Staff Writer- Alayna Boe
An eventful four days of competition were worthwhile for both the Gustavus Adolphus Men’s and Women’s Swim & Dive teams. Over the course of these four days, there were multiple events that showcased the massive depth that these two teams possess, a testament to their sheer dominance in the MIAC conference. Both the men and women kept their winning streaks going, with the men clocking their seventh consecutive title and the women their third.
Starting off on the men’s side, they started their Wednesday competition off with a bang. The 200 medley relay took the first-place podium spot by almost 4 seconds. This set the Gusties up for an eventful and victorious long weekend. Ending the first day, the Golden Gusties also came out victorious in the 800 freestyle relay, but the margin of victory was far less than that of the 200.
Thursday came along, and the energy was already high in Minneapolis. In the 200 IM, the men swept the field, and four athletes finished in the top four. The 400 medley relay team also took first place and kept the winning streak going for the Gusties. Junior Braden Ripken finished his 50 freestyle race with a winning time of 20.70, making him win by 0.14 seconds. In another singles race, Junior Logan Cyr took second place in his 500 freestyle.
In a fast fashion, Friday came and went with winning times all around. Ripken won the 100 breaststroke and set a new MIAC Championship meet record. He beat the time set in 2019 by 0.52 seconds and dipped into the 53-second mark. This was just one small victory for the team on Friday, and they won plenty more. Sophomore Josh Wallin was a crucial part in many relays and got his own title in the 100 backstroke and set the MIAC season record with a time of 50.03.
The fourth and final day of the MIAC Championships was Saturday, Feb. 14th, and at the end of this long battle, the Gustavus Adolphus Men’s Swim & Dive team would emerge victorious. Winning by over 300 points, this weekend was an absolute sweep for the Gusties, but their determination and grit were still there.
Setting the stage for the women’s team, they competed against eight other conference teams and ruled over them all. This gave them their third consecutive MIAC title and 13th in program history. While this title was hard-fought, the Gusties were victorious by over 100 points.
The Wednesday competition was led by the winning 800 freestyle relay team of Geneva Fackler, Caitlyn Otto, Leah Felton, and Stella Anderson Moye. With a time of 7:43.68, the Gusties took the win by almost a second over Macalester. This time was also a MIAC conference best for this season and really showed the improvement of the season.
Day two of the competition saw more than just swimming; it saw diving as well. Senior Gabby Stoudt led the Gustavus women in their diving and took eighth place overall in her one-meter dive. As a Senior, this was Stoudt’s last MIAC, but not her last meet. She will be competing at regionals and diving her best.
At the MIAC Championship meet, Stoudt had 11 dives on each board. Since the dives on the boards are different, there is a preference for each height. She prefers her back dive on the one-meter board because, as she said, “they’re pretty consistent and they look really good.” The diving atmosphere is also a lot different from the swimming because it is a lot smaller and more personal. “What I really like about the diving community is we’re close as a team because there’s only 6 of us, but also all of the divers in the MIAC as a whole are very friendly because there’s just not that many of us, we want to see everybody succeed,” Stoudt said. This culture helps the divers improve their scores and have fun while doing it.
On Friday, First-year Annika Beck set a new personal record in her 400 IM and took second overall. The Gusties were pretty consistent with their podium finishes on Friday and set the stage heading into the final day of competition.
Energy was at an all-time high on Saturday while competition was wrapping up and final scores were being tallied. Beck took the gold in the 1650 freestyle and swam it well into the 17-minute mark. Stoudt placed seventh overall in her three-meter dive, and many others had podium finishes. These top marks gave the Gusties enough points to secure the title and win the MIAC conference.
Both the Men’s and Women’s teams did amazing work over this long weekend, and their hard work paid off. Not only winning, but sweeping the competition shows the sheer dedication and willpower both these teams possess to bring pride to their school. Go Gusties!