Staff Writer- Nathan Swanson

The Gustavus Men’s and Women’s swim & dive teams competed this last Saturday, November 8th, against Hamline and Augsburg University. At their home pool, it was an exciting and successful weekend for both teams, as they each took first place and had a handful of impressive races. Men’s swimming and diving beat Hamline 731-359, while Women’s swimming and diving took first with 805 points, beating both Hamline and Augsburg. Hamline took second place with 249 points, and Augsburg came in third place with 152 points. 

First-year Declan Vahey competed for the Men’s team in 200 and 100 backstroke, and took first place with times of 2:00.89 and 54.02, respectively. Junior Logan Cyr won the 500 and 100 freestyles with times of 5:00.23 and 49.52. In the 200 freestyle, Junior Ben Kell swam first with a time of 1:49.97. Junior Teddy Solensky came in first in the 50 freestyle, finishing at 22.27. In the 200 breaststroke, Junior Braden Ripken won the event with a time of 2:17.91. Junior Aiden Carlson swam in the 100 breaststroke and finished first with a time of 1:01.60. In the 200 butterfly event, Junior Aiden Shermak came in first place with a time of 2:06.55. Vahey, who swam in the 100 butterfly, won that event with a time of 54.18. In the 200 IM, Kell took first, finishing at 2:03.99. The Gustavus Men’s team won the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.17 and the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:28.21. Overall energy from the team was high this weekend, and it is something that the swimmers appreciated and didn’t take for granted. “The sense of camaraderie and support is just on a level that I have never experienced before. I would describe our energy at exciting meets as a chain reaction of positivity. It truly only takes one person to start it, but once it gets going, it stays at a high level until that meet is over with,” Carlson said. 

For the Women’s team, First-year Leah Felton swam in the 200 freestyle and 50 freestyle, finishing in first place with times of 2:01.46 and 25.52, respectively. Felton discussed the inspiration that she felt from cheering her teammates on. “I was really impressed by our butterflyers, especially the people who swam the 200 fly, it was insane to watch and I generally just felt inspired. Shoutout to Stella Anderson Moye. She swam the 200 fly and immediately had to swim the 50 free with me and she still kept a positive attitude,” Felton said. She also talked about a particular moment at the meet where she felt her teammates supporting her, “I looked up and I saw my teammate raising two thumbs up to me, and I genuinely felt all of my stress fade away. It didn’t take long for other teammates to join her, and honestly, I think their energy sometimes makes me swim faster.” In the 500 freestyle, First-year Kaia Churness took first with a time of 5:37.53. Sophomore Caitlyn Otto finished in first place in the 100 freestyle at 54.69. Sophomore Kaitlyn Siers won the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:15.09 and the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:00.16. Senior Lindsay Sundby won the 200 and 100 breaststroke events with times of 2:39.49 and 1:13.89. Junior Stella Anderson Moye won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:21.86, and the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:03.10. In the diving events, Senior Gabriella Stoudt led Gustavus, as she placed first in the 3-meter (210.9) and the 1-meter (243.50). First-year Annika Beck, who swam in the 200 IM event, took first place with a time of 2:18.95. The Gustavus Women’s team won both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay with times of 1:55.03 and 1:41.29, respectively. 

The team will have a week off to rest and recharge. Coming up on Friday, November 21st, and Saturday, November 22nd, the Men’s and Women’s swim & dive teams will travel to Luther College. They will swim in the Luther Invite in Decorah, Iowa, which marks their midseason. “This meet is very exciting because it is an opportunity to see how fast we can go when we are rested, which is what we do at the very end of the season. The energy from our team should be through the roof,” Carlson said.