Saint John's swimming and diving returns to competition by visiting Carleton for a 1 p.m. dual meet this Saturday, Jan. 21, in Northfield. - Live Results | Live Video
 
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished fifth out of eight teams at the three-day Rochester Invitational, hosted by Division II St. Cloud State, back on Dec. 2-4. The host Huskies won the meet with 1,955.5 points, followed by Division I Nebraska-Omaha (1,805), Division I St. Thomas (1,281.5), Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1,248.5) and SJU (1,055.5). The Johnnies totaled 31 top-16 marks/times, including 15 in the top eight.
 
Freshman Brayden Slavik (Green Isle, Minn./Chaska) shattered SJU's record in the 1,650-yard freestyle to take fourth with a time of 16:19.67. The previous program record was 16:31.52 set by Eric Anderson '06 in 2005. Slavik also broke the school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle that he set earlier this season (9:54.91) with a time of 9:53.66 and claimed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:41.34).
 
Senior Jack Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) recorded SJU's best finish of the meet – second - in the 3-meter dive (458.15) and took sixth on the 1-meter board (416.20). Sophomore Eli Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) claimed fifth in the 3- (421.40) and seventh 1-meter (415.10) events, while senior Connor Reed (Elk River, Minn./Spectrum) finished eighth on the 3-meter board (404.15).
 
Sophomore Liam Noble (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) placed third in the 50-yard freestyle with a personal-best time of 20.77 seconds, the fourth-fastest in program history. He also took sixth in both the 100-yard backstroke (52.12) and 100-yard freestyle (46.23).
 
Another sophomore, Carter Larson (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen), touched the wall ninth in the 200-yard freestyle (1:44.18), 11th in the 500-yard freestyle (4:46.66) and 13th in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:13.88).
 
Senior Ethan Huber (Mitchell, S.D.) finished 10th in both the 100- (54.61) and 200-yard (1:56.94) individual medleys, and 12th in the 400-yard individual medley (4:17.32).
 
Freshman Clay Megaw (Monticello, Minn.) claimed 12th in both the 100- (58.84) and 200-yard (2:11.86) breaststrokes. His time in the 100-yard breaststroke was the third-fastest by an SJU freshman. Classmate Carsten Reuter (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) 13th in the 50- (21.34) and 14th in the 200-yard (1:45.47) freestyles.
 
Sophomore Langston Philion (Maple Grove, Minn.) and junior Alex Heer (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) finished 11th (1:59.95) and 13th (2:01.39), respectively, in the 200-yard butterfly. Sophomore Andrew East (Minneapolis, Minn./South) placed 12th in the 100-yard individual medley (56.61) and 16th in the 100-yard butterfly (53.31), while sophomore Connor Thayer (Prior Lake, Minn.) took 15th in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:27.00) and junior Brogan O'Donnel (Rosemount, Minn.) was 16th in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:18.67).
 
The Johnnies' five relays all finished in the top eight, including three that placed third:
 
-200-yard freestyle relay (Reuter, Noble, Kern, Brinkman): third (1:23.32)
-200-yard medley relay (Brinkman, Megaw, East, Noble): eighth (1:34.09)
-400-yard freestyle relay (Reuter, Noble, Kern, Larson): third (3:05.03)
-400-yard medley relay (Noble, Megaw, East, Reuter): eighth (3:28.52)
-800-yard freestyle relay (Larson, Slavik, Kern, Huber): third (6:54.82)
 
A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton won six events in a 176-115 loss last Friday (Jan. 13) at Gustavus Adolphus. Sophomore Ethan Tun won the 100-yard backstroke with a season-best time of 53.71 seconds, which is tied for second-best in the MIAC this season. Freshman Aiden Guan took first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:02.67) and the 100-yard butterfly (52.51), while classmate Nicholas Chang was first to the wall in the 200-yard backstroke, posting a season-best time of 1:59.59 to edge Gustavus' Peyton Richardson, the MIAC runner-up in the event last season. The time is good for this in the MIAC. Chang later added a win in the 200-yard individual medley with another season-best performance, 2:02.25, which is second in the conference. Senior Teagan Johnson won the 200-yard breaststroke by nearly three seconds over Nyden Hill, the defending MIAC champion. Johnson touched the wall with a season-best time of 2:13.39, which is sixth in the MIAC.
  
IN THE MIAC: The Johnnies currently boast 51 top-10 times in the MIAC this season, including 22 in the top three. 

50-Yard Freestyle
1. Liam Noble, 20.77
3. Carsten Reuter, 21.06
6. Zach Ruoff, 21.48
8. Colby Kern, 21.63
10. Beau Brinkman, 21.90
 
100-Yard Freestyle
1. Liam Noble, 46.23
2. Carsten Reuter, 46.97
4. Colby Kern, 47.70
5. Carter Larson, 47.83
 
200-Yard Freestyle
1. Carter Larson, 1:43.57
2. Colby Kern, 1:44.94
3. Carsten Reuter, 1:45.16
5. Brayden Slavik, 1:45.26
 
500-Yard Freestyle
2. Brayden Slavik, 4:41.34
3. Carter Larson, 4:44.32
6. Connor Thayer, 4:55.72
 
1,000-Yard Freestyle
2. Brayden Slavik, 9:53.66
6. Carter Larson, 10:24.15
9. Connor Thayer, 10:40.55
 
1,650-Yard Freestyle
2. Brayden Slavik, 16:19.67
4. Carter Larson, 17:13.88
6. Connor Thayer, 17:27.00
 
50-Yard Backstroke
8. Beau Brinkman, 24.55
9. Liam Noble, 24.91
10. Alex Heer, 25.44
 
100-Yard Backstroke
1. Liam Noble, 51.57
5. Ethan Huber, 54.60
9. Alex Heer, 55.60
10. Brayden Slavik, 55.67
 
200-Yard Backstroke
2. Ethan Huber, 1:58.83
 
50-Yard Breaststroke
2. Clay Megaw, 27.30
9. Ren Kitko, 28.77
 
100-Yard Breaststroke
3. Clay Megaw, 58.84
7. Ren Kitko, 1:01.27
 
200-Yard Breaststroke
4. Clay Megaw, 2:11.86
9. Ren Kitko, 2:17.00
 
50-Yard Butterfly
1. Liam Noble, 24.11
4. Andrew East, 24.66
7. Carsten Reuter, 24.77
 
100-Yard Butterfly
1. Liam Noble, 51.49
7. Andrew East, 53.31
10. Alex Heer, 53.70
 
200-Yard Butterfly
2. Langston Philion, 1:59.95
6. Alex Heer, 2:01.39
 
100-Yard Individual Medley
2. Ethan Huber, 54.61
10. Brayden Slavik, 56.52
 
200-Yard Individual Medley
1. Ethan Huber, 1:56.94
 
400-Yard Individual Medley
2. Ethan Huber, 4:15.32
3. Brayden Slavik, 4:17.40
10. Langston Philion, 4:28.66