ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The College of Saint Benedict swim and dive team collected four event titles and 20 top-five finishes Saturday (Nov. 15) but fell, 203–90, to NCAA Division II St. Cloud State at Halenbeck Hall Aquatic Center.
Junior standout
Haley Zelen (Shakopee, Minn.) powered CSB with three individual victories. Zelen won the 100 butterfly in 56.66, narrowly missing her school record of 56.33 set a week earlier. She added a win in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.34 — the second-fastest mark in program history — and topped the field in the 50 butterfly in 25.39. Zelen also helped the 400 medley relay to a runner-up finish in 4:08.65 alongside junior
Mary Morris (St. Cloud, Minn.), first-year
Josey Larson (Hastings, Minn.) and junior
Jayda Alholm (Little Falls, Minn.).
St. Ben's other victory came in the 200 freestyle relay, where Alholm, senior
Megan Bartels (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), first-year
Lydia Jostock (Delano, Minn.) and sophomore
Ava Niksich (Hermantown, Minn.) combined for the win.
CSB loaded the top of the leaderboard in the 1000 freestyle, taking three of the top four places. Senior
Morgan Stout (Des Moines, Iowa) led the group with a second-place time of 11:38.09, followed by first-year
Izzy Green (Hastings, Minn.) in third at 11:53.46 and first-year
Maddie Brynda (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) in fourth at 12:15.18.
Morris added a pair of runner-up finishes, taking second in the 200 freestyle in 2:01.28 and placing second in the 500 free in 5:31.69 in her first attempt at the event this season. She also finished fourth in the 200 IM in 2:20.52.
In the sprint breaststroke, first-year
Bella Kern (Delano, Minn.) placed third in the 50 breaststroke in 33.57, while Larson earned fourth in the 100 butterfly in 1:03.45. First-year
Madeline Tillmann (St. Michael, Minn.) led CSB in the 100 backstroke with a 1:07.74, edging teammate and first-year
Maddie Modjeski (Winona, Minn.) at 1:07.80. Bartels added a fifth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.55), and sophomore
Maddie Stutelberg (St. Bonafacius, Minn.) was fifth in the 500 freestyle (5:50.26).
On the diving boards,
Emma Netland (Moorhead, Minn.) posted a fifth-place score of 168.90 in the one-meter event.
CSB returns to action Dec. 4–6 at the Rochester Invite at the Rochester Rec Center.