MIAC Swimming Getting Closer to Mid-season Taper

By Wilson Josephson, Allie Clark, Swimming World College Interns

NORTHFIELD – After a busy weekend for Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) swimming, the majority of the conference schools ready themselves for their last meets of November. Besides St. John’s who is traveling to South Dakota, the rest of the competition will stay close to home this weekend.

The MIAC includes eight men’s teams and 11 women’s teams. Carleton College, St. Olaf College, The University of St. Thomas (UST), Gustavus Adolphus College (GAC), Hamline University, Macalester College, and Saint Mary’s University all have both men’s and women’s programs. St. John’s University is an all-male school, though they often travel with their sister school, the College of Saint Benedict. Augsburg College, Concordia College, and St. Catherine University all field solely women’s teams.

Looking Back

On Friday evening, St. Olaf and Gustavus had their dual meet. Though team scores weren’t particularly close, MIAC stars from both sides put up stunning times. St. Olaf’s Billy Brebrick set a new pool record in the 100 butterfly (50.08), while his teammates swept the 100 breaststroke (Wilkerson in 59.42; N. France in 59.50; Money in 1:00.78). Wilkerson also went on to win the 200 breaststroke in 2:10.42. St. Olaf finished the night by posting 1:25.63 in the 200 freestyle relay, the top relay time in the conference to date, and a time fast enough to beat half the MIAC at championships last winter. St. Olaf junior Maddie Lee won the women’s 500 in 5:19.20 and the 200, in which the top three swimmers were all within 1.1 seconds, in 1:57.47. Abby Schnaith won both backstroke events (59.92 and 2:07.80). The most thrilling race for the women was undoubtedly the 1,000; St. Olaf’s Alli Maxwell-Bumann chased down Gustavus’ Megan Boonstra in the final 50 yards. Maxwell-Bumann finished in 11:10.60, with Boonstra only .22 behind. No doubt about it: Boonstra will be looking to the MIAC’s drop-taper meet, the Jean Freeman Invite, to test Maxwell-Bumann one more time.

Despite some dramatic victories from St. Olaf, the Gustavus women won most of the events. Freshman Kathleen Reilly led their charge, sweeping through the sprinters trifecta. She took the 50 freestyle in 24.21, the 100 in 53.65, and the 100 butterfly in 59.86. Senior Jennifer Strom joined her, winning both breaststroke events (1:06.67 and 2:24.22) by wide margins and taking second to teammate Hayley Booher in the 200 IM (2:11.09 and 2:14.06). The Gustavus women finished the meet with a dominant sprint relay, finishing in 1:38.77. The Gustavus men got strong swims out of Dante Colucci (won the 100 backstroke in 55.08 and the 200 in 2:00.84) and Zac Solis (won the 500 in 4:52.79 and the 1,000 in 10:22.46).

While they lost to DII program MSU-Moorhead, the College of St. Benedict’s Blazers won their first MIAC dual meet against Concordia College in convincing fashion (200-73). Standout swims came from freshman Grace Hesse (1st in 50 breaststroke – 34.75 and 100 breast – 1:16.49), senior Laura Peterson (1st in 50 fly – 28.70 and 100 fly – 1:03.51), and freshman Kenzie Young (1st in 200 free – 2:05.92 and 500 – 5:32.55). Concordia responded with strong swims from sophomores Sarah Nelson and Libby Hardwick. Hardwick won the 50 backstroke in 30.17, while Nelson won the 100 freestyle in 58.45.

On Friday, St. Thomas hosted the JoAnn Andregg Women’s Invitational which consisted of University of St. Thomas, St. Catherine University and Augsburg College. St. Thomas not only won the invite as a whole but they were also victorious in 10 out of the 11 swimming events offered at the meet. Two events were taken by freshmen – Katelyn Washenberger in the 1000 (18:55.67) and Nicole Herrli in the 500 (5:26.85). St. Catherine University came in second as a team. Although this was not St. Kate’s first meet of the season, this was the first time that we have seen them compete since October. Top performances for the Wildcats came from freshman Bryanna Waage (1st in the 200 IM with a time of 2:19.20), junior Haley Krahn (2nd in the 200 IM with 2:22.15), and sophomore Sydney Wenner (2nd in the 100 fly with 1:03.45). Augsburg finished third overall with stand out swims from junior Kelsey Knollmueller (4th place in the 500 freestyle with 5:37.03 which is the third-fastest time in the program’s history and her 6th place finish in the 200 freestyle clocked at a 2:05.63 is the sixth-fastest time in the school history), and junior Whitney Kieley (her time of 1:07.28 in the 100 backstroke was good for 2nd place and is the fourth-fastest time in the program’s history).

