From Thursday, 18 through Saturday, Feb. 20 the St. Olaf men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the MIAC Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. St. Olaf and Macalester College jointly hosted the meet.
Both the men’s and women’s teams performed well against a field of tough competition. The men placed third out of eighth overall, coming in behind the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University with a final score of 502.5 points. The women also finished in third place behind the University of St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus College with an overall score of 485.5 points after the two days of competition.
Many of the women’s performances qualified them for the NCAA Championships, including Courtney Miller ’17, who won the one-meter diving competition with a score of 427.85, and Maddie Lee ’16, who had a score of 52.00 in the 100-meter freestyle race, placing second. Miller also won the Diver of the Year Award, taking the title from two-time winner Jenna Nagy of St. Catherine University, who finished behind Miller in both competitions.
The men’s team also had notable performances, with multiple swimmers qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Scott Hodgson ’16 qualified with a score of 459.9 in the three-meter diving competition, placing second. Nick Wilkerson ’17 qualified with a time of 2:04.28 in the 200-meter breaststroke, and Bobby Schultze ’16 qualified and finished second with his time of 16:12.31 in the 1650-meter free event.
Both teams now turn towards the NCAA Championships on March 16-19 in Greensboro, N.C.
