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Korteum breaks national record

Sawra Karimi
April 2, 2002

Gabe Korteum (SR, Andover, Minn.) left his mark on Division III diving in his last meet as a college diver, by not only winning the one meter competition at the NCAA championships, but by also shattering the NCAA Division III record in the process. The championships took place March 21st-23rd at the University of Miami at Ohio. It was obvious from the way Korteum performed that he was determined to end his successful diving career on a high note. "It was amazing, Gabe hit every single dive, and mean while left the competition behind him" said coach Bob Hauck about Korteum?s performance. His final record setting score of 557.90 was over fifty points higher then that of the second place finisher. Korteum was well deserving of this championship after a runner up finish as a sophomore, and a disappointing meet last year.

As usual Korteum was joined at the championships with his two teammates Kyle Rudser (SR, Northfield, Minn.) and Jake Dunn (SR, St. Charles, Minn.). Rudser finished 19th on the one-meter with a final score of 372.65 and improved on the three meter competition with a 13th place finish with a score of 382.45. In only second year as a competitive diver, and in his first national championship, Dunn surprised everyone with a 15th place finish on the one-meter with a score of 395.10. The diving field as a whole struggled on the three meter competition which took place on the final day of competition. Although Rudser improved his finish on three meter, both Dunn and Kortuem were unable to repeat their great performances from the one-meter competition. Korteum finished 10th with 401.65 points and Dunn 21st with 320.10 points. The three count punch this trio of seniors provided for the Oles at virtually every dual meet this year will be greatly missed next year.

The St. Olaf swimmers were just as successful at Nationals. Their performances combined with the points from the divers resulted in a 13th place finish for the Oles as a team, with a score of 67.5 points. Kenyon was once again victorious, sweeping the competition with a score of 589 points.

Tom Dow (SR, Poway, Calif.) led the men in the pool with two record breaking performances. Dow had a phenomenal swim in the 100-yard breaststroke to finish 12th with a time of 58.13. His time in prelims of 58.06 actually tied the school record that was set by Ryan Lussenden (SR, Morris, Minn.) at this years MIAC championships. Dow came back on the final day of competition to set another school record in the 200-yard breaststroke that placed his 12th.. His time of 2:06.22 just eclipsed the time of 2:06.35 set by Bill Bloomberg in 1986.

The Oles once again performed well in the medley relays, which they had continuous success in all year. The team of Jake Hvistendahl (SO, Minnetonka, Minn.), Ryan Lussenden, Adam Garret (SO, Cannon Falls, Minn.) and Bo Connelly (SR, Hutchinson, Minn.) finished 13th in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:28.41. In the 200-yard medley Dow took over for Lussenden in the breaststroke leg and the foursome finished 11th with a time of 1:34.66. All five of the men earned All-American Honorable Mention honors. Hvistendahl, Lussenden and Connelly also competed individually for the Oles.

Hvistendahl tied for 12th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.08, to score points for the Oles. He also competed in the 200-yard backstroke, where he finished with a time of 1:55.19. Unfortunately only the top sixteen swimmers are in contention to score points. After turning in unbelievable performances at the MIAC championships Lussenden struggled somewhat to repeat his performances, but still came through for the Oles with great relay performances. Individually, Lussenden finished 28th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.66 and 32nd in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:11.99.

Sprinter Bo Connelly had a great meet under less then ideal circumstances. After flying in to Ohio on the day of competition Connelly still managed to pull off a competitive time of 21.40 in the 50-yard freestyle to finish 22nd out of 50 competitors. In his 100-yard freestyle Connelly?s goggles fell off the minute he hit the water, but he still turned in a great time of 47.05, that place him 29th. In the 200-yard freestyle Connelly had his highest finish of 21st with a time of 1:43.28. Connelly has had a tremendous career in his four years on the St. Olaf swim team, and his performances at nationals were just additional proof of the talent he possesses.

Overall, Hauck was very happy with the performance of all of the swimmers. "The men trained well leading to the meet, and had a good attitude through out the whole thing. Every single person scored points for us, which is great. In addition all of the men earned All-American Honorable Mention honors, with the exception of Gabe who of course was All-American. Besides Adam and Jake, the rest of the men are seniors, and I have truly appreciated the commitment these men have made to the program, and was happy to see them all end on a good note" The St. Olaf men's team will definitely feel the loss of these high caliber swimmers, but should still hold there own next year due to agroup of strong underclassmen.

Contact Le Ann Finger at 507-786-3315 or finger@stolaf.edu.