St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus women’s swimming and diving team posted a team score of 1,093.5 to take first place at a triangular that featured UW-Stevens Point and Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday afternoon at the Vic Gustafson Pool. UW-Stevens Point finished second with a score of 795.5, while MSU, Mankato took third with a 766. The Gusties turned in a total of 10 event victories and 18 top three finishes.
“I’m very pleased with how the women swam and competed,” said head coach Jon Carlson. “This was a meet we needed to step up in and they went out and did that. It’s exciting to think about what this team will look like later in the season because right now the sky is the limit.”
The marquee swimmer of the afternoon was senior Jennifer Strom (Rochester, Minn.) who led the way with gold medal swims in all three of the individual events she competed in. Strom dominated the breaststroke races with first place finishes in the 100 in 1:07.41 and 200 in 2:26.10, and added a third win in the 100 butterfly in 59.55.
Behind Strom’s standout effort was that of Hayley Booher’s (So., Warren, Vt.). Booher provided Gustavus two individual event wins by taking the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.44 and the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.49. She also posted a second place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:13.00.
Other Gustavus individuals turning in first place finishes included Leah Anderson (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), Kate Reilly (Fy., Hastings, Minn.), and Katie Olson (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.). Anderson won the 500 free with a time of 5:23.52, and tacked on a pair of third place swims in the 100 free (55.09) and 200 free (2:01.57). Reilly touched the wall first in the 200 IM (2:11.00) and added a runner-up finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.96). Olson rounded out the group by swimming a 24.61 to win the 50 free and a 1:01.21 to take third in the 100 butterfly.
Other top individual performers included Danielle Klunk (Sr., Appleton, Wis.), Tarin Anding (Jr., Sartell, Minn.), and Sammy Jagler (Fy., Eagan, Minn.). Klunk finished runner-up in both the 100 (1:00.93) and 200 (2:17.03) butterfly races, Anding finished third in both the 100 (1:10.81) and 200 (2:34.51) breaststroke events, and Jagler took third place in the 200 butterfly (2:17.33)
To go along with their prowess in individual races, the Gusties also tallied gold in both of the meet’s relay events. Danielle Klunk, Jenny Strom, Kate Reilly, and Katie Olson teamed up to win the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:48.85, and Reilly, Klunk, Tarin Anding, and Olson joined forces to win the 200-free relay with a time of 1:38.39.
The Gustavus swimming and diving team will be back in the pool on Friday, Nov. 14 when it travels to Northfield, Minnesota for an evening dual against St. Olaf College. The meet is set to begin at 6:00 p.m.
NOTES: Kate Reilly’s performance in the 200 IM broke the Vic Gustafson Pool record of 2:12.29 set by Andrea Kleven in 2001. Kleven’s mark in the 200 IM was the longest standing individual record at the Vic…The 200-medley relay team broke St. Thomas’s Vic Gustafson Pool record of 1:49.21 set in 2013.