Mustangs place second, third in Gustavus Adolphus Invitational
SAINT PETER, MINN. – Morningside competed in Gustavus Adolphus College's home pool this Saturday to make one last splash before Thanksgiving break. The women's team placed third in overall team scores with 429 points and the men's team placed second with 732 points.
Distance swimmers were in the pool early in the morning for the 1650-yard freestyle event. For the women Kirstin Verplanke swam a time of 20:04.05, placing her in third. In the same event Amber Westerberg touched the wall in fifth (20:45.89), Elaine Morgan behind her in sixth (20:48.50), and Payton Miller in eighth (21:11.90).
The men's 200-yard medley relay team had an exciting start to the meet as JR Albers, Caden Morton, James Camp, and Joe Ciriaco raced Gustavus to finish in second with a time of 1:39.14. The women's 200-yard medley relay also finished hard with a time of 1:59.71, putting them in fifth place.
In the closest race of the day, Joe Ciriaco and James Camp took second (22.11) and third (22.26) in the 50-yard freestyle and Caleb Thomson finished in fifth (22.95).
In the event possibly showcases endurance the most, the 200-yard butterfly, James Spicer swam a best time of the season at 2:05.38 earning a second place finish. Ron DeFauw, Garret Wright, and Matt Hanner also endured the 200-yard butterfly, coming in at sixth (2:09.10), seventh (2:21.08), and eighth (2:26.59).
Kyle Gunderson made quite the appearance in the 200-yard breastroke, winning the event with a time of 2:18.16.
With many great swims under their belt Morningside wrapped up the long day with the 400-yard freestyle relay. The women's team of Rachel Roose, Mackenzie Campbell, Makenna Laher, and Josie Dike swam in with a great time of 3:53.13, sufficient for third. The men's team raced into the wall at 3:18.00, placing Willy Pinnow, Caleb Thomson, JR Albers, and Joe Ciriaco in second.
Mustang swimmers will return to action on Saturday, December 4 for the Morningside University Mustang Roundup in their home pool.
