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Gustavus Adolphus Women Escapes With Sixth Straight MIAC Crown; St. Thomas Men Roll

Gustavus continued an impressive reign atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Saturday as it captured its sixth-straight women's swimming and diving championship. The Gusties' latest title was in serious doubt as they trailed St. Thomas during Saturday's final session at the 2015 MIAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, but the depth of the defending champs helped them surge back ahead and ultimately prevail.

Gustavus clung to a mere 15.5-point lead after Friday's finals session, and the Tommies took the lead after the second event of Saturday's finale, but Gustavus took the lead right back with five of the top six in the women's 100-yard freestyle, and the Gusties built on that momentum to win their eighth MIAC title the last nine years. St. Thomas also impressed in its runner-up finish, as the team came up just shy of its first-ever MIAC title in the sport. Gustavus' winning score was 858.5, with St. Thomas a close second at 817.

St. Olaf was solidly in third place with a final score of 514.5 points. Carleton was fourth with 356, Saint Benedict was fifth with 304, St. Catherine came in sixth with 220 points to edge Macalester, which was seventh with 209 points. Hamline (128) claimed eighth over Concordia (122) by just six points and Augsburg (96) and Saint Mary's (88) rounded out the women's standings.

The post-meet awards ceremony honored the team champions and top individual award winners. Gustavus senior Jennifer Strom was named the MIAC Swimmer-of-the-Year, and St. Catherine's Jenna Nagy repeated as MIAC Diver-of-the-Year. St. Thomas Head Coach Scott Blanchard was named the Swimming Coach-of-the-Year for both men and women, and Saint John's and Saint Benedict Diving Coach Jon Hazen received Diving Coach-of-the-year honors.

In addition to her top individual honor, Gustavus star Strom capped her incredible career Saturday by completing the career sweep in the breaststroke events. Strom, who captured her fourth-straight 100-breast title Friday, added a fourth-straight win in the 200-breat Saturday night. Her time of 2:17.39 nearly met her MIAC record of 2:17.11 (2014) and made the 2014 NCAA selection cut. St. Thomas took the next two spots as Emily Punyko (2:22.21) met the NCAA B cut and Eliza Falconer (2:24.84) finished third.

Nagy continued her incredible run of MIAC success. The two-time MIAC Diver-of-the-Year surged ahead on her final dive and defended her 1-meter diving title with a score of 432.10, and swept both boards in 2015. St. Thomas senior Katherine Becker was the runner-up with a score of 414.40 and Saint Benedict's Megan Lawson (402.55) rounded out the top three, who all met the NCAA Zone Diving qualifying score.

St. Thomas senior Elise Guenther equaled Strom's feat, as she made history Saturday night with a career sweep in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Guenther made it four MIAC mile titles in a row with a time of 17:39.33, and was joined by rookie teammate Katelyn Washenberger (17:55.06) in the top two. Another first-year, Saint Benedict's Kenzie Young, joined them in the top three with a time of 17:58.66.

Another Tommie - Emma Paulson - won her third title of the meet with a win in the 200-yard backstroke. Paulson finished with a 2014 selection time of 2:00.13, just ahead of Carleton's Maria Wetzel (2:02.74), who also met the 2014 cut time, and Gustavus' Hayley Booher (2:03.67), who swam an NCAA B cut.

Gustavus' Katie Olson claimed her second-straight title in the 100-yard freestyle and led a wave of five Gusties in the top six. Olson's repeat victory came courtesy of a 2014 NCAA selection time of 51.60, and teammate Kathleen Reilly met the B cut (51.71) as the runner up. St. Olaf's Maddie Lee was third to break up the Gustavus tandem that also included Leah Anderson, Michelle Campeau and Nicole Lohman in the top six.

One of St. Olaf's top highlights from the final session came in the 200-yard butterfly, where sophomore Claire Walters flew to victory with an NCAA B-cut time of 2:07.15. Gustavus first-year Sammy Jagler was second with a time of 2:09.28, and St. Catherine sophomore also earned a top-three spot on the podium with a time of 2:09.28.

Gustavus cemented their sixth-straight title with an exclamation point in the final event of the championships, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Gusties finished with a 2014 NCAA Selection time of 3:27.12 to beat out St. Thomas (3:30.96) and St. Olaf (3:31.70) and close out the 2015 MIAC Championships.

 

The 2015 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Swimming and Diving Championships looked like a four-team race after the first day, but St. Thomas dramatically surged ahead over the final two days and cemented their conference championship at Saturday night's final session.

