<roline Mather (So./Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) earned her first conference title when she won the 100-yard freestyle at the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday evening. That result helped the Carleton College women’s swimming and diving team finish third in the team standings, the program’s best showing at the conference meet since 2011.
Carleton head coach Andy Clark was voted the Women’s Swimming Coach-of-the-Year. His Knights finished with 477 points in the team competition. The University of St. Thomas secured its second straight team title, while Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf, and St. Catherine round out the top five squads.
The Knights’ first points on Saturday came in the 1-meter diving competition where Amy Roach (Jr./Bethesda, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) placed eighth with her score of 330.25 points during the finals.
Maria Wetzel (Sr./Salem, Ore./West Salem) earned All-MIAC status once again in the 200-yard backstroke. She posted a NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 2:02.71 during the prelims but could not improve her time during the finals and finished as the runner-up for the fourth consecutive year. Prior to racing on Thursday, however, Wetzel did a time trial in the same event and registered a time of 2:01.78 which puts her in very strong position for a bid to Nationals.
Allie Clark (Sr./Northfield, Minn./Northfield) won the 200 backstroke consolation final with her time of 2:09.05, breaking her personal record that she had set during the prelims. Emma Lederer (Fy./Madison, Wis./West) finished 12th at 2:13.45, and like Clark, she again bettered her personal best that was established during the morning swim.
During the morning prelims of the 100-yard freestyle, Mather posted the top qualifying time and trimmed 0.82 seconds off her previous personal record with a time of 51.53 to rank second in team history. In Saturday’s final, she improved on that with a winning time of 51.44, a NCAA ‘B’ cut time and just off the Nationals selection time from a year ago.
Alex Braiedy (Sr./Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka) finished fourth overall in the same event. She registered a new personal record during prelims, then improved upon that in the finals as she reached the wall at 52.19 to rank fifth all-time at Carleton. Morgan Mayer (Fy./Garret Park, Md./Georgetown Day) set a new PR of 54.89 to qualify for the consolation final where she finished 15th.
Ada Meyer (Fy./Seattle, Wash./Ingraham) was the second-fastest qualifier during the prelims of the 200-yard breaststroke when she established a new personal best of 2:24.72, second-fastest in team history. She improved on that time and held her place on the podium during the finals, touching the wall at 2:24.26. Mayer qualified for consolation final and placed 13th with her time of 2:29.17.
Meredith Bergman (So./Bethesda, Md./Georgetown Day) and Anna Gergely (So./Denver, Colo./Jewish Day School) grabbed the top two spots in the consolation final of the 200-yard butterfly. Bergman took nearly three seconds off her personal best, touching the wall at 2:16.55. Gergerly finished exactly one second behind.
The Knights capped the weekend with another All-MIAC swim in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Braiedy, Mather, Wetzel, and Clark combined on a time of 3:33.31.
ALL-MIAC PERFORMANCES FOR CARLETON
200-yard freestyle relay
3. Carleton (Caroline Mather, Anisa Lester, Maria Wetzel, Alex Braiedy) — 1:36.06
50-yard freestyle
2. Caroline Mather — 23.32 [new PR and NCAA ‘B’ cut time]
400-yard medley relay
2. Carleton (Maria Wetzel, Ada Meyer, Alex Braiedy, Caroline Mather) — 3:55.35
200-yard medley relay
3. Carleton (Allie Clark, Ada Meyer, Alex Braiedy, Caroline Mather) — 1:47.09
400-yard IM
1. Maria Wetzel — 4:28.03 [new PR, new team record, new MIAC Championships and MIAC overall record, and NCAA ‘B’ cut time]
200-yard freestyle
2. Caroline Mather — 1:53.76 [new PR]
3. Alex Braiedy — 1:54.42 [new PR]
100-yard breaststroke
1. Ada Meyer — 1:05.34 [new PR]
200-yard backstroke
2. Maria Wetzel — 2:03.49 [NCAA ‘B’ cut time]
100-yard freestyle
1. Caroline Mather — 51.44 [new PR, NCAA ‘B’ cut time]
200-yard breaststroke
2. Ada Meyer — 2:24.72 [new PR]
400-yard freestyle relay
3. Carleton (Alex Braiedy, Caroline Mather, Maria Wetzel, Allie Clark) — 3:33.31