Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Day Two

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, February 18. THE 2010-11 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships continued Friday evening with the second of three finals sessions, and the theme of the night was repeat. A number of swimmers either successfully defended their titles from a year ago or won for the second time at this year’s championships. Two more meet record also fell to highlight the action at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

In the team race, it was St. Olaf surging ahead on the men’s side and Gustavus holding strong atop the women’s standings. The Oles lead the men’s side with 487.5 after two days of competition. St. Thomas (423) and Gustavus (404) round out the top three, while Saint John’s (361) and Carleton (305.5) also remain in the top five. On the women’s side, the Gusties lead for the second-straight day with a total of 505. St. Olaf (446) is the only with a shot to challenge Gustavus on Saturday, while Carleton (318) and St. Thomas (313) are locked in a good battle for third place.

Headlining the repeat individual winners is the meet’s only three-time winner, St. Thomas junior Erik Huls, who has captured the MIAC’s 100-yard butterfly title in each of his three seasons swimming for the Tommies. His latest crown came courtesy of a time of 50.62, which met the NCAA’s ‘B’ qualifying standard. Huls set the meet record in the event with a 49.04 back in 2009.

The other top individual highlight came courtesy of Carleton’s Kale Zicafoose. The senior set a new MIAC Championship record with her time of 56.29 in the women’s 100-yard backstroke. Zicafoose automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with her meet record time, and she hit the ‘B’ standard (58.04) to finish second in the 100-yard butterfly. Technically, Zicafoose set her new meet record Thursday when she led off Carleton’s 400-yard medley relay with her split of 56.02. The lead leg of relays can count for records and NCAA qualifying times.

The top relay highlight came in the final event of the night – the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay. St. Olaf won its second-straight title and set a new meet record of 7:39.09 and also met the ‘B’ qualifying standard. Swimming for the Oles was Alli Beardlsey, Sarah Kemp, Carolyn Bernhardt and Meghan Weiss.

St. Olaf’s surge on the men’s side was led by Chris Bateman, who is making a bid for MIAC Swimmer-of-the-Year honors. Bateman successfully defended his title in the 400-yard individual medley with an NCAA ‘A’ standard time of 3:57.21. Bateman also won the 200-IM Thursday with an ‘A’ standard time. Friday, he was joined on the podium by teammates Spencer Scarth (second), Eric Carlson (fourth) and Galen Magnuson (seventh).

Bateman also led the Oles to victory in the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay. The senior swam the first leg, and was joined by Kyle Biesecker, Chase Liaboe and Scarth. Their time was 6:50.14, which met the NCAA’s ‘B’ cut. Going along with the theme of the night, this was also a repeat victory for the Ole men.

St. Thomas’ Sam Rauchwarter was another defending champ as he won his second-straight tile in the 200-yard freestyle. Rauchwarter’s winning time was 1:40.30, and it was good for the ‘B’ standard, and it met last year’s qualifying requirements for the NCAA Championships.

On the women’s side, a pair of Ole swimmers won their second title of the weekend – and their second of the night counting the record-setting 800-free relay – by defeating the defending champion in their respective events. In the women’s 400-yard individual medley St. Olaf’s Beardsley hit the ‘B’ standard and won the race with a time of 4:33.15, edging out defending champ Marnie Luke from Gustavus, who finished second with a 4:37.25.

The same scenario played out in the 200-yard freestyle, where St. Olaf’s Weiss narrowly edged out defending champ Becca Ney (St. Thomas) by the times 1:52.14 to 1:52.46. Both swimmers met the ‘B’ standard and last year’s qualifying time. Beardsley adds her title to her 200-IM championship from Thursday, and Weiss also won the 500-free on the meet’s first night.

St. Olaf’s underclassmen also showed their strength in the 100-yard breaststroke. Linsdey Lee won the women’s race with a time of 1:06.03, which met the NCAA ‘B’ standard. In the men’s race, Ole freshman Colby Kubat finished first with a time of 56.34, which met the ‘B’ standard as well as the 2010 cut.

Gustavus swept the 200-yard medley relays, holding off St. Olaf in both the men’s and the women’s races. On the women’s side, Carley Mosher, Laura Drake, Steph Korba and Kelsey Lucia combined to give the Gusties the win with a time of 1:45.90, which met the ‘B’ standard and last year’s cut. In the men’s race, Paul Kirihara, Billy Schultze, Matt Van Fossen and Zach Nachtsheim finished with a time of 1:32.32 to also meet the 2010 cut and take home the title. Korba added an individual title to the Gusties’ night when she took first in the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a ‘B’ standard time of 57.98.

Another interesting story with a defending champion twist is that of Macalester’s Nathan Young. Young won the 100-yard backstroke as a freshman in 2008, and after watching St. Thomas’ Peter Mullee win the event the past two years, Young reclaimed his crown by winning a close race from lane two. Young’s winning time was 51.21, which met the ‘B’ cut for the NCAA meet.

In the evening’s only diving event, Sarah Moody from St. Catherine claimed another diving title for her trophy case. Moody won the MIAC’s 1-meter championship a year ago, and Friday she claimed the 2011 title on the 3-meter board. Her final score 414.45, which meets this year’s NCAA cut. Moody defeated last year’s 3-meter champ, Concordia’s Amy Glubzinski, who finished third with 396.00.

The 2010-11 MIAC Championships conclude Saturday with another round of preliminary races in the morning, the mile in the afternoon, and the evening final session where the remaining individual and team champions will be crowned. Saturday the St. Olaf men will try to hang on to claim their third title in five years, and 28th championship overall. Meanwhile, the Gustavus women will be aiming for their fourth title in five years and sixth overall.

Saturday’s preliminary session begins at 10:30 a.m. and the final session of the Championships will begin at 6:30 p.m. with doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the Aquatic Center. Both sessions will be broadcast online by Webcast America, and live results will be available as well (links below).

In addition, the MIAC has set up an exclusive Web site for the 2010-11 MIAC Swimming & Diving Championships. The site features an event schedule, ticket information, venue information and a map, as well as links to the live broadcast and results and the site will be constantly updated throughout the event with recaps, photos and more.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use