The Tommies captured their 12th MIAC title and third since 2010 by pulling away from the field and unseating a St. Olaf team that came in as the two-time defending conference champ. The St. Thomas title comes in the first season for Head Coach Scott Blanchard, who replaced retired legendary coach Tom Hodgson following the 2014 season. UST ended up winning by more than 200 points with a final score of 808.

St. Olaf saw its title streak end at two, as the Oles finished second with a score of 604.5. Third-place Carleton and fourth-place Saint John's also had impressive performances, as the Knights finished with 543.5 points and the Johnnies had 510. Gustavus rounded out the top five with 487 points, Hamline had 248 in sixth and Saint Mary's (120) edged Macalester (118) by two points for seventh.

The post-meet awards ceremony honored the team champions and top individual award winners, and it was nearly a sweep for the champion Tommies. St. Thomas junior Mike Lanz claimed his second-straight MIAC Swimmer-of-the-Year award, and Tommie freshman Andrew Grabowski was named MIAC Diver-of-the-Year in his conference debut. Blanchard was named the Swimming Coach-of-the-Year for both men and women, and Saint John's and Saint Benedict Diving Coach Jon Hazen received Diving Coach-of-the-year honors.

Lanz wowed the MIAC Championships crowd for the second-straight year as he captured the top swimming honor yet again, which was cemented Saturday thanks to his third title of the weekend. Lanz won his second consecutive 200-yard butterfly title with a 2014 NCAA selection time of 1:49.57. Lanz added the title to his 200-IM and 100-fly titles from earlier in the meet. It was a Tommie top three as Bailey Biwer (1:54.46) was second and Warren Melton (1:54.83) was third.

The rookies stole the show in the men's 3-meter diving competition, with freshmen grabbing the top two spots. Tommies' rookie Grabowski dazzled with an NCAA Diving Zone qualifying score of 442.50 to win the title after finishing second on the 1-meter board Thursday, which resulted in his Diver-of-the-Year honor. and Hamline rookie Skiah Garde Garcia was the runner up with 424.65 points. St. Olaf junior Scott Hodgson, who captured the 1-meter title Thursday, finished third (410.20) and also broke 400 points.

The 1,650-yard freestyle saw Gustavus senior star Zac Solis swim to his third MIAC title of the meet, as he pulled away to win by nearly 20 seconds. Solis, who also won the 200- and 500-free titles, finished with an NCAA B cut time of 16:07.53. Carleton's Alex Mathson was the mile's runner-up with a time of 16:27.09 and St. Thomas' Josh Gerick, who had the top time coming in, was third (16:27.89).

St. Thomas grabbed the top two spots on the podium in the 200-yard backstroke, with Tom Osmolak adding the 200 title to his 100-back championship, and teammate Brady Anderson was the runner-up. Osmolak (1:49.77) and Anderson (1:53.17) both met the NCAA B cut, with third place going to Saint John's sophomore Jose Alvarez (1:54.49).

The men's 100-yard freestyle was one of the night's best all-around races, with just over a second separating all eight in the final heat. Saint John's Kenny Bergman pulled away in the final leg to capture the title with a time of 45.76, just ahead of a pair of St. Olaf seniors - Michael Gratz (46.12) and Tanner Roe (46.55).

St. Olaf sophomore Nicholas Wilkerson captured his second-straight title in the 200-yard breaststroke with an NCAA B cut time of 2:04.92 a night after he finished second in the 100-breast. It was an all-Northfield 1-2-3 finish as Carleton's Evan Harris (2:05.98) had a B-cut time as the runner-up, and Ole first-year Nathaniel France (2:07.09) was third.

The men saved one of their best races for last, as the 400-yard freestyle relay  saw the top three separated by less than half a second. Saint John's claimed a thrilling victory with a time of 3:04.46, barely touching the wall before runner-up St. Olaf (3:04.80) and third-place St. Thomas (3:04.84). All three met the NCAA B cut in the event's fitting and exciting conclusion.

 

Carleton Men

Saturday saw the Carleton College men’s swimming and diving team move up one spot in the team competition, finishing fourth overall. The Knights captured All-MIAC performances from Alex Mathson (So./Verona, Wis./Verona) and Evan Harris (Sr./Lexington, S.C./Lexington) on the final day of the MIAC Championships.
 
St. Thomas won its 12th MIAC title with 808 points, followed by St. Olaf (604.5), Carleton (543.5), and St. John’s (510) in the field of eight teams.
 
The Knights began the final day of the conference meet with the 1650-yard freestyle. Mathson notched a second-place finish, earning all-conference status as he posted a personal-best time of 16:27.09, ranking second all-time at Carleton. Andrew Cely (Sr./Plano, Texas/Plano) aided the team’s point total as he took 15th place with a lifetime best of 17:45.81.
 
