Minneapolis – The Gustavus Adolphus swimming and diving teams got in its final competition before the fast-approaching MIAC Championships this weekend by competing in the Minnesota Challenge on Friday and Saturday in the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.
The women’s relays stole the show all weekend with three wins and another second place finish. On opening night, the 200-freestyle relay comprised of Tarin Anding (Jr., Sartell, Minn.), Kate Reilly (Fy., Hastings, Minn.), Danielle Klunk (Sr., Appleton, Wis.), and Katie Olson (Sr., North Oaks, Minn.) won with a time of 1:37.81, and the 400-medley relay featuring Breanna Schlegel (Sr., Eagan, Minn.), Jenny Strom (Sr., Rochester, Minn.), Reilly, and Olson won with a time of 3:58.30.
Reilly, Strom, Michelle Campeau (Jr., Fort Collins, Colo.), and Klunk took the 800-free relay in 8:11.20, and Klunk, Leah Anderson (Jr., Apple Valley, Minn.), Reilly, and Olson finished second in the 400-free relay in 3:36.82.
Gusties providing individual event wins included Reilly, Strom, and Schlegel. Reilly out-touched the field in the 50 free (24.37), and added a third place finish in the 100 free (53.37) and fifth place finish in the 100 butterfly (58.84). Strom took gold in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.26), fourth in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.96), and fifth in the 400 IM (4:45.94). Schlegel’s win came in the 200 backstroke where she swam a 2:01.78.
The top performance on the men’s side came courtesy of Ben Miller (Jr., Des Moines, Iowa) who swam a 1:52.82 to finish second in the 200 backstroke.
The 800-free relay made up of Micah Bergstrom (Fr., Eagan, Minn.), Jacob Stern (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.), William Bragg (Fr., Eagan, Minn.), and Tim Anderson (Fr., Ewing, N.J.) also made the podium with a second place finish with a time of 7:37.05.
Danielle Klunk and Katie Olson also reached the podium this weekend. Klunk finished third in the 200 fly (2:15.47) and fourth in the 200 IM (2:14.74), while Olson took third in the 50 free (24.60) and fifth in the 100 free (53.88).
The Gustavus Adolphus swimming and diving teams will have two weeks of training leading up to the 2015 MIAC Championships set to take place on Feb. 19-21 in the same venue the Gusties swam in this weekend.