MINNEAPOLIS — The Carleton College women's swimming & diving team moved up one spot on the last day of action at the MIAC Championships, finishing fourth out of nine teams. The Knights turned in five All-MIAC honorable mention performances on Saturday.

"Overall, just an outstanding championship meet for both squads," said Carleton head coach Andy Clark. "The women swam and dove incredibly well throughout the meet, but going into the last day we knew it would be a close battle with St. Ben's and we were going to need some big performances both in the pool and on the boards. I could not be more impressed with the women and how they attacked their events on the last day and delivered the swims and dives we were looking for to earn that fourth-place finish.
 
"For the men, they produced some of the best swimming I have ever seen from a Carleton squad at this meet. They elevated their competitiveness and battled through every race to solidify their third-place team finish. We had every guy score in at least two events with most scoring in all three, which was awesome."
 
The Knights started the final day in fifth place, 28 points behind Saint Benedict.
 
Carleton momentarily cut the gap in half during the 1650-yard freestyle. Madi Smith (Sr./Denver, Colo./Denver School of Science and Technology-Stapleton) finished fifth overall with a time of 18:13.72—more than a minute better than her seed time—as she captured all-conference honorable mention. Victoria Bradjan (Fy./Gilbert, Ariz/Gilbert) and Julia Luljak (Jr./Baltimore, Md./Park School) earned ninth and 10th with times of 18:41.09 and 18:44.21, respectively. Bradjan took more than 28 seconds off her season best, while nearly matched Smith's improvement, slicing more than 57 seconds from her seed time.
 
Maddie Damberg-Ott (Jr./London, Great Britain/Channing School) placed seventh in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:09.23. Lydia Boyum (Sr./Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) contributed a 12th place result by reaching the wall at 2:12.79.
 
With four events remaining, the Knights were basically back where the day started, now trailing Saint Benedict by 29 points.
 
With three swimmers in the "A" final of the 200-yard  breaststroke, Carleton began to make it move and closed to within five points of the Bennies. Luljak earned All-MIAC honorable mention thanks to her fourth-place finish with a time of 2:26.42. Ashley Rosenberg (Fy./Chicago, Ill./Latin School of Chicago) and Elizabeth Chatard (Fy./San Anselmo, Calif./Archie Williams) both improved their times from the preliminary round as they finished in 2:29.88 and 2:31.32, respectively in taking seventh and eighth places.
 
Alison Cameron (Sr./Reno, Nev./Reno) turned in her second individual all-conference honorable mention swim of the meet, placing fifth in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:12.87. Caroline Crampton (Fy./Plymouth, Mass./Sturgis) won the "B" final with a time of 2:16.10, while Isabelle Riley (Fy./Singapore/Singapore American School) snagged 15th place at 2:22.62.
 
Entering the 1-meter diving finals, Carleton was only seven points behind Saint Benedict. During the morning prelims, Kapani Kirkland (Sr./Mendota Heights, Minn./Convent of the Visitation) punched her ticket to the NCAA Regional meet with an 11-dive score of 417.10. She then earned All-MIAC honorable mention with a score of 397.70 during the finals. Brenna Russell (So./Andover, Minn./Andover) scored 381.95 in the finals to place eighth, while Andrea Tartaglia (Sr./Newton, Mass./Newton South) turned in possibly the best 1-meter performance of her career and scored 325.60 in placing 15th.
 
Thanks to all three divers scoring points in the team standings, Carleton surged past the Bennies and into fourth place by 17 points.
 
The meet wrapped up with the 400-yard freestyle relay. Sammi Sheridan (So./Madison, Wis./Memorial), Sophie Baggett (Jr./La Crosse, Wis./Logan), Boyum, and Raine Bernhard (Jr./Champaign, Ill./University High School) combined on a time of 3:41.18, which was good for sixth place in the event and enough points to keep Saint Benedict in fifth place in the team standings.
 
St. Catherine (809 points) won its second consecutive team title, with Gustavus Adolphus (714), St. Olaf (504), Carleton (430.5) and Saint Benedict (417.5) rounding out the top five.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Both Kirkland and Russell have qualified for the NCAA Regional Diving Meet to be held Feb. 25-26 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
All-MIAC performances for Carleton (1st-3rd place individual, 1st-3rd place relay…through Day 4)
3-meter diving
2. Kapani Kirkland — 400.95 points
 
All-MIAC Honorable Mention performances for Carleton (4th-6th place individual, 4th place relay…through Day 4)
400-yard IM
5. Allison Cameron — 4:40.39
 
100-yard breaststroke
4. Julia Luljak — 1:08.10
 
100-yard backstroke
6. Maddie Damberg-Ott — 59.07
 
1650-yard freestyle
5. Madi Smith — 18:13.72
 
200-yard breaststroke
4. Julia Luljak — 2:26.42
 
200-yard butterfly
5. Alison Cameron — 2:12.87
 
1-meter diving
4. Kapani Kirkland — 397.70