Day 4 Finals Results | Day 4 Prelims Results | Final Team Scores

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – In the final competition of her College of Saint Benedict swim and dive career, senior Ana Birklid made history once again for the Bennies.
 
Birklid – who set the 200 IM and 200 free school records earlier this week – broke the program record in the 200 backstroke Saturday night and took second to earn All-MIAC honors. Her time of 2:04.49 was more than a two-second drop from her prelim time – which was also a career best – and takes over the school record from former teammate Mikayla Von Wahlde. 
 
She was also a part of the record-setting 400 freestyle relay team to end the meet – the third relay record she's been a part of this week. She teamed up with Jessica Milstroh, Lindsay Smutka and Emi Wagner to finish fourth in 3:33.96 - .15 seconds faster than the previous record set in 2016. The group earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention for their finish.
 
Birklid was one of two All-MIAC honorees for CSB in the fourth and final day of the MIAC Championships, and one of six times to jump into the top 10 in program history. Two other athletes earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention, and as a team, the Bennies finished in fifth, just behind Carleton. St. Kate's ran away with the 2022 MIAC title, Gustavus took second and St. Olaf rounded out the top five.
 
The final day of competition started with the 1,650 free, and junior Molly Johanson moved into eighth in program history after finishing sixth in 18:23.70. That time is a 39-second personal best, and makes her the first Bennie swimmer since 2017 to jump into the top 10 in the event. She also earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention. Senior Izzy Sonday scored for the Bennies after finishing 14^th in 19:16.20, and seniors Morgan Gerhardt (19:48.42) and Hayley Davison (21:30.23) wrapped up their careers with season-bests and took 20^th and 26^th, respectively.
 
Smutka also made it to finals in the 200 back and finished 11^th in a season-best time of 2:12.02. Wagner won the consolation championship and took ninth overall in the 100 free in 53.76 seconds – the fourth-best time in CSB history and a quarter-second career-best time.
 
Junior Fiona Rosko had a tough load Saturday, but she finished top four in back-to-back events – literally. She started with the 200 breaststroke where she earned All-MIAC honors with a third-place finish in 2:22.46, which is just shy of the school record she set last year. A very short time later, she was back in the pool for the 200 fly championship finals where she took fourth to earn All-MIAC Honorable Mention in 2:10.73 – a half-second faster than her prelim time and the second-best time in program history.
 
Laura Jennings also took seventh in the 200 fly in 2:14.59, a half-second faster than prelims and the sixth-best time in CSB history. Maria Beck finished 14^th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:39.03 – a career-best time by seven-tenths of a second.
 
Once again, the morning session was also filled with career bests and moves up CSB's top 10 charts. Birklid continued her impressive meet as she took third in the 200 backstroke prelims in 2:06.60 – a personal-best by seven-tenths of a second and the second-best time in program history. That marked the second times in two days she jumped former Bennie All-American Gretchen Weber on the top-10 list.
 
Smutka took 13^th in prelims in 2:12.94, and Madison Slavik (2:21.63), Nicole Lefebvre (2:23.25) and Jordan Anderson (2:28.01) took 21^st, 22^nd and 24^th, respectively. Anderson's time marked a career-best in her final race as a Bennie.
 
Wagner just missed a spot in the championship finals after taking ninth in prelims in 54.05 seconds – a career-best and the eighth-best time in program history. Hannah Tatge just missed a spot in the consolation finals as she finished 18^th in 55.37 seconds, a one-second PR. Jocie Larson took 22^nd in 55.53, a one-second career-best, and Riley Engle took 27^th in 56.67, another one-second personal best.
 
Rosko had a big morning with two top-eight finishes. She finished sixth in the 200 breaststroke prelims in 2:29.47 and third in the 200 fly finals in a career-best time of 2:11.41. That marked a personal best of three-tenths of a second and the second-fastest time in CSB history. Beck took 16^th in the 200 breaststroke finals in 2:40.31, and Jennings also earned a spot in the championship finals with a sixth-place finish in the 200 fly prelims in 2:15.15 – a personal best by more than three seconds. That marked the first time since 2013 the Bennies had two athletes in the 200 fly championship finals.
 
Divers Kylie Egger and Sabrina Buffetta wrapped up their seasons in Saturday's prelims. Egger took 13^th in the one-meter, 11-dive competition with a score of 330.50, and Buffetta finished 17^th with a score of 312.35.
 
The team's fifth-place finish marks its best since 2015-16, and 430.5 points is the most for the Bennies since 2011-12.