Jonathan Brodie (Jr./Fremont, Calif./Washington) snagged an eighth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. His prelim time of 1:55.45 was a season best as was the mark Aaron Schwab (So./Elk River, Minn./Elk River) posted [1:56.63] in winning the consolation final.
 
The next event, the 100-yard freestyle, saw Evan Lahr (So./Monticello, Minn./Monticello) finish in fifth place with a season-best time of 46.62. George McAneny (Jr./Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz) took seventh place in the race, finishing at a season-best time of 46.82. Stephen Grinich (Jr./McMinnville, Ore./McMinnville) touched at a new PR of 46.34 in winning the consolation final.
 
Harris earned All-MIAC honors in the 200-yard breaststroke. Harris notched a season-best and NCAA “B” cut time at 2:03.68 during the prelims and was unable to better that while grabbing second place on Saturday night at 2:05.98. Noah Brackenbury (Fy./Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) finished in seventh place in the competition after touching at a lifetime-best time of 2:11.54 during the prelims to rank seventh in team history. In the consolation heat, Grant Terrien (So./Bloomington, Minn./John F Kennedy School) posted a nearly 10-second personal best with time of 2:16.65 during the morning qualifying swim.
 
In the 200-yard butterfly, Wilson Josephson (Jr./Mount Hermon, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) finished in fourth place with a career-best time of 1:55.04, a mark that pushed him into second place in the Carleton record book. Eli Danson (Sr./Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) took eighth place with a time of 1:58.74, which slots him eighth in team history. Competing in the consolation final, Colin Lau (Fy./Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) posted a lifetime best of 1:57.52 to win the heat and jump into fifth in team annals. Andrew Cely recorded a lifetime best 2:04.74 during the prelims and eventually grabbing 15th place.
 
The final race of the MIAC Championships is the 400-ayrd freestyle relay. The Knights entry of Lahr, McAneny, Josephson, and Grinich took fourth place as they combined on a season best time of 3:05.71, which ranks third in team history.

 

Carleton Women

The Carleton College women’s swimming and diving team concluded the MIAC Championships fourth in the team standings, moving up one spot in the rankings from the previous year. Maria Wetzel (So./Salem, Ore./West Salem) turned in the Knights’ sole All-MIAC performance on Saturday.

 
Gustavus Adolphus won its sixth consecutive conference title with 858.5 points, followed by St. Thomas (817), St. Olaf (514.5) and Carleton (356) in the 11-team competition.
 
The first event of the finals was the 1650-yard freestyle, and Lexi Shin (Fy./Rochester, Minn./Century) came in 15th place with a time of 18:57.99.
 
The next event, the 200-yard backstroke, saw Maria Wetzel take second with a time of 2:02.74. That mark was only 0.01 second shy of her personal-best time posted during the morning preliminary round, a time that moved her into second place in team history for the event and gave Wetzel her third NCAA “B” cut mark of the weekend.
 
For her outstanding finish in the race, Wetzel added yet another All-MIAC performance to her list of accomplishments. Alison Coogan (Sr./River Forest, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest) finished in sixth place in the event, touching at a lifetime best of 2:08.45. Allie Clark (So./Northfield, Minn./Northfield) took ninth place and Kat Nguyen (Fy./Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) finished in 16th place, both posting career-best times of 2:11.68 and 2:16.12, respectively.
 
Alex Guy (Sr./Denver Colo./Denver School of the Arts) finished 10th place in the 100-yard freestyle with a new PR of 53.69. Madison McBride (Jr./Elko, Minn./Lakeville South) took 15th place, and Brittany Salazar (Jr./San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco Waldorf) finished in 16th place, posting lifetime best times of 55.18 and 55.31, respectively, during the preliminary round..
 
In the 200-yard butterfly, Alex Braiedy (So./Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka) took 11th, posting a personal best of 2:15.44. Halie Langanki (Jr./Lino Lakes, Minn./Mounds View) finished in 14th place at 2:19.13.
 
Amelia Roach (Fy./Bethesda, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) finished in ninth place in the semi-finals of the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 315.20.
 
The Knights concluded the three-day conference meet with the 400-yard freestyle relay. Wetzel, McBride, Nguyen, and Guy finished in fifth place in the race, touching at a season-best time of 3:38.42.
 
Wetzel will now wait to see if her “B” cut times in the 200 IM, 100 backstroke, and or 200 backstroke secure a place for her at the NCAA Championships in March.

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