Before taking a weekend off for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Gustavus Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive Teams produced convincing wins on two straight weekends.

On November 16th, the two teams both took down a trio of MIAC opponents before returning to St. Peter on the 23rd to win the Grace Goblirsch Invitational.

On the 16th, the teams both competed in split squad action, with some Gusties traveling to swim at Macalester against the hosts and St. Mary’s. A separate group traveled to Hamline.

On the men’s side, the Gusties won 11 events at Macalester and nine at Hamline.

At Macalester, the team of First-years Teddy Johnson and Erik Small, and Juniors Nolan Larson and Josh Muntifering earned first place in the 400 medley relay and each member found success individually as well.

Small and Larson dominated the freestyle events, with Small taking the 100 and 200 yard races while Larson won the 50 yard event.

Muntifering won the 400 yard IM and the 200 yard backstroke while Johnson took home the 200 yard butterfly.

First-year Callen Zemek found success in the long distance races, finishing first in both the 500 yard and 1000 yard freestyle events. Zemek also led the 400 yard freestyle relay team to victory.

Over at Hamline, the Gusties were led by First-year Dane Hudson, who led the Gusties to victory in the 200 medley relay and won the 50 yard freestyle and the 200 yard butterfly individually.

Senior Will Clark and Junior Matt Allison also won multiple events.

Clark took part in the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, while Allison participated in the 200 medley and won the 100 yard freestyle.

The Gustavus Men topped Macalester 183-47, St. Mary’s 195-12, and Hamline 157-102.

For his efforts, Hudson was named MIAC Men’s Swimmer of the Week.

On the women’s side, the Gusties earned nine first place finishes at Macalester and 12 at Hamline.

At Macalester, the team of Junior Hailey Auran, First-years Abby Yartz and Ellen Hofstede, and Senior Alyssa Lokensgard won the 400 medley and dominated a number of other events.

Lokensgard won the 100 freestyle while Hofstede won the 50 freestyle and both participated in the Gustie team that won the 400 freestyle relay.

Auran also won the 400 IM and the 200 breaststroke.

Junior Amelia Bjorklund also took part in the 400 freestyle relay and won the 200 backstroke.

Finally, Senior Allie Mayfield took home both the 500 and 1000 yard freestyle events.

Over at Hamline, the 200 medley relay for Gustavus led the way. The team of Seniors Maddie Westendorp and Alyssa Kohorst, as well as Junior Hana Pokornowski and First-year Mikayla Zaske all dominated their respective events.

Kohorst won the 50 and 100 yard freestyle while Westendorp took home the 100 yard backstroke and Pokornowski won the 100 backstroke.

First-year Annika Johns also won the 200 yard freestyle and 200 yard backstroke.

The Gusties topped Macalester 160-75, St. Mary’s 198-34, and Hamline 189-94.

“I was very pumped with how we swam at both sites. We came away with some great swims and a lot of people who don’t normally score came up big today. Overall it was a great day,” Head Coach Jon Carlson said.

After a strong weekend away, the Gusties returned home to host Luther, Morningside, Hamline, Augsburg, and Macalester for the Grace Goblirsch Invite. Gustavus dominated the meet, more than tripling the point total of the second place team on both the men’s and women’s side.

The Gustie women won 17 events, led by Hofstede who took first in all five of her events. Hofstede competed individually in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and the 100 butterfly as well as the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Five other Gusties won multiple events: Auran won three events, Johns won 4 events, Lokensgard won 3 events, Kohorst won 2 events, and Yartz won two events.

In addition, Junior Sophia Steinberg won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions.

On the men’s side, Zemek and Small highlighted the meet. Small won four of his five events, including the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly individual races. Zemek destroyed a pool record in the 1650 yard freestyle beating the previous mark, set in 2008, by more than a minute.

“I never thought that in my first year I would set a new pool record. I knew heading into college that the practices were going to be harder and would push me to better my swimming, which I believe has made me a better swimmer overall,” Zemek said.

Larson and Hudson also won four events, First-year Andrew Becker won three, and Allison won two. Senior Logan Bican won both diving events as well.

For their efforts, Hofstede and Small were both selected as MIAC Swimmers of the Week. The Gustie men have claimed all four MIAC Swimmer of the Week Awards this season.

“I think the main reason we are having lots of success is because of how close we are as a team. We all know each other’s goals and push each other to get better,” Zemek said.

The Black and Gold will return to action on December 6-7 at Grinnell College in Iowa.