NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Carleton College men's swimming & diving team won 11 of 16 events as the Knights topped St. Olaf, 179-109, during the teams' annual Senior Day dual meet.
Ethan Tun (Fy./Potomac, Md./Landon) and
Josh Wu (So./Germantown, Wis./Germantown) led the way, figuring in three victories apiece.
"Today's meet had a lot of importance for both of our teams, both in terms of having the chance to race one last time before our final taper meets and also in terms of having the chance to recognize and celebrate our senior class," said Carleton head coach
Andy Clark. "This dual meet has proven to bring out the best from both schools, and we knew going into this meet, we were going to need every point to have a chance to win. Our men's team showed a lot of strength and depth across most every event, and while the women came up a few points short, it was not due to any lack of effort, and we definitely had plenty of swims and dives that brought out season-best performances.
"Ultimately, a great day of racing for both squads, and it was a special day to celebrate our seniors and pay tribute to all the leadership and positive energy that they have given to this program over the last four years."
The four seniors on the Carleton men's team include:
• Adam Nik (Sr./Mankato, Minn./Eden Prairie)
• Eli Offman (Sr./Toronto, Ont./Canada Greenwood College)
• Jamie Willmore (Sr./Salt Lake City, Utah/Rowland Hall St. Marks)
• Allen Yuan (Sr./Cary, N.C./Raleigh Charter)
Carleton began the swimming session with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Tun,
Kevin Chen (Jr./Normal, Ill./Normal Community), Nik, and Wu posted a season-best time of 1:38.01. All four members of the medley relay would pick up individual triumphs on the day.
Byron Jia (So./Minnetonka, Minn./Breck) won the next race, the 1000-yard freestyle, with a season-best time of 10:38.08.
Tun recorded a time of 54.16 in reaching the wall first in the 100-yard backstroke. Chen followed with a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke after finishing in 1:01.44.
Sean Smith (Fy./Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) came out on top next with his time of 2:03.47 in the 200-yard butterfly.
Wu won back-to-back races, finishing at 21.85 in the 50-yard freestyle and 47.64 in the 100-yard freestyle.
Carl Zhang (Jr./Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) kept the streak going with a first-place result (2:01.29) in the 200-yard backstroke.
Teagan Johnson (Jr./Byron Center, Mich./Byron Center) won the ensuing race, the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:15.53.
After seeing the Knights' streak of six straight swimming victories snapped, Nik picked up the final individual triumph of the day as he prevailed in the 100-yard butterfly with a season-best time of 54.75.
The meet concluded with the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Ian Scott (So./Seattle, Wash./Garfield)
Morgann Rene (So./Singapore, Singapore/United World College Of Southeast Asia), Tun, and
Allen Yuan (Sr./Cary, N.C./Raleigh Charter) combined on a winning time of 1:30.23.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will take part in the Minnesota Challenge meet on Feb. 4-5 at the University of Minnesota Aquatics Center. Meanwhile, the Knights will host the Dodd Road Diving Invitational on Feb. 5 at Thorpe Pool.
