Friday delivers unforgettable session at 2014 MIAC S&D Championships

MINNEAPOLIS  -- Friday night delivered a session to remember at the 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. A total of eight records fell, with five new MIAC records and three additional meet records all fell in the meet's fourth session.

In the team races, the Gustavus women built on its lead, and the St. Olaf men continued to lead the field as well, with St. Thomas sticking in second place in both standings. The Gustie women are narrowing in on their fifth MIAC title in a row, and the Oles are looking for a repeat title, and their fifth in eight seasons.

| SESSION 4 RESULTS | PHOTOS: MEN - WOMEN | ARCHIVED VIDEO |

The Gustie women are nearly to 600 points after just two days, with a league-leading total of 596.5 two-thirds of the way through the meet. The Tommies are second with 449 and St. Olaf has 340.5 to round out the top three. Carleton has a total of 253 and sits just six points ahead of Saint Benedict (247) in a narrow battle for fourth. St. Catherine is in sixth with 185, and Macalester is solidly in seventh with a total of 155. Concordia has 93 in eighth, Augsburg is 10 back (83) in ninth and Saint Mary's (54) has a seven-point lead on Hamline (47) for 10th.

The men's standings have St. Olaf atop again with a two-day total of 564. The Tommies are the only other team over 400, at 477 in second place. Carleton has 355.5, with Gutavus in fourth 324.5. Saint John's rounds out the top five, as the Johnnies have 286.5 points. Hamline broke the century mark with 102.5 in sixth, as did Macalester in seventh with an even 100. Saint Mary's rounds out the men's standings with 79 points.

  
The Gustavus 200-medley relay team celebrates after
winning and setting a new MIAC record.
(Photo by Matt Higgins, MIAC)
 

Two of the new meet records came courtesy of the Gustavus women. Reigning MIAC Women's Swimmer-of-the-Year Alissa Tinklenberg dazzled again Friday night, breaking her own MIAC record while capturing her third-straight 100-yard backstroke title with a time of 55.26. She teamed up with Laura Drake, Dani Klunk and Katie Olson to win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:43.57, which is also a new MIAC all-time best.

St. Thomas had a pair of record-breaking butterfly performances as well. Mariann Kukielka captured her third-straight 100-yard butterfly title with a new MIAC-record time of 55.25. In the men's 100-fly, Tommie sophomore Mike Lanz defeated St. Olaf's Billy Brebrick, the defending champion, with a new MIAC record time of 48.21. Brebrick was also below the previous record at 48.46.

It was another banner night for the St. Olaf men, led by a pair of record-breaking relays. The Oles' 800-yard freestyle relay team of Michael Gratz, Tanner Roe, Brebrick and Spencer Scarth set a new MIAC record with a victorious time of 6:44.36. Gratz, Colby Kubat, Brebrick and Alek Rudstrom also delivered a new meet record in the men's 200-yard medley relay, touching the wall in 1:30.36. Both times met the 2013 NCAA standard.

The St. Olaf women got into the record-breaking act, as they set a new meet record in the 800-yard freestyle. Carolyn Bernhardt, Sarah Kemp, Abbey Schnaith and Maddie Lee finished the race in 7:37.51 to eclipse the old MIAC championship mark and meet the 2013 NCAA selection standard.

The Ole men had another night full of individual highlights as well, led by Kubat, who made it a career sweep in the men's 100-yard breaststroke. Kubat won his fourth-straight title in the event Friday with a time of 55.52, which meets the NCAA's 2013 selection standard. Fellow Ole Roe captured his second-straight 200-yard freestyle title, breaking the MIAC meet record by touching the wall in 1:39.18.

Two more St. Olaf swimmers successfully defended titles as well. Junior Michael Gratz added to his stellar weekend as well, capturing his second-straight 100-yard backstroke title with a 2013 NCAA selection time of 49.53. Teammate Spencer Scarth met the NCAA B cut while winning his second-straight 400-yard individual medley title in 4:05.76.

On the diving board, it was a good night to be a Scot. Reigning MIAC Women's Diver-of-the-Year Renee Jordan successfully defend her 3-meter championship with a dazzling performance. Jordan amassed 516.00 points to win by more than 60 points. Teammate Hunter Hedenberg was second (442.25) and St. Catherine's Jenna Nagy was third (418.70). All three met the NCAA's 2013 selection standard.

