MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s swim & dive team claimed its fourth consecutive MIAC Championship on Saturday and 25th overall, while the Gustie women took second place. The men registered 968.5 points, 274 points clear of second place, and the women totaled 672 points, just 14 shy of St. Kate’s.
Matt Strom (Jr., Rochester) started the men’s night with a victory in the 1650 free, clocking a NCAA B cut time of 15:51.56. Callen Zemek (Sr., Victoria) earned All-Conference with a second place finish in 15:55.11, also a NCAA B cut.
Marit Isaacson (So., Saint Paul) followed with a third place finish in the women’s 200 backstroke with a time of 2:04.82. In the men’s 200 back, Peyton Richardson (Jr., Crystal Lake, Ill.) won in 1:52.99.
The Gustie women went first and second in the 100 free as Ellen Hofstede (Sr., Saint Paul) finished with a NCAA B cut time of 51.44 and Lucy Peterson (Jr., Saint Paul) touched next in 52.16. Andrew Becker (Sr., Northfield) then won the men’s 100 free with a NCAA B time of 44.99. Nyden Hill (So., Conway, Ark.) took second place in the men’s 200 breaststroke at 2:05.53. Erik Small (Sr., Hudson, Wis.) claimed the championship in the men’s 200 butterfly with a time of 1:52.75.
On the women’s one meter board, Emmalyn Dickerson (Jr., New Prague) took fifth with a NCAA B score of 391.20 while Kaija Pratt (Jr., Minnetonka) took sixth with a NCAA B total of 388.70.
The women’s 400 free relay team of Isaacson, Alison Gilles (So., Wausau, Wis.), Lucy Peterson (Jr., Saint Paul), and Hofstede finished the meet with a victory, clocking a NCAA B cut time of 3:29.06.
The men’s 400 free relay team of Becker, Small, Dane Hudson (Sr., Eden Prairie), and Strom closed out the meet with a win, tallying a new MIAC meet record and NCAA B time of 3:00.89.
“The men were dominant all weekend,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said. “I was very proud of how everybody stepped up time and again. We broke a lot of school records and put an exclamation point on the weekend by breaking the meet record in the 400 free relay.
“The women, I couldn’t have asked for a better effort from them. They were outstanding all weekend and just came up a little short. We were so close. I give St. Kate’s credit because they swam like champions and came up with huge swims when they needed it. I’m just very pleased with the whole weekend and how everybody swam. It was outstanding and I’m very excited and looking forward to who gets into nationals.”