The SJU swimming and diving team ends its 2013 portion of the schedule with a 1 p.m. dual against St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Warner Palaestra Pool in Collegeville.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's competed at the University of Minnesota Jean Freeman Invitational last weekend (Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7) in Minneapolis.
SJU claimed six top-15 individual finishes in a highly-competitive field that included Division I Minnesota and South Dakota State, as well as the MIAC's Gustavus Adolphus, St. Olaf and St. Thomas.
Sophomore Braden McCormack (Rosemount, Minn.) finished fifth, second among Division III competitors, in the 100-yard backstroke (53.01). He also claimed 15th in the 200-yard backstroke (2:00.30) Friday night.
Freshman Jose Alvarez (North Bay Village, Fla./Belen Jesuit) sixth in the 200-yard individual medley (1:57.70) and 11th in the 200-yard butterfly (1:58.44) Friday night. He took 12th in the 400-yard individual medley (4:19.35) Saturday.
Sophomore Nolan Bauer (Helena, Mont.) touched the wall in 13th in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:38.18).
A pair of SJU's relays, the 800-yard freestyle (7:38.31; Bauer, Kenny Bergman, Isaac Darland, Phillip English) and 200-yard freestyle (1:28.78; Bergman, Joe Duxbury, Paul Knaak, Sam Konsor), finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
IN 2014: The Johnnies return to competition with a pair of road duals at Carleton (Jan. 11) and Division II St. Cloud State (Jan. 17) before visiting St. Thomas for the Meet of Saints Jan. 18. That meet is the first of three consecutive weeks in St. Paul, as SJU is scheduled to compete at the St. Kate's Invitational (Jan. 25) and the Tommies' MIAC Invitational (Jan. 31-Feb. 1). The 2014 MIAC Championships will be held Feb. 13-15 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
LAST YEAR'S MEET: SJU claimed six top-two finishes but St. Thomas' depth was too much to overcome in a 172.5-68.5 dual loss last year (Dec. 15, 2012) in St. Paul. Braden McCormack took second in the 100-yard backstroke (54.82) and classmate Connor Reilly (Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) did the same in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.14). The Johnnies' 200-yard freestyle relay team won the event with a time of 1:26.86. The 200-yard medley relay finished second (1:39.14).
