Bennies off to speedy start this season

The St Ben’s Swim and Dive team is back in action this month. They had their first meet on Oct. 16, which was a pentathlon at St. Kate’s against three other teams.

A pentathlon includes five different events that each swimmer competes in.

This one included the 100-meter freestyle, medley, backstroke, breaststroke and fly.

At the pentathlon, senior Ana Birklid broke a former teammate’s record in the 100-meter individual medley (IM) in just 1:02.98. She was a top-ten finisher in four of the five events, which secured her sixth place overall.

“It was sad to see her record fall but it was exciting to see my name go up. It was a surprise to me for sure, but very exciting,” Birklid said. She is also hoping to break the 200 freestyle record this season.

Teammates Jes Milstroh and Madison Slavik made their way into the top-ten performances in St. Ben’s history at the meet as well. Fiona Rosko and Molly Johanson were also among the top Bennie finishers at the pentathlon.

Last year, Rosko proved to be an asset to the Bennie swimmers, even in a shortened season, by setting a school record in the 200m breaststroke.

“I hope that this season I can put more points on the board for the girls and hopefully represent St. Ben’s well in the conference,” Rosko said.

The Bennies traveled down to Hamline for their first regular meet of the season. They picked up their first win against the Pipers and Concordia-St. Paul with a total of 184 points.

The Bennies won the 200-meter freestyle relay, Birklid won the 200-meter IM, sophomore Josie Larson won the 50-meter freestyle, Johanson won the 1,000-meter and junior Emi Quill picked up the final win for the Bennies in Diving’s first meet of the season in the one-meter dive.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the Bennies are excited to see what they’ll be able to do in the pool.

“I think the team is on a good trajectory for this year. There were a lot of fast swims last year within the shortened season, so I am excited to see what we are capable of with a full season of training,” Rosko said.

The Bennies are also looking to set a few more school records and pull off more dual meet wins before the conference championships, according to CSB Swim coach Mandy Wolvert.

Ana Birklid is hoping that collectively, the team will secure a top-three finish at the MIAC championships in February.

“I think our team has started the season off really strong. Everyone came into the season with individual and team goals and are working hard every day to achieve those goals,” Wolvert said.

On Oct. 29, the Bennies will host Macalester at the SJU Warner Palestra pool for their first home meet of the season. Diving will take place at Macalester on Oct. 30.

The Bennies were unable to compete against Macalester last year in the shortened season, so this meet will prove to be a fun match up for the two schools.

Future meets against St. Kate’s, St. Olaf, and Carleton are anticipated to be exciting match-ups for the Bennies as well, according to Wolvert and Birklid.