In the first 2013 home meet for the St. Olaf men’s and women’s swimming teams, the squad posted several victories, including an annihilation of a 24-year-old pool record.
Billy Brebrick ’16 won the 200-meter butterfly event in a time of 1:53.33, almost six seconds faster than the former pool record from 1989. Not content to stop there, Brebrick also took a victory in the 100-meter butterfly and finished third in the 100-meter freestyle.
Several other Oles also posted notable results in the event. Tanner Roe ’15 finished first in the 50-meter freestyle in 21.24 seconds, grabbed second in the 100-meter freestyle with 47.20 seconds and also took second in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 51.92 seconds. Spencer Scarth ’14, Colby Kubat ’14, Michael Gratz ’15 and Nick Wilkerson ’17 also performed strongly, each finishing in the top three of their respective events.
The St. Olaf women’s team performed well at Skoglund Center, recording two individual victories. Maddie Lee ’16 won the 200-meter freestyle in a time of 1:57.63, and Abbey Schnaith ’16 took first in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:07.87.
Still not content, Schanith also added a respectable fourth place in the 100-meter backstroke and finished with a fifth place swim in the 100-meter butterfly. Carolyn Bernhardt ’14 placed sixth in both the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter backstroke, and Alli Maxwell-Bumann ’17 finished fifth in the 500-meter freestyle.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be looking to continue their strong performances in the coming months, starting with the Alumni Meet on Nov. 9. The men’s team is hoping to replicate last season’s performance, when they finished first in the MIAC and placed 11th at the NCAA championships. The women will be looking to improve on a 2012 season that resulted in a third-place MIAC finish and 16th place at Nationals.
