The Johnnie swimming and diving team visits Macalester for a 1 p.m. dual meet this Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Riley Pool in St. Paul.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's started the 2024-25 season last weekend (Oct. 18-19) with a two dual wins against Minnesota-Morris.

Saint John's 172, at Minnesota-Morris 50 (Oct. 18)
SJU won 11 of the 12 events in Friday's season-opening, 172-50 win at Morris. Seven different Johnnies won individual events and the visitors registered 29 top-three finishes on the evening.

A pair of Johnnies, senior Eli Grabinski (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) and junior Brayden Slavik (Green Isle, Minn./Chaska), won two events. Grabinski took first in the 1- (279.10) and 3-meter (254.20) dives, while Slavik touched the wall first in the 100-yard backstroke (53.80) and 500-yard freestyle (4:48.24).

Four other Johnnie seniors also took first place:
-Colby Kern (Delano, Minn.) in the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.28);
-Carter Larson (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) in the 100-yard freestyle (48.32);
-Liam Noble (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) in the 100-yard butterfly (54.55);
-Langston Philion (Maple Grove, Minn.) in the 400-yard individual medley (4:44.45).

Junior Clay Megaw (Monticello, Minn.) added a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.38), while SJU's 400-yard freestyle (3:25.24; Larson, Max Arntson, Jason Jones, Jackson Hovda) and 400-yard medley (3:42.95; Slavik, Jones, Reuter, Kern) relays claimed first.

at Saint John's 182, Minnesota-Morris 40 (Oct. 19)
The Johnnies won all 12 events and totaled 30 top-three finishes less than 24 hours after Friday's victory.

A pair of Johnnies, Philion and Slavik, won two individual events each. Philion took first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:06.48) and 200-yard individual medley (2:08.36), while Slavik won the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.19) and 1,000-yard freestyle (10:14.68).

Kern and Larson touched the wall first in the 100- (49.13) 200-yard (1:47.98) freestyles, respectively, while Megaw and Reuter posted victories in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:22.14) and 50-yard freestyle (21.92).

Grabinski won the 3-meter dive (274.65) and sophomore Cody Watts (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) bested him on the 1-meter board (247.90).

SJU won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:30.05; Kern, Hovda, Slavik, Larson) and 200-yard medley (1:39.93; Noble, Megaw, Philion, Larson) relays.

MIAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Slavik and Grabinski were named the MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Athletes of the Week, respectively, on Tuesday (Oct. 22) for their performances last weekend. The weekly honor is the seventh of Grabinski's career and the fourth for Slavik.

LAST YEAR'S DUAL: SJU opened the 2023-24 season with a 178-99 win over Macalester last Oct. 21 (2023) in Collegeville. The Johnnies won all 14 individual events and the home team recorded 33 top-three finishes. Five Johnnies won two events each on the afternoon.

Alex Heer '24 touched the wall first in both the 100- (57.72) and 200-yard (2:06.87) backstrokes, while Larson did the same in the 100- (47.80) and 1,000-yard (10:20.80) freestyles.

Philion swept the 100- (54.09) and 200-yard (2:02.53) butterfly races, as did Megaw in the 100- (1:00.76) and 200-yard (2:16.25) breaststrokes. Slavik cruised to victories in the 200- (1:48.09) and 500-yard (4:54.72) freestyles.

Reuter won the 50-yard freestyle (21.91) and placed second in the 100-yard freestyle (49.24).

Kern won the 200-yard individual medley (2:06.96), as an exhibition, and also took second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:12.98) and 200-yard butterfly (2:07.74).

Watts won the 1-meter dive with a score of 243.15 and junior Tim Rotter (Blaine, Minn.) took first on the 3-meter board (198.55).