The Minnesota Gophers top swimmers swam mostly off-events in pacing the Jean Freeman Invite this weekend. The two-day meet featured 10 teams from the area, 8 Division III schools from the MIAC conference, South Dakota State University and the host University of Minnesota. The MIAC schools in attendance were Gustavus, St. Olaf, St. Thomas, Carleton, Macalester, Augsburg, Hamline and St. Johns.
Minnesota, competing in the meet memorializing their legenday women’s swim coach, won 16 events and swept all five relays for the men and women. Double winners were Kierra Smith in the 200 and 400 IMs, Daryl Turner in the 50 free and 100 back and Kyler Van Swol in the 200 free and 100 fly. A few Gophers swam their signature events, but most entered in off races three weeks after the team’s rest-and-suit meet, the Minneapolis Grand Prix.
Gustavus Adolphus showed up in force for the meet, winning two events and breaking three school records along the way. Senior Alissa Tinklenberg broke her own school record in the 100 back while beating the field by two seconds. She went 55.55 there and also won the 200 backstroke on day 1. The Gusties pushed Minnesota in the 200 medley relay, finishing a close second but also breaking a school record in 1:44.93. Finally, junior Danielle Klunk went 57.09 to break the Gustavus school record in the 100 fly while finishing 5th. The Gustavus women are the defending MIAC champions and look like the favorites to repeat.
The same can be said for the St. Olaf men, also defending conference champs, who won three events. Mike Gratz went 1:49.65 to win the 200 IM in a landslide, and the Oles went 1-2 in both breaststrokes. Colby Kubat took the 100 breast in 56.51, just ahead of freshman Nick Wilkerson, and Wilkerson returned the favor, winning the 200 breast in 2:03.20 ahead of runner-up Kubat.
South Dakota State took four wins, sweeping both 1650 events with Andrea Budahl and Matthew Carpenter. Breaststroker Emily Campbell won both breaststroke races, going 2:16.01 in the 200 to win by 6 seconds and going 1:04.66 in the 100.
The other team to win an event was Carleton, which got a women’s 100 free win from Milana Socha in 52.76.
The rest of the events were won by Minnesota swimmers: Logan Redondo and Lauren Votava in the 500 frees, Blake Zeiger in the 50, Chris Johnson in the 200 back, Becca Weiland and Ben Bravence in the 200 flys, Hailey Szews in the 200 free, Alex Cisneros in the 400 IM, Derek Toomey in the 100 free and Tori Siminec in the 100 fly.
No team scores were kept at the meet.