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Oles bring in the New Year with a convincing win

Sawra Karimi
January 15, 2002

The benefits of the intense winter training done by the St. Olaf men?s and women?s swimming and diving team were shown on Friday, January 11, against conference opponent Macalester. Both men and women dominated the Scotts on their way to 144-71 and 151-58 wins, respectively. On the men?s side impressive swims were turned in through out the meet. Adam Lukens got the momentum going early on with his win in the 1000-yard freestyle, with a season best time of 10:29.00. Bo Connelly (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) followed suit in the 200-yard freestyle where he led the Oles in a sweep of the event. His winning time of 1:48.93 was fast enough to earn him a four second win over the competition.

In the 200-yard IM the competition did not come from Macalester but rather between the Oles themselves. Jake Hvistendahl (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) led the race with an amazing first half, but Ryan Lussenden?s (Sr., Morris, Minn.) experience came through in the end, when he out touched Hvistendahl with a time of 2:04.29. Hvistendahl?s runner up time of 2:04.51 was a personal best for the standout backstroker.

One of the highlights of the meet came from B.J Brent (So., Ankeny, Iowa), who was gone first semester in Guatemala. With less then a month of training under his belt, Brent was still able to lead off the 200-yard medley relay with a great 50-yard backstroke and then go on to win the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.35. The team was happy to have Brent back on the team, not only for his talent as a swimmer but also for his great charisma and ability to create a fun and happy atmosphere at meets and practices.

Gabe Korteum (Sr., Andover, Minn.) and Kyle Rudser (Sr., Northfield, Minn.) once again dominated the diving competition. The dynamic duo garnered first and second places on both parts of the 1-meter competition, with Korteum leading the way in both cases.

Lee Thomsen (So., El Cajon, Calif.) had a stellar day for the Oles on his way to winning both the 50 and 100-yard freestyles with times of 22.71 and 48.55, respectively. Thomsen has been a consistent and reliable member of the men?s team through out the year, and his results against Macalester only solidified his role as one of the top swimmers on the team.

The Ole women were just as successful as the men against the Scotts. Even with the absence of six of their top swimmers, the Ole women were still able to perform at the highest level and turn in some great times.

The first-year class once again demonstrated their talent with a total of six wins coming from their class alone. Katie Detwiler (Fort Atkinson, Wis.) was a double winner for the Oles, with winning times of 2:17.28 and 5:24.50 in the 200 IM and 500-yard freestyle, respectively. Other first year wins came from Colin Cunningham (University Place, Wash.) in diving with a score of 188.20, Katie Brentz (Arden Hills, Minn.) in the 200-yard freestyle (2:02.56), Sara Champlin (Prescott, Wis.) in the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.80) and Jenna Kubat (Des Moines, Iowa) in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:29.58).

Although Kubat won the race, Jen Rasmussen (Jr., Salt Lake City, Utah) turned in an outstanding time in her first try at the race. Her second place time of 11:45.95 is one of the top four times on the team this year. Rasmussen?s stellar day continued on in the 100-yard backstroke, which she won with a time of 1:04.67.

Other wins for the Oles came from Liz Hathaway (So., Lincoln, Neb.) who won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.16 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 56.62. Lastly, Anna Rickert (Jr., Northfield, Minn.) had her first win of the season on the first part of the one-meter diving competition, with a score of 142.05.

Overall Coach Bob Hauck was happy with the performances of both the men and women. "At this point of the season, it is important for us to take advantage of every opportunity to compete and race, regardless of the level of competition. I felt that everyone went out there and swam their best and consequently turned in some great times."

The team had little time to recuperate before taking on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire the following day at noon.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.