorrow.”
Tinklenberg swam to a first place finish in the 500 free with a time of 5:00.90, besting the NCAA B cut standard of 5:03.19 by over three seconds. She then set a new Gustavus record in the 200 IM after touching the wall in 2:08.85. The previous school record mark of 2:09.48 was held by Carley Mosher and set in 2010.
Tink also joined Tarin Anding (Sartell, Minn.), Sophia Iaquinta (Lincoln, Neb.), and Katie Olson (North Oaks, Minn.) on the first place 200-free relay team. The group won the race with a time of 1:37.06, edging the second place squad from South Dakota State by .80 of a second.
The 400-medley relay team of Tinklenberg, Anding, Laura Drake (Mendota Heights, Minn.), and Olson also claimed the top spot on the podium after going 4:00.68, which was more than eight seconds faster than second place Saint Benedict.
Other top performers on the women’s side included Katie Olson, Laura Drake, and McKenna Jones (Faribault, Minn.). Olson earned a place on the podium with a third place finish in the 50 free after turning in a time of 24.30. Drake finished fourth in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.31, and Jones rounded out the group with a fifth place mark in the 500 free after swimming a 5:18.27.
Top swimmers on the men’s side included Kurt Youngdahl (Wayzata, Minn.), Jacob Stern (Rosemount, Minn.), and Zac Solis (Centennial, Colo.).
Youngdahl swam to a seventh place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:00.06. Stern swam a 5:00.44 in the 500 free to finish ninth, and Solis placed 10th in the 200 IM after a 2:01.59 swim.
The 200-free relay team made up of Youngdahl, Elliot Hoekstra (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Sam Olson-Anstett (Shoreview, Minn.), and Chris Bram (Rochester, Minn.) posted Gustavus’ best male relay finish of the night by taking sixth place with a time of 1:27.43.
The Jean Freeman Invitational will conclude on Saturday, Dec. 1 with two sessions. The first will begin at 11:00 a.m. and the second will start at 6:00 p.m.