Mid Season Taper Meet: The Roger Ahlman Invite

There are a few big meets this weekend where Minnesota colleges will be participating. Today, we take a closer look at the Roger Ahlman Invite. Several Minnesota colleges will be participating this weekend

Host School: Macalester College
Location: Riley Pool – Macalester College
Dates: Friday, Dec. 1st– Saturday, Dec. 2nd , 2023
Meet Format: Timed Finals
Teams Participating: Macalester College, Augsburg University, Concordia College Moorhead, Concordia College St. Paul, Hamline University, Morningside College, St. Catherine’s University, St. Olaf College, University of Jamestown
Livestream Link: https://miacsportsnetwork.com/macalester/

Fast swimming, lots of local teams and a super great team vibe are the hallmarks of this meet. With a timed finals format, you’re going to see great races in every heat of every event.

Don’t know who Roger Ahlman is?? Coach Kylian was kind enough to provide us with some information on the namesake for this meet and you know the Vibe loves swimming history!!!

Rog Ahlman was involved in Minnesota swimming for over forty years. In the late 1930’s, and early 1940’s, he was one of the nation’s best swimmers. The 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s, found him coaching and administrating everything from AAU to high school to college, while the 1970’s and 1980’s saw him heavily involved in officiating.

Rog’s swimming career began at the age of twelve on the St. Paul YMCA team under the guidance of Johnny Wallace. In high school, at St. Paul Johnson, he set city records in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke, and was state champion in the backstroke. In his junior year he set a state record of 1:03.0 in the 100-yard backstroke. This earned him All-American honors. As a senior Rog became the first high school boy to break a minute in the 100-yard backstroke. His national high school record of 59.9 held up for eleven years. That spring he placed fifth in the 150-yard backstroke at the National AAU Indoor Championships.

In 1941, Rog won three national YMCA individual championships and set national YMCA records in the 1500-meter freestyle and the 150-yard backstroke. He also took first in the 400-yard freestyle. By 1942, Rog was attending the University of Minnesota and was captain of the freshman team when World War II interrupted his college days. He continued swimming in the service. First, he was on the Great Lakes Naval Station team Whose powerhouse squad won the 1943 AAU National Championship and set six world records. Rog was a member of their world record setting 800-yard freestyle relay. In 1944, he was on his second AAU national championship team, this time at Bainbridge Naval Station.

After the war he returned to the University of Minnesota where he competed from 1945 to 1949, and was captain his senior year. In 1946, he placed second in the Big Ten and fifth in the NCAA meets in the 150-yard backstroke.

In 1946, he started working part time for Wilder Charities in St. Paul, an organization he would be with for over thirty-five years. His first assignment was to manage the Wilder Pool, run the St. Paul High School Swimming League, and coach all the teams. Even though he could spend very little time with any of the nine teams, Rog was still able to leave each swimmer with the feeling that he was important and that Rog was concerned with his development. This was one of his trademarks whether coaching AAU, high school, or college. Rog continued to run the St. Paul program for twenty years along with being the coach/advisor for the Wilder AAU team from 1952 to 1971.

From 1950 to 1963, he also coached at Hamline University. He had a 75% winning record there, and was asked to design a new pool for Hamline

In 1963, he was the meet manager for the first NAIA National Swimming and Diving Meet held in Minnesota. The site was the new Hamline Pool designed by Roger

Roger officiated for over thirty years at the Boys’ and Girls’ State Meets, including being the starter twice and the diving referee once. He was also selected to be the starter for the NAIA National Swimming Championship Meet four times. Rog helped organize the Minnesota Swimming Officials Association and served as the first president from 1972 to 1974.

He served as official for at least 20 MIAC championships and officiated all Macalester home meets until the late 2000s.

Among the most noteworthy of the awards he has received are his selection as Minnesota Centennial Swimmer on Minnesota’s 100th birthday in 1958.

If you’re thinking of swimming at the next level and staying locally, this is a great meet to check out. Saturday offers both a morning and afternoon session to work with your busy swimmy lifestyles.