This past weekend, the Gustavus Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams competed in an intense four day meet to decide the MIAC champions of the 2018-2019 season.

Both teams had a full head of steam coming into their most important conference meet of the season after taking almost two weeks off from competition to prepare themselves.

The MIAC Championships kicked off Feb. 14 and were hosted at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Day one was composed of multiple relay and diving events, many of which proving to be areas of strength for the Gusties.

Both teams got off to strong starts after day one, with the men’s side securing first place while the women’s team held fourth place out of 11 teams.

The men’s side started with a first place finish in the 800 yard freestyle relay.

The team was composed of First-year Dutch Franko-Dynes, Sophomores Josh Muntifering and Nolan Larson, and Junior Matt Allison.

The Gusties continued to show their strength in relays in the 200 yard medley relay, placing second in the event.

Senior Jonathan Bovee and Junior Logan Bican also made a big impact for the team, finishing second and third, respectively, in the 3 meter dive cumulating 33 points in the event.

The women’s team had a slower start but were still in the hunt for the title after the first day of competition.

The Gusties took home fourth in the 800 yard freestyle relay and third in the 200 yard medley relay.

Head Coach Jon Carlson was impressed with both teams initial performances and looked forward to their shots at bringing a title home on both sides.

“Both the men and women swam great,” said Carlson. “They really stepped up and competed hard in both the morning and evening sessions. Then our divers really came through for us on the guys side. They’ve been a super important part of the Championship for sure.”

Events on the second day included the 500 yard freestyle, the 200 yard IM, the 50 yard freestyle, and the 400 yard medley.

The biggest highlight for the men’s team on this day was in the 200 yard IM. The team blew the competition out of the water in this event as Larson, Muntifering, Sonnek finished first through third, respectively. Allison also took first in the 50 yard freestyle.

The women’s team had a strong push on the second day as well behind Senior Maggie Webster who finished first in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.37 seconds.

Senior Haley Pesik also left her mark, finishing third in the 200 yard IM.

The women’s side finished the day with a score of 213, while St. Thomas held the lead with a score of 251.

The men’s team tallied an impressive 360 points halfway through the competition and held an 80 point lead ahead of second place St. Thomas.

“It was a true team effort today,” said Head Coach Jon Carlson. “Everyone was swimming not just for themselves but for each other to try to put our team in the best position possible,” Carlson said.

In the third day of competition, the women’s team held on to their third place position from scoring in multiple events.

The best finish came from Junior Madeline Westendorp who placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke.

With St. Thomas commanding most of the events that day the Gusties found themselves 153 points behind the meet leader, St. Thomas.

The highlight of the day and possibly the entire meet came from Sonnek, a veteran member of the men’s team.

In arguably his best event, Sonnek broke both the MIAC and meet record in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 54.28 seconds.

Due to this electrifying performance and many other top three finishes, Sonnek added to his long list of achievements with the Gustavus Swimming program and was named MIAC Co-Swimmer of the Year.

This strong push on day three propelled the men’s team into a 148 point lead heading into the last day of this grueling meet.

On the final day the women’s team was able to make a push and finish the meet in second place.

Webster finished second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.55, good for a NCAA Selection Time.

Sophomore Sophia Steinberg also made it happen for the Gusties, finishing second in the one meter dive and earning All-Conference honors.

The men’s team finished the meet in the same competitive way they started it.

With multiple first place finishes, All-Conference performances, and NCAA Selection Times, the team added to their lead finishing the meet with 938.5 points.

St. Thomas finished in second, 164 points behind the Black and Gold.

“It really was an incredible weekend for both the men and women,” Carlson said. “All of our student-athletes brought their very best and did all the things they needed to do to perform, and it showed in our team result. I’m proud of how we truly swam as a team and it was one of the most exhilarating coaching weekends of my career.”

Carlson was also awarded with the title of MIAC Men’s Swimming Coach of the year for his efforts this season.