ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With a strong start to the season, the College of St. Benedict Swim and Diving Team will host St. Catherine and Hamline in a triangular at 4:30 pm at the Warner Palaestra Pool at Saint John's in Collegeville, Minn. To view the meet live, click here for live video.

To this point, the CSB Swim and Diving Team is coming off three competitions, including the St. Kate's Pentathlon on Oct. 15 which was followed by duals with St. Cloud State University in Collegeville, Minn., on Oct. 28 at Macalester College in St. Paul, on Oct. 29 and against St. Olaf at home.  So far, CSB has lost to Macalester, 147-95 and St. Olaf, 158-141 in duals. The triangular.

Through this point in the year, the Bennies have had several notable efforts. Emi Wagner has had three wins in the 50 free, improving on her title each competition with a best of 25.36 against St. Olaf. Smutka has three individual wins, including 100 backstroke and and 200 backstroke. She had a best of 1:00.86 in the 100 back this year. Fiona Roska, and Molly Johanson also have individual wins. CSB, which has a combined nine titles this year, also has a win in the 400 free with a clocking of 3:47.43.

Top performances by CSB in 2022-23
50 freestyle – Emi Wagner, 25.36; Mads Slavik, 26.04
100 freestyle – Rachel Schlueter, 56.34; Lindsay Smutka, 56.47
200 freestyle – Lindsay Smutka, 2:05.73; Hannah Tatge, 2:08.87
500 freestyle --  Molly Johanson, 5:35.37; Laura Jennings, 5:52.80
1000 freestyle – Molly Johanson, 11:32.36
100 backstroke – Lindsay Smutka, 1:00.86; Mads Slavik, 1:01.78
100 breaststroke – Megan Bartels, 1:13.66
200 breaststroke – Fiona Rosko, 2:32.35
100 butterfly – Fiona Rosko, 1:04.01; Laura Jennings, 1:04.078
400 IM – Molly Johanson, 4:52.38; Fiona Rosko, 5:03.06
400 Free Relay – 3:47.73 - Emi Wagner (57.12); Hannah Tatge (57.96); Lindsay Smutka (57.10), Rachel Schlueter (55.55).
200 Medley – 1:54.59 – Mads Slavik (28.53), Johanson (33.31), Ellie Blattner (28.29) and Emi Wagner (24.45)
 
CSB at St. Kate's Pentathlon
Junior Lindsay Smutka had four top-six finishes to finish fifth in overall points with 60 at the St. Kate's Pentathlon on Oct. 15 in St. Paul, Minn.  First year standout Rachel Schlueter scored in four events and ranked eighth with 31 points while senior Molly Johanson was 13^th with 28 total points. First year Lauren Sitzman was 18^th with 11 points with junior Emi Wagner, 22^nd with nine points and senior Mads Slavik, 23^rd with seven points. Smutka was fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:02.84) and 100 backstroke (1:02.73) as well as the 100 IM (1:05.39) with a sixth place finish in the 100 freestyle (57.15).  

CSB vs St. Cloud State
With a title and 11 top-four finishes, the College of Saint Benedict Swimming and Diving Team had another solid performance as they hosted Division II St. Cloud State at the Warner Palaestra Pool at Saint John's on Oct. 28. The Bennies had an individual title from Emi Wagner, who won the 50 freestyle in 25.50. Freshman Rachel Schlueter had a second place finish in the 100 freestyle in 56.59 while Fiona Rosko was second in the 200 back in 2:32.35 to highlight the performances.

Macalester vs CSB Dual
Molly Johanson, Lindsay Smutka, and Emi Wagner both won titles to highlight the performance of the College of Saint Benedict Swimming and Diving Team at a dual with Macalester on Oct. 29 in St. Paul, Minn. In total, Macalester defeated St. Ben's, 147-95, but the Bennies put together a series of standout efforts.

For the second straight meet, junior Emi Wagner picked up a win in the 50 freestyle as she clocked a 25.40 in winning the race. Junior Lindsay Smutka won the 100 backstroke with a 1:01.32 clocking while finishing third in 200 free in 2:07.75. Senior Molly Johanson had the other victory for the Bennies as she captured the 400 IM in 4:54.38. Johanson also clocked 11:32.36 in claiming second in the 1000 free.

In the relays, CSB was second in the 200 medley relay, which was anchored by Wagner. Aside from Wagner, the 200-medley relay which had a 1:55.16 time, included Fiona Rosko, Mads Slavik and Ellie Blattner. Additionally, CSB was second in the 400 free relay as Wagner also anchored that race. She was joined by Smutka, Hannah Tatge and Rachel Schlueter in clocking 4:00.45.

On the day, the Bennies had 14 top-three finishes, two titles and 33 placings in the top five. CSB also had competitors in diving for the first time. Mikayla Haskamp was third in the 1-meter board with 201.50 points while Sabrina Buffetta was fourth in the 1-meter board with 184.05 and fourth on the 3-meter board with 157.95 points.

St. Ben's falls to St. Olaf
As the season has progressed, so has the performances of the College of Saint Benedict Swimming and Diving Team. Despite a 158-141 loss to St. Olaf on Nov. 4. The Bennies had six titles, including a combined three (individual/relay) by Lindsay Smutka, and 24 top-three finishes to go with multiple season bests. Smutka, a junior from Chaska, Minn., captured the 100 backstroke in 1:01.37 and the 200 backstroke in 2:14.62 while also being part of the winning 400 freestyle relay that clocked a season-best 3:47.93. The relay team included junior Emi Wagner, junior Hannah Tatge and first-year Rachel Schlueter. Smutka also took second in the 200 IM in 2:21.38. Both Schlueter and Wagner also had individual wins as they were double winners. Wagner, a junior from St. Cloud, Minn., won her third straight 50 freestyle title with a season-best 25.36. Schlueter captured a 100 freestyle title in a season-best 56.34 while also claiming third in the 100 backstroke in 1:02.56. Senior Fiona Rosko of Seaside, Calif., also had a title with a clocking of 2:33.52 in the 200 breaststroke and finished second in the 100 breaststroke with a season-best 1:12.99 and fourth in the 100 butterfly in 1:05.35. Junior Laura Jennings of Edina, Minn., and senior Molly Johanson of Chanhassen, Minn., also had solid performances. Jennings was second in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.62, and second in the 200 butterfly in 2:24.90. First-year Mikayla Haskamp was second in 1-meter diving with a 207.75 score while senior Emily Quill was second in 3-meter diving in 205.75 and fourth on the 1-meter board at 198.50. Senior Mads Slavik of Green Isle, Minn. had a solid night as she swam on the second place 200 medley relay, while finishing second in the 100 back in 1:01.78 and fifth in the 200 back in 2:20.97.

Mandy Wolvert begins 4^th season at CSB
Mandy Wolvert enters in her fourth season as head coach in 2022-23. Along with three seasons as the team's head coach, Wolvert also has six seasons as the team's assistant under her belt. She served as an assistant from 2012-15 and then again from 2016-19. As an assistant, Wolvert helped coach the team to four All-MIAC honors in 2018-19 - the most for the program since 2012-13. In her first three seasons as assistant coach, Saint Benedict finished in the top five each year at the MIAC Championships, including fourth-place finishes in 2013 and 2014. Wolvert is a 2000 graduate of St. Cloud State where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in mass communications. She also swam for the Huskies for three years from 1996-99.