ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With momentum building after a record-breaking season-opening competition, the College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team returns to action this weekend, co-hosting the annual CSB/SJU Fall Invitational at the Warner Palaestra Pool in Collegeville on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The event welcomes teams from Hamline, Concordia College, and Minnesota Morris for a full day of diving and swimming. Diving begins at 11 a.m., followed by swimming at 1 p.m. As part of the event, the CSB SAAC will host a "Bennie Game Day" in an effort to raise funds for the Minnesota Breast Cancer Coalition.
This weekend's meet features a full slate of swimming events including:
- 200 Medley Relay
- 1,000 Free
- 200 Free
- 100 Back
- 100 Breast
- 200 Fly
- 50 Free
- 100 Free
- 200 Back
- 200 Breast
- 500 Free
- 100 Fly
- 200 IM
- 200 Free Relay
The Bennies will also compete in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events.
Zelen Shines in Season Opener - earns MIAC Swimmer of the Week
The Bennies, led by veteran head coach
Mandy Wolvert, opened the season on Oct. 11 at the St. Catherine Pentathlon, where they turned heads with a strong team showing and standout individual performances. CSB finished second overall with 5,150.5 points, trailing only NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul (6,514) and ahead of St. Catherine (3,874) and Hamline (911.5). Leading the way was junior transfer
Haley Zelen, who delivered a historic debut. Zelen won four events, broke two school records, and earned MIAC Swimmer of the Week and The House/St. Cloud Orthopedics CSB Athlete of the Week honors.
Zelen's highlights included:
- 100-yard butterfly: 57.09 – breaking a 2011 school record by more than two seconds.
- 100 IM: 59.76 – surpassing the 2021 program mark.
- 100 freestyle: 53.19 – third-fastest in CSB history.
- 100 breaststroke: 1:08.56 – 10th all-time in program records.
- 100 backstroke: 1:00.63 – 2nd overall in the meet.
Zelen topped the five-event individual standings with 413 points, edging out DI Concordia-St. Paul's Sophie Lee.
Other outstanding marks by CSB
First-year
Anna Schottler finished fifth overall (378 points), placing third in the 100 freestyle (55.10) and fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:02.65). She also posted the 10th-fastest 100 IM time in program history with a 1:04.89. Senior
Megan Bartels added a personal best in the 100 IM (1:05.71), placing eighth, and was seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.33).
Other notable performances included:
Looking Ahead
After hosting the Fan Invitational, CSB hits the road for a dual at Macalester College on Oct. 25, followed by a double dual against St. Catherine and St. Olaf on Nov. 1 in St. Paul.
