Johnnies demolish Hamline 232-35 in St. Paul

The SJU Swim and Dive team competed at the Hamline Invitational in St. Paul. Despite it technically being an invitational event, St. John’s only competed against Hamline in the men’s event. The Johnnies dominated the Pipers, winning 14 of the 16 events and securing a 232-35 win. Beginning with diving, the Johnnies held spots at the top for each event.

“I was really impressed with everyone’s performances,” said Jack Grabinski, who held the top spot both in the one-and three-meter dives. “I scored 271 on three meter and 259 on one meter and I’m happy with those results. I have some work to do going forward and I’m excited for what the rest of the season brings.”

As far as the swimming competitions went, the Johnnies enjoyed similar success.

“As a team, we swam very well,” said senior co-captain Spencer Atkinson. “A good amount of people on the team swam something different than usual, which was fun to see.”

Head Coach Benjamin Gill had similar thoughts about his team’s versatility.

“I’m incredibly proud of how our guys stepped up and swam over the course of the weekend,” Gill said. “Many of our guys were swimming events they weren’t used to doing on Saturday, and yet they put in their best efforts and came away with a solid win.”

Along with some upperclassmen stepping into new roles on Saturday and having success, the new first-year on the team also came in and had great performances.

Out of the 16 total events at the invitational, Johnnie first-year clinched wins in six of those events, with both Colby Kern and Liam Noble winning two events each. Kern won both the 50-yard backstroke and 500-yard freestyle, Noble won both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle. Along with finishes at the top,the Johnnie underclassmen had numerous finishes in the top three and five for each event.

“Our freshman class is very talented,” Atkinson said. “They are posting some impressive times early in the season, as well as our returners despite some injuries.”

The performances of both the returning guys as well as the underclassmen demonstrate the depth of this team heading into the season.

“The talent on the team runs deep this year,” Grabinski said. “We have 40 Johnnie swimmers and divers, the most there has been in a long time, and it’s exciting to see the guys crush it in the pool.”

With the depth of this team and the number of guys on the Johnnie roster, there is much optimism for this season.

“It’s going to be a very exciting season for the swim and dive team here at St. John’s,” Gill said. “I look forward to watching our team grow over the course of the season and hope that we can build upon the success we had this weekend.”

The Johnnies will look to build on their early success this weekend as they host Macalester for swimming on Friday and are at Macalester for diving on Saturday.