The Johnnie swimming and diving team returns to action this Saturday, Dec. 12, against St. Thomas. The dual meet is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Warner Palaestra Pool in Collegeville.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished third out of eight teams at the two-day Wis.-River Falls Invitational on Dec. 5 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The Johnnies posted nine Top-Five finishes individually and four relays finished in the top four. Sophomore Ty Nimens (Crookston, Minn.) led SJU with a second-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:59.43 finished third in both the 100- (48.20) and 200-yard freestyle (1:47.49). Sophomore Josh Seaburg (Moorhead, Minn.) finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:50.82) and fifth in the 200-yard butterfly (2:02.66). Sophomore Jesse Otis (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) and junior Michael Williams (Maple Grove, Minn.) claimed third place in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:13.80) and 50-yard freestyle (22.32), respectively. Junior Andy Happe (Urbandale, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) took fourth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.26 and sophomore Jimmy Foley (Moorhead, Minn.) finished fifth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.07). SJU's 400-yard freestyle relay team consisting of Nimens, Otis, Williams and freshman Andrew Shelquist (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) finished second out of 21 teams with a time of 3:15.13, 0:1.14 behind Luther. The Johnnies' 200-yard medley relay squad claimed third place (1:39.23), while the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley teams each took fourth. Four Saint John's University sophomore divers competed at the two-day St. Cloud State Diving Invitational on Dec. 4-5. Wes Schlichting (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) finished fifth in both the 1- (382.35) and 3-meter (386.35) dives. Kelley Burg (Grand Forks, N.D./Sacred Heart) claimed sixth place in the 3-meter (352.00) and seventh in the 1-meter (364.65). Logan Lowell (Stillwater, Minn.) claimed 11th in the 3-meter (286.65) and 13th in the 1-meter (296.30), while Josh Hofmann (Fergus Falls, Minn.) took 17th in the 1-meter (201.80).
A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas took second at last weekend's River Falls Invitational. The Tommies won the 400 medley relay (3:31.96), 200 medley relay (1:35.89) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:26.50). Senior All-American Peter Mullee had four first-place finishes, including all three relays as well as the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:53.29.
THE LAST MEETING: The last time the Johnnies and Tommies met was on Dec. 13, 2008 where the Johnnies took a 71-42 victory. Otis was the only Johnnie to win two events, claiming the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.31) and 500-yard freestyle (4:57.37). Other Johnnies who won events: Foley in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:29.50); Nimens in the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.71); Nate Schwichtenberg (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) in the 1-meter dive (196.65); and Schlichting in the 3-meter dive (196.65). The 800-yard freestyle relay team consisting of Alexander Evich (Alexandria, Minn.), Robert Falchi (Henderson, Nev./Coronado), Happe and Andrew Nicklawsky (Willmar, Minn.) won with a time of 7:45.09.
