<onference meet only three and a half weeks away, the Carleton women’s swimming and diving team put together an impressive performance, defeating Grinnell College and St. Cloud State, a Division II program, at the Carleton Mini Invite. The Knights accumulated 639 points, SCSU was next at 548 followed by Grinnell at 387 points.
Kate Alexander ’10 broke a pair of her own pool records as she posted NCAA qualifying “B” standard times in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke. She also cruised to victory in the 400 IM.
In the 100 breaststroke, she trimmed nearly 0.3 second off her previous Thorpe Pool standard as she was first to the wall with a time of 1:06.91. She returned to the water later and with a time of 2:26.10, took almost 0.8 seconds off her pool record in the 200 breaststroke.
With a time of 4:39.27, she narrowly missed posting another “B” cut time in her final individual swim of the day, the 400 IM, missing the standard by 0.24 seconds.
Carleton showed its balance by posting victories in four other individual races. Junior Kelsey Ihinger and senior Kaarin Taylor finished 1-2 in the 200 butterfly; Becky Alexander ’09 edged Grinnell’s Valerie Stimac by 0.01 seconds in the 100 freestyle; and Maggie Alexander ’12 posted victories in the 200 backstroke and the 100 butterfly.
Annie Metcalf ’12 finished second in the 1650 freestyle, while Kale Zicafoose ’11, Caitlin Clements-Green ’09 and Metcalf placed second, third and fourth respectively in the 100 backstroke.
Carleton also had strong showings in the relays, winning the 800 freestyle relay and recordng second-place finishes in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.
The Carleton men’s team finished second at the Mini Invite. The Knights tallied 493.5 points and were edged by St. Cloud State, a Division II squad that scored 620.5 points. Grinnell College was third with 407 points.
Andrew Mering ’11 was among the day’s stars for Carleton as he took top honors in the 100 backstroke, finished second in the 200 backstroke, and was part of a trio of second-place relays.
Ted Marschall ’09 once again turned in a spectacular afternoon of swimming. He won the 200 butterfly, prevailed in the 500 freestyle, and blew away the field for a 20-second victory in the 400 IM, when he recorded a season-best time of 4:10.38. Additionally, he swam a leg on the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relays that both finished second.
Kevin Hallman ’12 got the Knights’ first individual victory of the day, winning the 1650 freestyle.
The divers also contributed in a big way. John Knapp ’09, the 2008 MIAC Co-Diver of the Year, notched solid victories in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions. Teammate Eric Brenner ’11 finished second on the lower board and third from 3-meters.
The Knights swimming and diving teams will both swim a dual meet against Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, Jan. 31 in St. Peter, Minn.