Saint John's swimming and diving hosts Gustavus Adolphus for a 1 p.m. dual meet this Saturday, Jan. 28, in the Warner Palaestra Pool.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's won six events and totaled 22 top-three finishes in a 167.5-130.5 loss at Carleton last Saturday (Jan. 21) in Northfield. The competition was the first for SJU since Dec. 2-4.

Sophomore Carter Larson (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) led SJU with two wins – in the 50- (21.96) and 200-yard (1:47.38) freestyles – and a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (5:03.04). 

On the boards, senior Jack Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice), sophomore Eli Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) and senior Connor Reed (Elk River, Minn./Spectrum) swept both the 1- and 3-meter dives in order.

Sophomore Colby Kern (Delano, Minn.) took first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.38) and second in the 100-yard butterfly (55.11), while freshman Carsten Reuter (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) placed second (22.20) in the 50-yard freestyle (22.20) and in the 100-yard freestyle (49.47), 0.52 of a second behind Carleton's Josh Wu.

Freshman Clay Megaw (Monticello, Minn.) touched the wall second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.01) and third in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:18.98).

Four other Johnnies placed third:

-Senior Ethan Huber (Mitchell, S.D.) in the 400-yard individual medley (4:33.46);
-Sophomore Langston Philion (Maple Grove, Minn.) in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.57);
-Sophomore Zach Ruoff (Melrose, Minn./Melrose Area) in the 100-yard freestyle (49.90);
-Sophomore Connor Thayer (Prior Lake, Minn.) in the 1,650-yard freestyle (18:06.59)

The Johnnies' 200-yard freestyle relay (Reuter, Kern, Larson, Beau Brinkman) took first in 1:27.58 and the 200-yard medley relay (Joe Koller, Megaw, Kern, Reuter) was second (1:39.76).

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU finished second out of three teams at Gustavus' Grace Goblirsch Invitational earlier this season on Nov. 19 in St. Peter. The Johnnies won three events and collected 22 top-three marks/times for 1,036 points. GAC finished with 1,354 points and NAIA Morningside (Iowa) was third (546).

Sophomore Liam Noble (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led a trio of Johnnies with a win in the 50-yard freestyle (21.72). Kern followed in second (22.10) and Reuter was third (22.23). Reuter also took second in the 100-yard freestyle (49.65).

Eli Grabinski won both the 1- (426.20) and 3-meter (421.45) dives, while Reed took second on the 1- (392.25) and third on the 3-meter (366.75) boards.

Senior Beau Brinkman (Wayzata, Minn.) and Thayer claimed second in the 100-yard backstroke (56.40) and 1,650-yard freestyle (18:04.95), respectively, while freshman Brayden Slavik (Green Isle, Minn./Chaska) placed second in three events: the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.26), 400-yard individual medley (4:22.96) and 500-yard freestyle (4:46.86).

LAST YEAR'S DUAL: Gustavus handed SJU a 201-86 loss last Jan. 29 (2022) in St. Peter. The Johnnies did not compete in the two dives, but won three events and totaled 24 top-five times.

Senior Joe Koller (Savage, Minn./Shakopee) won the 200-yard backstroke (1:58.42), while Noble touched the wall first in the 100-yard freestyle (47.93) and second in the 100-yard backstroke (56.38).
    
The Johnnies' 200-yard freestyle relay (Kern, Noble, Larson, Brinkman) recorded the team's other win in 1:25.63.

Junior Alex Heer (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) claimed second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:03.51) and a pair of freshmen, Larson and Kern, joined him with runner-up performances. Larson placed second in the 200- (1:45.68) and 500-yard (4:56.68) freestyles, and Kern was second in the 50-yard freestyle (21.74).

IN THE MIAC: The Johnnies currently boast 50 top-10 times in the MIAC this season, including 21 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
7. Carter Larson, 10:24.15
10. Connor Thayer, 10:40.55
 
1,650-Yard Freestyle
2. Brayden Slavik, 16:19.67
5. Carter Larson, 17:13.88
7. 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
6. 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
5. Andrew East, 24.66
8. 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
4. Brayden Slavik, 4:17.40