ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict swimming and diving team needed every point and every top finish possible Saturday afternoon in its dual against Carleton, and Steph Bierman was as involved as possible in helping the Blazers pick up a closely contested win.
Bierman won each of her three individual events to give CSB valuable points throughout the dual, and she swam the anchor leg of the 200 freestyle relay – the final event of the meet. With Bierman swimming the final leg, the Blazers won the relay and, thanks to that win – the dual meet.
For her big weekend and her role in helping the Blazers pick up their second MIAC dual win of the year, Bierman has been named the CSB Athlete of the Week.
The biggest race of the day for Blazers came down to Bierman. The score was tied heading into the 200 freestyle relay, making the final event of the day a winner-take-all situation. Bierman swam the final leg of the relay – which also included Kristina Rudin, Katie Heller and Jenna Humbert – and helped CSB finish first in 1:41.24. That time gave the Blazers the win over Carleton by six-tenths of a second, and also marked a season-best for the relay.
Bierman started the day Saturday with a win in the 200 freestyle. She finished in 2:00.29 – nearly three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. A few events later, she came in first again – this time in the 50 freestyle. Her time of 25.07 seconds beat out a pair of Carleton competitors and scored the Blazers some valuable points.
Bierman, a senior from Apple Valley, Minn., swam her last individual race in the 100 freestyle, where she bested the second-place Carleton finisher by more than a second. She finished in 54.72 seconds to score important points for the Blazers.
The three individual wins Saturday put Bierman – who holds the school record for the 50 and 100 freestyle – at eight so far this season. She and her teammates compete Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, at the Minnesota Challenge at the U of M Aquatic Center. Bierman ends her CSB career Feb. 18-20 at the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis.
