The SJU swim and dive team finished a busy weekend. They hosted the Division II St. Cloud State huskies on Jan. 20 and then traveled to St. Thomas for the ‘Meet of the Saints’ on Jan. 21. The Johnnies placed second against St. Cloud State (73 - 147) and then placed third out of four teams (CSB/SJU, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, and St. Cloud State) at the University of St. Thomas. The weekend was a difficult stretch in the Johnnies schedule, but the Johnnies competed well.
“All the teams we faced over the weekend had so much depth, so it was tough,” senior swimmer James Foley said. “St. Thomas and St. Olaf are the two toughest teams we have faced in our conference. We still had a lot of guys who swam well for us, though.”
Last Friday, first-year Connor Franta won the 500-yard freestyle at 5:07:67, and senior Wes Schlichting won the 3-meter dive with a mark of 274.75. On Saturday, senior Josh Seaburg placed second in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:48.89 while Schlichting took second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 277.50. Even though the results may not show it, the Johnnies continue to gain more confidence and build off the positives in their season.
“Playing teams such as St. Cloud State builds our confidence,” Schlichting said. “When we see what they do, it puts more drive into what we need to do as a team for the meets leading up to conference.”
The Johnnies continue to get ready for the big conference meet coming up on Feb. 11. Every meet counts as the Johnnies continue to learn more about themselves as a team before the crucial meet in February. Each meet will determine the roles each swimmer will have.
“Every meet is a stepping stone for conference,” Foley said. “Next meet, against St. Kate’s, we will work on our final strategies and figure out who will be on the conference team.”
Other notable finishers on Friday against St. Cloud State included seniors Seaburg and Jesse Otis, who finished second and third in the 200-yard freestyle, posting times of (1:48.37) and (1:48.92) respectively. On Saturday, Franta took fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:03.65 and junior Ben Maakestad finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle at 1:50.20.
The Johnnies travel back to St. Paul this Saturday, Jan. 28, for the St. Catherine University Invitational, which kicks off at 1 p.m. at Butler Center Pool.