On Saturday, Macalester hosted their annual Roger Ahlman Invite. The meet featured seven MIAC teams on the women’s side and five on the men’s. While the University of St. Thomas won both sides of the meet, impressive swims came from each team. Macalester’s Smaranda Georgescu placed second in the 100 freestyle (55.08). Hodd Gorman continued to lead Hamline’s squad, clocking in 5:01.60 (4th) and 10:37.19 (4th) in the distance races. Teammates Skiah Garde Garcia and Ethan Ross both contributed third-places finishes to Hamline’s score; Garcia finished third in both diving events, while Ross placed third in the 200 fly (2:05.63). Reese Galewski placed highest for the Saint Mary’s University, finishing fourth in the 100 fly (1:02.50). Mary Jane Voss led St. Kate’s with two fourth-place finishes – the 200 fly (2:28.17) and the 400 IM (5:02.92). Her finish in the IM was just behind Augsburg’s Kelsey Knollmueller, who finished in 5:02.59, the fifth fastest time in the history of the Augsburg program. Augsburg’s Whitney Kieley achieved a similar feat in the 100 backstroke, moving into fifth in the program’s history with a 1:08.06.

St. Benedict’s

The College of St. Benedict will host a dual meet against St. Catherine University Friday evening. Fresh off their win against Concordia College, the Blazers will be looking to maintain momentum. Saint Benedict Athlete of the Week Kenzie Young will lead the squad; her performance in the distance freestyle events – especially the 1,000 – has her pegged as an early conference contender. Laura Peterson will look to extend her dual meet win streak in the butterfly events (1:01.73 and 2:20.15). Steph Bierman, the Blazer’s resident sprinter (25.48 and 56.00), will also be tough to challenge.

St. Catherine’s

St. Catherine University will swim St. Ben’s on Friday night. After their first packed weekend, St. Kate’s will be looking to continue racing with conference competitors. There should be a close race between two dueling freshmen in the 200 IM, Bryanna Waage for the Wildcats and Kristina Rudin for the Blazers.

Concordia

On Saturday, Concordia will swim against University of Minnesota – Morris. Though Concordia may not be able to out swim the DII team for the whole meet, this meet will still serve as a way to maintain fast swims. Sprinter Sarah Nelson will be a swimmer to watch (100 free – 58.45, 100 fly – 1:04.24).

Hamline

On Saturday, Hamline will travel around the block to swim a dual meet against Macalester. Although the Hamline men won’t be challenged by Macalester, there should be a fair amount of competition between the women. The race to watch is the 100 breaststroke (HAM swimmer Kaitlyn Allee – 1:15.47 vs. MAC swimmer Christina Bloom – 1:15.93).

Macalester

On Saturday, Macalester will host a dual meet against Hamline. Smaranda Georgescu will lead the women’s side with her sprinting skills (100 free – 55.03) as the women attempt to hold off Hamline. On the men’s side, Ian Lock should win the 100 freestyle with ease if the race turns out to be similar to how it went down at the Ahlman invite.

St. John’s

St. John’s will travel to South Dakota State for a two day invitational. Anticipate some impressive swims as the Johnnies have the opportunity to race against teams outside of the MIAC. Swimmers to watch are sophomore Jose Alvarez (particularly his 100 backstroke – 54.79 at Hamline Invite), and senior Joe Duxbury (100 breaststroke – 1:01.81 at Hamline Invite).

Gustavus Adolphus

On Saturday, Gustavus will host the Grace Goblirsch Invitational. This meet is in honor of their teammate, Grace Goblirsch, who passed away in 2013 after losing an 8-month long battle with acute myelogenous leukemia. Expect to see fast swimming from Jennifer Strom, Zach Solis, and Kathleen Reilly.

Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s University will compete at the Grace Goblirsch Invitational on Saturday in St. Peter, MN. Although the meet won’t be very close due to Gustavus’ incredible depth and front end speed, St. Mary’s should still get good swims out of several team members: Katherine Heller (sprint freestyle), Reese Galewski (100 fly), and Zach Finkelstein (sprint free).

Wilson Josephson and Allie Clark are teammates at Carleton College. Josephson is a junior butterfly specialist, while Clark is a sophomore who fills in multiple roles on the team.

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