Story Links ST. PAUL, Minn. – The swimming and diving squads of St. Olaf College for both men and women secured third place at the two-day Roger Ahlman Invitational, held on Friday and Saturday at the Riley Pool at Macalester College. With a total of 10 victories across events, the St. Olaf women’s team ended […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The swimming and diving squads of St. Olaf College for both men and women secured third place at the two-day Roger Ahlman Invitational, held on Friday and Saturday at the Riley Pool at Macalester College.
With a total of 10 victories across events, the St. Olaf women’s team ended up third out of four participants, accumulating 699.5 points, while Gustavus Adolphus College (962.5) and Macalester College (944) took the lead. The Ole men’s team showcased five top-two finishes, resulting in a third-place spot with 508 points, trailing behind Gustavus (1,158) and Macalester (818).
Junior Paige Steenblock was instrumental for the St. Olaf women, coming out victorious in three individual events and marking the highest times recorded in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) for the season in two of those events. Steenblock’s winning timestamps of 2:09.51 in the 200-yard individual medley and 4:37.21 in the 400-yard individual medley are the best in the conference, while her leading time of 2:11.33 in the 200-yard butterfly is positioned third in the MIAC.
First-year member Olivia Small and sophomore Katie Homme contributed two individual first-place finishes each, with Homme winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.39) and 100-yard freestyle (52.78), while Small triumphed in both the 100-yard backstroke (57.49) and 200-yard backstroke (2:04.55). Homme’s time in the 100-yard freestyle and Small’s in the 200-yard backstroke currently rank at the top in the MIAC this season. Additionally, Homme was the second-place finisher in the 500-yard freestyle (5:14.83).
Beyond her two wins in backstroke events, Small was a member of two victorious relays for the Oles, including delivering the MIAC’s fastest split in the 100-yard backstroke (57.20) to kick off the 400-yard medley relay (3:57.67). Sophomore Samantha Sylvester, first-year McKenna Hultgren, and senior Ellen Varley teamed up with Small for the 400 medley relay, while Sylvester, Varley, and Homme completed the top-placing 200-yard medley relay (1:48.40). Both of these relays achieved the highest times in the conference this season.
Varley also claimed first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.60 seconds, positioning her as the MIAC leader at this point. First-year Travis Elling captured the sole event victory for the St. Olaf men in the 1,650-yard freestyle, posting the second-best time in the MIAC at 17:10.07. Elling was also the runner-up in the 500-yard freestyle (4:57.41).
Four other Oles achieved second-place finishes, including junior Nick Starcevich, who recorded the second-best time in the MIAC this season in the 50-yard freestyle (21.26). Junior Aiden Yung finished second in the 400-yard individual medley (4:20.22), sophomore Jack Homme took second place in the 100-yard butterfly (52.48), and fifth-year senior Marcus Hauck finished second in the 100-yard backstroke (54.36).
The teams from St. Olaf will travel to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for their annual training camp from Dec. 26 through Jan. 2, after which they will return to competitive action with a home MIAC dual against Hamline University on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 11 a.m.
