CSB+SJU dive into season with wins against Morris

The St. Ben’s and St. John’s swimming and diving teams kicked off their seasons this past weekend with back-to-back meets against Minnesota-Morris. The St. John’s swimming and diving team took a couple of blowout victories, winning 11 out of 12 events for a 172-50 point finish on Friday before winning all twelve events on Saturday for a 182-40 final score. The St. Ben’s team won both of their meets as well, winning 148-74 on Friday and 152-70 on Saturday. They totaled 17 event wins over those two meets.

St. Ben’s head coach Amanda Wolvert had good things to say about her team’s opening performances.

“Our meets against University of Minnesota Morris were a great way for the Bennies to start the season,” Wolvert said via email. “We won both meets with great times and scores, a few personal bests but overall, just really great performances!”

St. John’s head coach Ben Gill had similar thoughts about his team’s showing this past weekend.

“I thought they did really well,” Gill said. “My expectations are not that they dominate on day number one, just that they are starting the process of learning and getting through their races.”

Senior diver Eli Grabinski won the three-meter dive this past weekend and spoke on the unusual circumstane of having back-to-back meets to open the season. Grabinski also took home the MIAC Men’s Diver of the Week award on Tuesday. It is his seventh time earning this honor in his career.

“It was unusual this year, first meet of the year, but two meets back-to-back,” Grabinski said. “First meets are about getting back on the board and back in the pool.”

Grabinski also reflected on his personal performance as well as his team’s performance.

“First meet of the year went about how I expect first meets to go,” Grabinski said. “Not perfect performances by anybody, but also wasn’t terrible. Overall, I am happy with how I did, and I would say the same for all my teammates as well. For a first meet, it was an impressive day.”

CSB sophomore Jayda Alholm finished second in the 100-breaststroke behind fellow CSB student Megan Bartels this past Saturday, and she spoke of what it took to win their first meets.

“We saw a lot of improvements already from last year,” Alholm said. “I feel like the team is strong, mentally and physically. I feel like collectively we all did well.”

Gill spoke on how he helps swimmers and divers juggle their classes and a sport.

“We stress balance a lot with our athletes; it is really important that they are taking care of things in the classroom as well as in the pool,” Gill said. “As a coach, we do things to help them in that process, especially the first-years.”

Wolvert added another key to assisting each individual student athlete.

“Our coaching staff really encourages communication,” Wolvert said. “Being successful in both academics and athletics is communicating where you’re at, what you want to achieve and working together to get there.”

Wolvert also spoke about the growth the team will experience this year.

“The team is in a position to step up and step in,” Wolvert said. “We have a smaller roster than last year, but it’s given the athletes an opportunity to shine in events they normally wouldn’t be in. I’m excited for this team to grow together in their talents and success.”

First meets are only the beginning and Gill looked ahead to the rest of the season.

“We have a great senior class,” Gill said. “They are pushing the younger guys to be just as focused and do what they need to do. Our goal, as it is basically every year, is to win a conference championship. We are very excited about the opportunities of this year and everything it represents.”