MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In their final tune-up for the 2020 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships, the St. Olaf College men's and women's swimming & diving teams recorded 24 top-10 event finishes at this weekend's Minnesota Challenge at the University of Minnesota.
Junior
Maya Knutson posted St. Olaf's one event victory for the weekend by winning the 200-yard IM (2:13.23) on Friday evening. She also finished as the runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly (1:01.23) and took ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.31).
Senior
Helen Jensen and first year
Maria Newton added second-place finishes for the Oles, as Jensen was second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.58) and Newton recorded a runner-up finish in the 100-yard freestyle (54.01). Jensen also finished ninth in the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.80).
On the men's side, senior
John Loepfe's third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (52.07) was St. Olaf's top placement of the meet. First year
Tim Rizzo took ninth in the 200-yard IM (2:02.66) and sophomore
Sjon Greseth finished 10th in the 100-yard backstroke (56.93) as well.
First year
Brydie Stewart turned in a fourth-place showing in the 100-yard butterfly (1:02.22), while classmate
Annika Cleven was seventh in the 100-yard freestyle (56.33) and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle (25.58).
Four women's divers placed in the top 10 in both the one-meter dive and three-meter dive, led by first year
Anna White's fourth-place finish (223.25) in the one-meter event and first year
Kylie Sieben's third-place result (185.45) in the three-meter event.
The St. Olaf women added four top-six relay finishes, with the 200-yard medley relay of Cleven,
Sophia Nevin, Newton and
Solvay Metelmann taking third (1:54.97). The teams of
Emily Pelszynski, Stewart, Jensen and
Allison Purdum (8:45.19) and
Sarah Giovannozzi, Newton, Cleven and
Olivia Jones (8:48.29) took fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 800-yard freestyle relay.
The Oles return to the University of Minnesota for the 2020 MIAC Championships, which will be held Wednesday, Feb. 12 through Saturday, Feb. 15 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
