Staff Writer- Nathan Swanson

The Gustavus Women’s and Men’s Swim & Dive Teams competed this last Saturday, Oct. 25th, at home in the Vic Gustafson pool. The Women’s Team competed against UW-Stevens Point, as well as MSU-Mankato. The Men’s Team competed against UW-Stevens Point. Gustavus Women won four events and were top three in twelve events. Gustavus Men won twelve events and were top three in fifteen. One of the top highlights came close to the end of the day when Junior Braden Ripken competed in the 400 freestyle and out-touched the Mankato swimmer at the very end. 

“Our Men’s relay at the end was a nailbiter, and our last guy, Braden Ripken, dove off, and he was a body length behind or more, and he ended up catching and outtouching Stevens Point,” Junior Aiden Carlson said. Overall, both teams were happy with their performance over the weekend and look to build off of it moving forward. 

The emotion and support from teammates were something that stood out especially, and the swimmers appreciated the support. “It’s incredible, everyone’s cheering, everyone’s up and looking and clapping and going crazy, it’s really loud and it’s great to be around. It’s really exciting,” First-year Annika Beck said. 

For the Women’s Team, Beck competed in the 500 and 1000 freestyle and won with times of 5:22.35 and 10:59.45, respectively. While Beck was a little anxious at the start, she was really proud of her performance: “I definitely think I was most proud of getting over these mental blocks that I had before the 1000 just because I was really anxious before that race and then I was really proud of myself for pulling through and making a good time.” Beck said.

Junior Stella Anderson Moye competed in the 200 freestyle and got second place, touching the wall at 1:59.33. First-year Leah Felton finished in second place with a time of 25.10 in the 50 freestyle. Sophomore Caitlyn Otto finished third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 55.36. Junior Madison Witte placed first in the 200 butterfly at 2:14.99. In the 400 freestyle relay, the Gusties A relay finished first with a time of 3:38.58. In the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, Junior Felicia Symreng and Senior Lindsay Sundby placed third. Symreng finished with a time of 2:16.95, and Sundby finished with a time of 2:38.27. Within the diving events, Senior Gabriella Stoudt finished second for the Gusties in the three-meter (242.85) and third place in the one-meter (211.35). In the 200 medley relay, the Gustavus Women took third with a time of 1:52.45.

First-year Mason Deiterling swam in the 500 and 1000 freestyle events and won with a time of 5:03.39 and 10:28.36, respectively. Junior Logan Cyr swam in the 200 freestyle and finished first at 1:47.71. Senior Logan Braley, who won the 100 freestyle, led with a time of 48.68. Ripken finished second in the 50 freestyle, touching the wall at 21.74. First-year Aidynn Havermann won the 200 backstroke for Gustavus with a time of 2:00.55. First-year Declan Vahey won the 100 backstroke event with a time of 53.01. Sophomore Mason Cote, who led the Gusties in the breaststroke, finished with a time of 2:16.13. Carlson swam in the 100 breaststroke and placed second with a time of 59.99. 

A big point of emphasis on Saturday was thinking through turns and walls. “We had just discussed a few things that the team as a whole needed to work on to be competitive… One thing we were specifically working on was our turns and our walls… UW-SP has really good turns and so they were kind of crushing us in that area, and so as we were going into the meet everyone had that on their minds,” Carlson said. 

Junior Ben Kell got first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:01.10 and won the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.93. Vahey finished the 100 butterfly in second place with a time of 53.42. Havermann won the 200 IM, finishing at 2:00.98. Ending the day, the men’s team won the 400 and 200 medley relays at 3:15.61 and 1:37.55 respectively. 

Looking ahead, the Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive Teams will compete on Nov. 7th at St. Olaf. There is plenty to look forward to for both teams as they look to keep the positive vibes going and strive for success.

 “It’s a really fun meet… It is a big tradition within our team… We get to see where the top of our team is which gets us a better understanding of where we are within the conference,” Carlson said. Overall, the team bonding was something that the swimmers appreciated and got excited for. 

“Honestly, seeing the team dynamic and seeing everyone try their best, it’s going to be a fun meet. I’m really excited,” Beck said.