ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Steph Bierman rose to the competition this past weekend.
Bierman, a junior on the College of Saint Benedict swimming and diving team, made the finals in two events against top competition at the Jean Freeman Invite, including three NCAA Division I programs. She also recorded one other individual top-25 finish and three top-15 finishes with relays.
For her big weekend, Bierman has been named the Blazer Athlete of the Week.
The Blazers competed for two days at the invite, hosted by the University of Minnesota. Bierman, an Apple Valley, Minn., native, made the finals in one event each day. Friday night she made the finals in the 200 freestyle and took 16
th in 1:58.74.
Saturday, Bierman made the finals in the 100 freestyle and finished 12
th out of 132 competitors in 53.53 seconds. Along with host-school Minnesota, swimmers from South Dakota State University and Boise State – both Division I programs – competed at the invite, along with several MIAC schools.
Two top-16 finishes weren’t the end of the weekend for Bierman, however. Friday night she also finished in the top 25 in the 500 freestyle in 5:22.14, and she was a part of three relays that finished in the top 15 throughout the weekend.
Bierman, who owns the school record in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the second-best 200 freestyle time in school history, was part of the 400 freestyle relay that took 10
th in 3:44.08, the 200 medley relay squad the finished 14
th in 1:55.43 and the 200 freestyle relay team the finished 15
th in 1:45.8.
This weekend’s competition wrapped up the fall semester for the Blazers. Saint Benedict travels to Coral Springs, Fla., for its annual training trip Jan. 1-9 and returns to action against St. Thomas Jan. 10 in St. Paul, Minn.
