Stella Anderson Moye-
The Gustavus Swim and Dive team traveled to Saint Paul this past weekend for the Roger Ahlman Invite hosted by Macalester. Fans, family, and alumni packed the stands Friday and Saturday to watch the Gusties face off against the other four teams that were invited. The Men strengthened their already established dominance, taking the top spot with a total score of 1158 points, while the next team trailed at 818 points. The Women also swept the win, overtaking Macalester (944 points) on the final day of competition to win with 962.5 points.
Friday evening was electric as everyone awaited the opening 400 medley relay, in which the women took third place and the men took second. Many other events followed similarly, with the men taking second place in the 400 medley relay, the 1650 free, and the 800 free relay. The sole win of the evening was from Fifth-year Peyton Richardson in the 200 individual medley, swimming a 1:52.96. In addition to a successful 400 medley relay, the women had multiple top 8 finishes in the individual events throughout the evening. To close the evening, the women surged forward in the 800 free relay with a 7:51.96 to claim their first event victory of the meet.
Saturday maintained a highly energetic and competitive atmosphere, lit up by spectacular swims. The Gustavus Women claimed first place in the 100 Breast with a 1:07.46, swam by Junior Lindsay Sundby, and in the 400 freestyle relay, swam in 3:35.42 by First-year Mia Trifilette Simons, Sophomore Stella Anderson Moye, First-year Geneva Fackler, and Senior Marit Isaacson. A slew of second places were claimed by the team as well, including both the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay and assorted individual events. Isaacson additionally time trialed the 100 IM, posting a time of 59.26 to earn the school record and currently ranks 5th in the nation. While the Women trailed Macalester for a majority of the meet in overall points; the consistent Top 16 finishes in events served to remind the MIAC teams of the unmatched depth of the team that was quintessential in the conference championship win from last year. Gustavus overtook the lead to win with 962.5 points at the end of the meet.
The Gustavus Men also continued their reign of dominance, building off their excitement from Friday. Richardson racked up more first-place finishes in the 200 fly (1:52.94) and 100 fly (48.69). His time in the 100 fly re-breaks the Gustavus school record, ranks 1st in the conference standings by over 2 seconds, 19th in the nation, and earns him the NCAA D3 B-cut. His outstanding performances contributed to his 4th MIAC Swimmer of the Week title of the season. 3 of the relays placed second, including the 200 medley composed of Sophomore Logan Cyr, Junior Brandon Wilcek, Junior Logan Braley, and Richardson with a time of 1:35.50. The 200 freestyle relay of Sophomore Braden Ripken, Junior Will Sarkinen, Braley, and Richardson again finished in 1:25.73. The 400 freestyle team of Ripken, Cyr, Richardson, and Braley touched the wall at 3:07.96.
Gustavus Diving also excelled in performance on Saturday, with both men and women divers earning first places. Junior Gabriella Stoudt swept the win in both the 1- and 3-meter. Her final score on the 3-meter was 389.20, followed by 379.85 on the 1-meter. Senior Ryan Lester also took a victory on the 3-meter with a score of 375.66 and took second with a score of 387.30 on the 1-meter.
The midseason invitational spoke to the athletic prowess of the Gustavus Swim and Dive program and provided good insight into the season standings. In January, the team will continue their in-season meets, and look forward to competing in the MIAC conference championship with hopes to sweep yet another consecutive title for both men and women.