ST. PAUL, Minn. – Nine members of the Macalester College men’s swimming & diving team were honored, as the MIAC announced its year-end awards today. The top three finishers at this past weekend’s MIAC Swimming & Diving championships earned All-MIAC recognition, with the next three finishers in the individual events and the fourth-place finisher in the relays receiving All-MIAC honorable mention.
All five of Macalester’s relay teams were named All-MIAC. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of senior Casey Meretta (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill), junior Thomas Moore (Philadelphia, Pa./Science Leadership Academy), sophomore Max Taufen (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) and senior TJ Palli (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) took second with a school-record time of 1:24.36. The same four swimmers also broke the school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:05.86 to finish second. The 200-yard medley relay squad of sophomore Kean Pajarillaga (Saipan, Marianas Pacific/Grace Christian Academy), senior Will St. John (McGaheysville, Va./East Rockingham), sophomore Jack Schumacher (Golden, Colo./Lakewood) and Palli also placed second in 1:34.18. Pajarillaga, St. John, Moore and Taufen took third in the 400-yard medley relay in 3:26.55, and the 800-yard freestyle relay team of Moore, Pajarillaga, first year Edward Barnes (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) and Taufen finished third in 6:58.01.
In the individual swimming events, Moore placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.70. He had already broken the school record in that event by swimming a time of 1:42.12 to lead off the 800 free relay on Wednesday. Moore also earned All-MIAC honors by taking third in the 100-yard freestyle in 46.40. Pajarillaga was All-MIAC in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke with times of 51.29 and 1:52.73, respectively.
Taufen received honorable mention with sixth-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle (21.26) and the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.21). Others receiving honorable mention include Barnes, who was fourth in the 200-yard butterfly (1:55.47), St. John, who was sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:09.50), and Murphy, who was sixth in the 200-yard individual medley (1:56.82).
In the diving events, senior Dylan Herlihy (Reading, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover) turned in two strong performances. He was sixth on the 1-meter board with a score of 341.35 and scored 322.80 points to take sixth on the 3-meter board and earn All-MIAC honorable mention in both events.
As a team, Macalester scored 497.5 points to finished fourth out of six teams at the MIAC Championships.
Macalester College is a Top 25 Liberal Arts College in St. Paul, MN known for its rigorous academics, commitment to community, service to society, and internationalism and multiculturalism. A MIAC program on the rise — the swimming and diving Scots have broken 20+ school records in each of the past two seasons; the women’s team finished runner-up in 2025. Curiosity. Competition and Drive. Community. #GoScots #MacalesterSwive