  
St. Olaf's Colby Kubat swims to his fourth-straight title
in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday night.
(Photo by Matt Higgins, MIAC) 

Tinklenberg and the 200-medley relay weren't the only Gustavus stars on Friday. Junior Jenny Strom won the 100-yard breaststroke for the third year in a row with a 2013 selection time of 1:03.78. The Gusties also swept the top three spots in the 400-yard individual medley. First-year swimmer Hayley Booher (4:30.77) won the 400-IM title, with teammates Kristi Podratz (4:39.44) and Abby Lyle (4:39.56) in second and third, respectively. All three times met the NCAA B cut.

The St. Olaf women got a win out of sophomore Maddie Lee. She met the B cut with a time of 1:51.64 while winning the 200-yard freestyle. Carleton's Milana Socha earned her second individual All-MIAC honor of 2014 with a second-place finish, and Saint Benedict's Steph Bierman finished third. In the 100-breast, runner-up Emily Punyko of St. Thomas and third-place finisher Alex Zuelke of St. Catherine both met the B cut, as did Gustavus' Klunk and St. Thomas' Courtney Grunewald in the 100-fly. St. Olaf's Carolyn Bernhardt had a B cut in the 100-back, and St. Thomas' 200-yard medley relay team met the 2013 NCAA selection standard.

On the men's side, there were several other notable swims. St. Olaf rookie Nick Wilkerson met the 2013 selection time in the 100-breast, as did Gustavus' Dante Colucci in the 100-back. St. Thomas' Chris Tri had a B-cut performance in the 400-IM, and Gustavus' Zac Solis was second in the 200-free a night after winning the 500-freestyle title.                

The top three finishers in each event - including relays - earned All-Conference honors for their performances, and were awarded medals. Complete team standings and Friday's All-Conference honorees are listed below.

The 2014 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships will continue with two more sessions Saturday (Feb. 15) at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The final morning session features preliminary races and will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the last evening finals sessions will start at 6:30 p.m. The doors open at 9 a.m. for the morning session, and again at 3 p.m. for the final session of the meet.

  
St. Thomas Head Coach Tom Hodgson presents Mariann 
Kukielka with her gold medal in the 100-yard butterfly.
(Photo by Matt Higgins, MIAC) 

Spectators are welcome at all sessions, and there are two different options for purchasing tickets. Single-session tickets will be sold, costing $8 for adults and $4 for students. Fans will also have the option to buy an All-Session Pass for $40 (adults) or $20 (students). Heat sheets are included in the price of admission and will be available at the ticket window. Children 5 and under will be admitted free, and MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes or discounts will be accepted.

If fans can't make it to Minneapolis, there are several ways they can track the action from afar. The MIAC has again teamed up with Webcast America to offer a live video/audio webcast of all six sessions. Webcast America will also offer archives of the sessions on its website for on-demand viewing, or purchase on DVD. There will also be "live" results available online with times and scores updated shortly following each event.

Complete information and coverage of the 2014 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships can be found on the MIAC's event home page. Throughout the championships, the page will include the event schedulesvenue informationticket informationpsych sheets, heat sheets, results, recaps, photo galleries, highlight videos, helpful links and more. Fans can connect throughout the meet via social media, using the official hashtag #MIACSD on Twitter.

Gustavus Adolphus College and Hamline University are serving as the host institutions for the 2014 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships. Twin Cities Orthopedics will again provide athletic training and medical services. The Commons Hotel is the official hotel partner of the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships, and Pure Blue Swim provided medals for All-MIAC performers.

2014 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships - Session 4
Results | Photos: Men - Women | Archived Video | Highlight VideoEvent Home Page | Session 5 Heat Sheet |


2014 MIAC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men's Team Scores (after day two)
1. St. Olaf - 564
2. St. Thomas - 477
3. Carleton - 355.5
4. Gustavus - 324.5
5. Saint John's - 286.5
6. Hamline - 102.5
7. Macalester - 100
8. Saint Mary's - 79

Women's Team Scores (after day two)

1. Gustavus - 596.5
2. St. Thomas - 449
3. St. Olaf - 340.5
4. Carleton - 253
5. Saint Benedict - 247
6. St. Catherine - 185
7. Macalester - 155
8. Concordia - 93
9. Augsburg - 83
10. Saint Mary's - 54
11. Hamline - 47

2014 MIAC Men's All-Conference Individuals   

200-yard medley relay
1. St. Olaf, 1:30.36, M, ST13
(Michael Gratz, Colby Kubat, Billy Brebrick, Alek Rudstrom)
2. Gustavus, 1:33.15
(Dante Colucci, Jake Stern, Ross Larson, Sam Olson-Anstett)
3. Saint John's, 1:33.25
(Braden McCormack, Joe Duxbury, Matthew McCormack, Paul Knaak)   

