Grinnell, Iowa – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a strong showing on the opening day of the Grinnell Invitational being held on Friday and Saturday at Russell K. Osgood Pool located in the Grinnell Natatorium in the Charles Benson Bear Recreation and Athletic Center. With five event wins on the first day, the Gustie women lead the 10-team field with 571.5 points. On the men’s side, Gustavus sits in third place with 486 points after earning one event victory.
Trailing the Gustavus women’s team is Luther College in second place with 391 points and the University of Nebraska, Omaha in third place with 377 points. The men’s squad trails Grinnell College and Augustana College who sit in first (586) and second place (546), respectively.
Recording individual victories for the Gustie women was Alissa Tinklenberg (Sr., Willmar, Minn.), Danielle Klunk (Jr., Appleton, Wis.), and Hayley Booher (Fy., Warren, Vt.). Tinklenberg won the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.14 and added a second place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 58.20. Klunk touched the wall first in the 200 butterfly in 2:13.29 and also came in runner-up in the 100 free in 53.43. Booher rounds out the trio with a gold medal in the 200 individual medley after out-touching her competitors with time of 2:11.76.
Other individual standouts on the women’s side included Jennifer Strom (Jr., Rochester, Minn.) and Katie Olson (Jr., North Oaks, Minn.). Strom recoded back-to-back second place finishes in the 500 free (5:18.93) and 200 breaststroke (2:26.38), while Olson came in third in the 100 free (53.96).
Gustavus won two of the three relay events on the women’s side. Oslon, Klunk, Tarin Anding (So., Sartell, Minn.), and Tinklenberg joined together to win the 200-free relay with a time of 1:38.89. In the 400-medley relay, Tinklenberg, Strom, Klunk, and Olson teamed up to earn the top spot on podium with a 3:57.52.
The Gustavus men’s team did its damage in the relays where the Gusties posted one win and two third place finishes. In the 200-free relay, Jeff Nelson (So., Maple Grove, Minn.), Sam Olson-Anstett (Sr., Shoreview, Minn.), Dante Colucci (So., Summit, N.J.), and Kurt Youngdahl (Jr., Deephaven, Minn.) partnered to win the race with a time of 1:29.47.
Nelson, Jacob Stern (So., Rosemount, Minn.), Matt Kuckler (Fr., St. Paul, Minn.), and Zac Solis (Jr., Centennial, Colo.) touched the wall in 7:24.82 to place third in the 800-free relay, while Colucci, Stern, Olson-Anstett, and Youngdahl recorded a time of 3:42.43 to also place third in the 400-meter relay.
Gustie male swimmers tallying top three finishes included Jacob Stern, Zac Solis, and Jeff Nelson. Stern led the way with a second place mark in the 200 breaststroke after swimming a 2:15.54. Solis placed third in the 500 free with a time of 4:47.20, and Nelson took third in the 100 free with a time of 49.11.
In the day’s diving competition, Bennet Woltjer (So., Kandiyohi, Minn.) placed second in the one-meter with a score of 442.70, while his teammate, Sam Hanson (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.), finished next in line in third with a 361.75.
The 2014 Grinnell Invitational will come to an end on Saturday, Jan. 18. Preliminaries will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 5:00 p.m.