Sports Editor- Liv White
This past week, Gustavus Swimmer and Junior Braden Ripken and Gymnast and Sophomore Cara Wong represented Gustavus at their respective national championships.
Leading up to nationals, Ripken and the Men’s Swim and Dive Team won the MIAC championships. Individually, Ripken won the 100-yard breaststroke and 50-yard freestyle at the MIAC championships, as well as being a part of the 400 Medley team that won. He also placed second in the 100-yard freestyle. At the Macalester Last Chance Invite, Ripken placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Ripken made his way to the championship meet with his time in the 100 breaststroke, swimming a 53.76 at the MIAC Championship, tying for eighth place in the nation. He also competed in the 200 breaststroke and 50 free at the National Championship.
As for Wong, she has excelled in the all-around, competing in all four events all season. She also tied the fourth-highest all-around score in program history at 38.100 in Gustavus’ final meet of the regular season on February 27th. She is averaging 37.097 for this season in the all-around.
“The gymnastics season is a long one, as we begin training in September and compete through March, with more training from April through August. Even with so little downtime, and such an intense 9-week straight competition schedule, qualifying for Nationals made every mental and physical sacrifice worth it,” Wong said, reflecting on her season.
Leading up to nationals, Ripken and Wong were celebrated on campus for their athletic achievements. Wong stated that “Not just my teammates, but my professors who congratulated me in class, my bosses at work, and even my classmates and fellow athletes on campus were all so supportive of my accomplishments, making it that much more special that I could represent Gustavus on a national stage.”
Ripken competed over the course of three days at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. On the morning of the 18th, Ripken swam in the preliminary round of the 50-yard freestyle. He placed 46th out of 49 with a time of 21.01. On the 20th, Ripken competed in the prelims for the 100 breaststroke. The junior placed 18th of 32, swimming a 54.85. In the final day of the meet on Saturday, the 21st, Ripken competed in the 200 breaststroke prelims. He placed 26th of 28 with a time of 2:07.77.
At the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championships on the 20th, Wong walked away with All-American Honors, placing 5th in the all-around, scoring 36.725. She started the day on the uneven bars, scoring 9.350. Next, she headed to the balance beam, scoring 8.800. In the floor exercise, she scored a 9.025. To finish out the competition, she went to the vault, where she scored a 9.550. Her vault tied for 32nd in the nation.
Wong is the 61st All-American in the history of the gymnastics program at Gustavus. The most recent All-American Gustie gymnasts were Brooke Merila and Sophia Redding in 2022, earning honors in all-around and uneven bars, respectively.
“Competing at Nationals is something that is so special, so I told myself beforehand that no matter the outcome, I would be proud of making it this far. Coming out as fifth all around and an All-American helped me prove to myself that I belonged there,” Wong said.
Additionally, statistics show that around 1 in 10 Division III Athletes go to national championships annually. It is truly a special and distinct honor to represent your college at the national level. This year alone, along with Ripken and Wong, the Men’s basketball team went to the NCAA Sweet 16, representing Gustavus on the national stage.
Being involved in sports is very important to many Gusties.
“Being a part of a sports team at Gustavus means being a part of a community and a group of people that have a bond like no other. We spend so much time together, between our early morning lifts, long practices, team dinners, long bus rides, and everything in between, that we have a sibling-like bond with one another,” Wong said.