Several members of St. John’s Swimming and Diving Team competed in the MIAC Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 11 in St. Paul, Minn.
First-year Bennett Freitag won the 100-yard butterfly and took third in the 50-yard freestyle, while first-year Josh Matthys claimed second in the 200 and third in the 100-yard backstroke. First-year Brandon Hanson finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke, and teammate Justin Sachs claimed third in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. One of SJU’s 200-yard freestyle relay teams comprised of Hanson, Sachs, junior Joe Hollenback and senior Chase Miller, won its event with a time of 1:15.46.
“The MIAC Invitational was awesome,” senior Doug Donaldson said. “It was the final meet of the season for the guys who are not on the conference team, and everyone did really well. It was the last meet of my career as a swimmer, and I was really pleased with my times, especially getting a personal best in the 50-yard freestyle.”
The Johnnies will compete in the MIAC Championships Thursday, Feb. 16 through Saturday, Feb. 18 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
This meet will be an indicator of the work that the team has put in over the year. Sophomore Philip English hopes to swim well in each of his three events: the 200 and 400 individual-medleys and the mile.
“I am really excited for the MIAC Championships,” English said. “This is the first time ever that I am competing in this meet. All of the training during the spring, summer and winter break has paid off. I anticipate making top 16 in all my events.”
Senior Wes Schlichting agrees, and he hopes to see the team’s hard work pay off.
“It’s been a long season and we are nearing the end,” Schlichting said. “Everything we have done this season comes down to the meet next week, and hopefully nationals in March.”
In order to prepare for the MIAC Championships, the team has a specific routine.
“For championship meets, we start tapering about two weeks before the meet,” Donaldson said. “‘Taper’ implies cutting back on the intensity and yardage of practices, visualizing our races, fine-tuning our strokes, focusing on healthy eating, and shaving down the night before the meet. We also wear hi-tech suits meant for championship races.”
In addition to following their pre-competition routine, the Johnnies also have the support of their teammates to prepare them for the MIAC Championships.
“It will be exciting to see the guys push for national cuts and how we stack up against other teams,” Donaldson said. “I think it is quite likely that some SJU all-time records will be broken with current school record holders and SJU seniors.”