MINNEAPOLIS – The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s swimming and diving team is competing this week in the MIAC Championship. Hosted at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus, the four-day championship runs February 11-14.
Opening the second day of the championship in third place after Wednesday’s opening night, the Gusties leapt into first place on Thursday by winning three of the four events and finishing as the runner-up in the other. Gustavus leads the MIAC field with 328 points, holding a 115-point lead over the current runner-up Saint John’s at 213 points. Carleton rounds out the top three at the midway point of the championship with 208.5 points.
Gustavus made waves in the 200 IM by not only winning the event but by taking each of the top four finishes. Aidynn Havermann led the way, winning the event with a time of 1:52.80. Declan Vahey was the runner-up, finishing in 1:54.04. Ben Kell followed in third, clocking in at 1:54.88. Brandon Wilcek finished fourth at 1:55.27. These four finishes alone netted the Gusties 68 points in a huge swing for the championship leaderboard.
The 400 medley relay team brought home the gold for the Gusties. The squad of Josh Wallin, Braden Ripken, Aiden Carlson, and Logan Cyr won the race with a time of 3:20.46, setting a new top mark for the conference this season.
Ripken also won the 50 freestyle for Gustavus. The junior led the way with a time of 20.70, winning by 0.14 seconds.
Cyr added a second-place finish for the Gusties in the 500 freestyle. The junior swam the race in 4:40.76 to finish as the runner-up.
Up next for Gustavus is day three of the MIAC Championships this Friday, February 13. The scheduled men’s finals events for the evening session beginning at 6:30 p.m. are the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, one-meter dive, and the 200 free relay.
Men’s Team Scores Through Thursday
1. Gustavus – 328
2. Saint John’s – 213
3. Carleton – 208.5
4. Macalester – 167.5
5. St. Olaf – 141
6. Hamline – 95
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