Results
ST. PAUL, MINN. – If there was ever a way to send seniors off, the St. Catherine University swimming and diving team might have figured out the perfect formula.
In the final home meet for seniors Mary Jane Voss (Mequon, Wis.) and Ellie Menso (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington), the Wildcats absolutely dominated the meet to close the weekend with two dual wins over Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams. Thanks to top performances from Voss, Menso and a slew of other student-athletes, St. Kate's defeated Concordia College 133-86 in the team's final meet before the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships in February.
Voss recorded two individual wins and a relay victory Saturday afternoon, highlighting her near perfect day. The senior won the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:07.52 and swam the fastest time in the 500 freestyle (5:32.18) by nearly two seconds. She also guided the Wildcats 400 medley relay team to a win with a time of 4:27.52.
Menso was equally as impressive in the pool Saturday afternoon as she recorded a season best time in the 1000 freestyle of 11:57.29. Menso also competed in the 50 freestyle (29.10) and the 100 butterfly (1:14.92) as an individual and was a member of St. Kate's 200 freestyle relay team.
In addition to the seniors, several first years impressed in Saturday's dual against Concordia. Tori Hagstrom (Maple Grove, Minn. / Heritage Christian Academy) made her debut in the 1000 yard freestyle, winning the event with a time of 11:49.71. She also finished third in the 50 yard freestyle (27.36) and second in the 100 backstroke with a season best time of 2:30.27.
Franceska Hernandez-Nietling was once again outstanding, as she recorded more individual wins Saturday afternoon. The first year won the 100 breaststroke (1:10.36) and 50 freestyle (26.41) and swam the fastest time in the 200 breaststroke (2:33.84), which was an exhibition race.
Three other first years earned individual wins Saturday afternoon. Molly McMahon (Verona, Wis. / Madison Memorial) won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:06.68, while Mikayla Meece (Alexandria, Minn. / Alexandria) won the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 2:33.12. Meece also recorded the fastest time in the 200 Individual Medley (2:26.62) and the second fastest time in the 200 breaststroke (2:47.26).
Sydney Grohman (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) was the third first year to card an individual win Saturday afternoon. Grohman won the 100 freestyle with a time of 58.29. In that same race, Katie Rising (Bismark, N.D. / Century) and Micah Goldman (Arden Hills, Minn. / Mounds View) each had season best swims. Rising clocked in with a season best time of 1:00.57 in the race while Goldman finished in 1:02.56.
Goldman also recorded a career and season best time in the 200 butterfly. The junior finished the race in 2:33.39, beating her previous career best time by tenths of a second. Her time in the 100 freestyle was a career best time as well.
Emily Matlack (Carlton, Minn. / Carlton) recorded a season best time of 2:34.88 in the 200 freestyle.
On the diving side of things, Gabby Page (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Cottage Grove) won both the 1 and 3-meter events with scores of 211.60 and 246.85 respectively.
Thanks to these and several other strong performances, the Wildcats beat the Cobbers 133-86 in Saturday's dual. St. Kate's will take the next two weeks off from competition before partaking in the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships February 15-17. More information, including a championship preview, will be available in the upcoming weeks.
