The Gustavus Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive season is underway, as they hosted their home opener on Nov. 2 and their first MIAC dual meet on Nov. 9.

On Nov. 2, the Gustie men welcomed UW-Stevens Point while the women hosted UW-Stevens Point and Minnesota State-Mankato. Both teams produced strong results in a number of events.

The women had numerous top three finishers and were headlined by First Year Ellen Hofstede, who took first place in the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle and second place in the 200 yard freestyle.

Junior Haley Auran also had a strong meet, with second place finishes in the 100 and 200 yard breastroke.

Junior Katherine Brostrom also had a top three finish in the 1000 yard freestyle.

On the diving board, Junior Sophia Steinberg led the Gusties with a second place finish in three meter diving and a third place finish in one meter diving.

In the relays, Hofstede paired up with Junior Amelia Bjorklund, First-year Annika Johns, and Senior Alyssa Lokensgard to take second place in the 400 yard freestyle relay.

The Gustavus team of Seniors Maddie Westendorp and Alyssa Kohorst along with First-year Abby Yartz and Sophomore Lillie Ortloff took third place in the 200 medley relay.

As a team the Gusties finished ahead of UW-Stevens Point but fell to Minnesota State-Mankato.

“The women performed great. They swam better than where I thought they would be at this point in the season,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said.

On the men’s side the Black and Gold had nine first place finishes, led by Junior Nolan Larson who was involved in four of the nine.

Larson took first place in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly as well as the 200 individual medley, before anchoring the 400 yard freestyle relay. He teamed up with First-years Dane Hudson and Matt Becker, as well as Junior Matt Allison.

“A lot of guys stepped up big today but Nolan Larson had to swim the last three events in a row and won them all. He was really the key to putting us over the top,” Coach Carlson said.

Hudson and Becker also won events individually, producing the fastest times in the 100 yard backstroke and 50 yard freestyle, respectively.

The Gusties found success in the longer events as well, with Senior Zach Dawson finishing first in the 1000 yard freestyle and First-year Callen Zemek finishing first in the 500 yard freestyle.

On the diving board, Senior Logan Bican took first place in the one meter event.

“I was really pleased with how the team swan. I was shocked because that’s the first time the men have beaten Stevens Point in a while,” Carlson said.

The following weekend, the Gusties continued to produce strong times as they hosted MIAC rival St. Olaf at the Vic Gustafson Pool.

The Gustie women took home first place in eight events en route to a 164-136 victory over the Oles.

Auran picked up where she left off one week earlier by claiming first place in both the 100 and 200 yard breastroke.

Lokensgard and Hofstede also claimed the top spots in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle events, respectively.

The Gusties finished first in the 400 freestyle relay once again. This time, Yartz stepped in for Johns to pair with Lokensgard, Bjorklund and Hofstede for the victory.

Yartz and Hofstede also took part in the 200 medley relay, and finished first along with Westendorp and Kohorst.

Steinberg was solid on the 1-meter diving board once again, while Junior Emily An earned the top score on the 3-meter board.

“The divers were the key to us coming out on top. I’m very proud of how everyone swam. There were a lot of times that I didn’t expect to see because they were so fast. A huge credit to the women coming together and taking down a tough and talented St. Olaf team,” Carlson said.

On the men’s side, the Gusties produced a dominant performance, and came away with 12 first place finishes and a 200-90 victory.

Larson highlighted the meet once again, this time with a time of 1:43.60 in the 200 yard freestyle which is the fastest ever in the Vic Gustafson Pool. Larson also took first place in the 100 yard butterfly.

The Gusties won the freestyle event at lengths of 50, 100, and 400 yards as well with Allison winning the 50 and 100 and Zemek taking the 400 yard event.

Sophomore Farque Hussein and Dawson finished first in the 100 and 200 breastroke respectively.

The final individual victories in swimming events came from Junior Josh Muntifering in the 200 yard butterfly and Hudson in the 200 yard backstroke.

The team of Hudson, Larson, Allison, and First Year Taylor Vander Jeugdt also finished first in the 200 medley relay.

On the diving board, Bican won the 3-meter event, and qualified for NCAAs with his winning score in the 1-meter event.

“It was an unreal day for the men. We are off to a good start and have a lot of work to do. This is as talented a group of swimmers that I’ve had in a long time and I’m very excited for them. They are constantly pushing to get better and better,” Carlson said.

The Gusties are back in action this Saturday with split squad events at Macalester, St. Mary’s, and Hamline.