400-yard individual medley
1. Spencer Scarth, St. Olaf, 4:05.76, R, B
2. Chris Tri, St. Thomas, 4:07.68, B
3. Walker Matthews, 4:09.03

100-yard butterfly
1. Mike Lanz, St. Thomas, So., 48.21, M*, ST13
2. Billy Brebrick, St. Olaf, So., 48.46, ST13
3. Evan Eklund, St. Thomas, 50.31

200-yard freestyle
1. Tanner Roe, St. Olaf, Jr., 1:39.18, M, R, ST13
2. Zac Solis, Gustavus, Jr., 1:42.56
3. Griffin Voss, St. Thomas, Jr., 1:43.33

100-yard breaststroke
1. Colby Kubat, St. Olaf, Sr., 55.52, R4, ST13
2. Nick Wilkerson, St. Olaf, Fr., 55.98, ST13
3. Erik Money, St. Olaf, Jr., 56.17, ST13

100-yard backstroke
1. Michael Gratz, St. Olaf, Jr., 49.53, R, ST13
2. Dante Colucci, Gustavus, So., 49.62, ST13
3. Braden McCormack, Saint John's, 51.52

800-yard freestyle
1. St. Olaf, 6:44.36, M*, ST13
(Michael Gratz, Tanner Roe, Billy Brebrick, Spencer Scarth)
2. St. Thomas, 6:58.64
(Mike Lanz, Cole Fuerste, Luke, Schneeman, Griffin Voss)
3. Carleton, 6:59.72
(Stephen Grinich, Evan Harris, Alex Mathson, Benito Ramirez) 

2014 MIAC Women's All-Conference Individuals

3-meter diving
1. Renee Jordan, Macalester, Sr., 516.00, R, ST13
2. Hunter Hedenberg, Macalester, So., 442.25, ST13
3. Jenna Nagy, St. Catherine, Fy., 418.70, ST13

200-yard medley relay
1. Gustavus, 1:43.57, M*, ST13
(Alissa Tinklenberg, Laura Drake, Dani Klunk, Katie Olson)
2. St. Thomas, 144.75, ST13
(Hayley Trace, Emily Punyko, Mariann Kukielka, Courtney Grunewald)
3. St. Olaf, 1:47.35 
(Carolyn Bernhardt, Megan Gaylord, Abbey Schnaith, Maria Thomforde) 

400-yard individual medley
1. Hayley Booher, Gustavus, Fy., 4:30.77, B
2. Kristi Podratz, Gustavus, Fy., 4:39.44
3. Abby Lyle, Gustavus, Sr., 4:39.56

100-yard butterfly
1. Mariann Kukielka, St. Thomas, Jr., 55.25, M*, R3, ST13
2. Dani Klunk, Gustavus, Fy., 56.91, B
3. Courtney Grunewald, St. Thomas, Fy., 57.71, B

200-yard freestyle
1. Maddie Lee, St. Olaf, So., 1:51.64, B
2. Milana Socha, Carleton, Sr., 1:53.78
3. Steph Bierman, Saint Benedict, So., 1:54.52

100-yard breaststroke
1. Jenny Strom, Gustavus, Jr., 1:03.78, R3, ST13
2. Emily Punyko, St. Thomas, 1:04.55, B
3. Alex Zuelke, St. Catherine, 1:05.29, B

100-yard backstroke
1. Alissa Tinklenberg, Gustavus, Sr., 55.26, M*, R3, ST13
2. Carolyn Bernhardt, St. Olaf, Sr., 57.22, B
3. Hayley Trace, St. Thomas, Sr., 58.24

800-yard freestyle
1. St. Olaf, 7:37.51, M, ST13
(Carolyn Bernhardt, Sarah Kemp, Abbey Schnaith, Maddie Lee)
2. Gustavus, 7:41.15, B
(Katie Olson, Leah Anderson, Hayley Booher, Jenny Strom)
3. Carleton, 7:51.80
(Milana Socha, Brittany Salazar, Alex Braiedy, Maria Wetzel) 

Key: M - Meet Record; M* - MIAC Record; R - Repeat Champion; R3 - 3-time Champion, R4 - 4-time Champion; A - NCAA 'A' Qualifying Standard; B - NCAA 'B' Qualifying Standard; ST13 - 2013 NCAA Selection Time.


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