MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In the final 200 IM race of her career, College of Saint Benedict swim and dive senior Ana Birklid broke her own 200 IM record one last time Thursday evening.
 
Then, a short time later, she added a second record for good measure.
 
After breaking her record in the prelims Thursday morning, Birklid smashed that hours-old record in the finals, finishing fourth in 2:06.17 – a career-best time by more than two seconds. The fourth-place finish also secures All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades for Birklid at the 2022 MIAC Championships.
 
To wrap up the second day of competition in Minneapolis, Birklid teamed up with Jessica Milstroh, Madison Slavik and Emi Wagner in the 400 medley relay, and the foursome shattered the school record. They finished fourth in 3:56.57 – nearly three seconds faster than the previous record of 3:59.20, set in 2012. That time also earned them All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades.
 
That same foursome also set the school 200 medley relay record Wednesday night in the first session of the championships.
 
In the consolation semifinals of the 200 IM, Milstroh also recorded a career-best time as she finished 11^th in 2:13.82 – the 10^th-best 200 IM time in program history.
 
Birklid wasn't the only Bennie to earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades Thursday night at the Jean Freeman Aquatic Center on the U of M campus. After swimming the fourth-best 50 free time in program history Thursday morning, Wagner took fifth in the event in 24.38 seconds – just shy of the career-best she swam earlier in the day.
 
Lindsay Smutka swam a career-best time of 24.56, good enough to finish first in the consolation final and ninth overall. That time is just outside the top 10 in program history. Jocie Larson took 15^th in 25.15 seconds.
 
Thursday's prelims were just as exciting as one school record fell, one swimmer moved up in the top 10 in program history and multiple personal-best times or marks were recorded in Thursday's preliminary round.
 
Birklid broke her own school record in the 200 IM for the third time this season as she took third in her heat and sixth in the prelims in 2:08.84 – nearly a half-second faster than her previous career-best. Milstroh earned a spot in the consolation finals after finishing 10^th in 2:15.06, and Maria Beck swam a three-second career-best time and took 21^st in prelims in 2:25.61.
 
Wagner became the first Bennie to make the championship final in the 50 free since 2018 thanks to a career-best swim in Thursday morning's prelims. She finished fifth in prelims in 24.36 seconds. Smutka and Larson joined Wagner in the evening session as they both made the consolation finals – the most swimming in the 50 free night session since 2016. Smutka swam a one-second PR of 24.67 in prelims to take 10^th and Larson swam a career-best time of 24.94 to take 14^th.
 
Sophomore Hannah Tatge finished 24^th with a career-best time of 25.58 seconds in the 50 free prelims, and first year Riley Engle also swam a career-best time, finishing 28^th in 25.80 seconds. Senior Jordan Anderson swam a season-best 28.30 seconds and took 42^nd.
 
The Bennies also had a successful morning in the 500 free as three athletes finished in the top 16 – the most in the event since 2013. Johanson swam a career-best time of 5:22.50 to take ninth, Jennings finished with a 12-second PR and took 11^th in 5:25.34 and Slavik took 15^th in 5:32.25. Senior Izzy Sonday just missed the consolation finals as she took 18^th in 5:38.14. Morgan Gerhardt finished 23^rd (5:44.72), Nicole Lefebvre took 27^th (5:55.38) and Hayley Davison took 32^nd in 6:14.70.
 
First year diver Sabrina Buffetta competed in her first MIAC Championships and finished 10^th in the three-meter, 11-dive prelims. She recorded a career-best score of 313.90.
 
Day 3 of the conference meet starts with prelims at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Jean Freeman Aquatic Center on the U of M campus.