COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's delivered the first blow of the year to the Gustavus men's swimming & diving team on Saturday, Feb. 1, narrowly edging the Gusties, 150-149, in a dual meet at the Warner Palaestra Pool.

The Gusties took first in six different events, but also trailed Saint John's in six others. Nyden Hill (Sr., Conway, Ark.) and Jacob Robischon (Fy., Sauk Centre, Minn.) led the squad, each with a pair of individual wins.

The 200 medley relay team of Peyton Richardson (5th, Crystal Lake, Ill.), Braden Ripken (So., Blaine, Minn.), Jonathan Cordano (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.), and Jack Christoferson (Jr., Sauk Rapids, Minn.) kicked things off with a first place finish, touching the wall in 1:36.58, while two other Gustie teams took third and fourth. Richardson added his only individual victory in the 100 backstroke, edging SJU's Brayden Slavik with a time of 52.36 for first. 

Hill's first win of the day came in the 100 breaststroke, taking first with a 58.68, while the senior also won the 200 breaststroke, touching the wall in 2:11.67. Robischon won both the 200 and 100 butterfly, with times of 2:00.54 and 53.44, respectively.

Logan Cyr (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) added a pair of second place finishes for the Gusties, finishing with a 1:47.87 in the 200 freestyle and a 4:54.53 in the 500 of the same stroke. Gustavus also claimed spots 3-6 in the 200 free. Logan Braley (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) took second in the 50 freestyle, as well, finishing in 21.92. 

Richardson went toe-to-toe with Slavik twice more, but finished just behind the junior Johnnie, who holds four of the MIAC's top times this season. Richardson finished second in the 200 backstroke (1:58.61) and 400 IM (4:23.13).

The 200 freestyle relay of Christoferson, Aiden Shermak (So., Bloomington, Minn.), Braley, and Matthew Lillejord (So., Naples, Fla.) capped the meet off with a second place finish, posting a time of 1:25.93 behind the Johnnies. 

Shermak was the highest finisher in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.34, while Ben Kell (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) took fourth to lead the Gusties in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:38.62.

On the boards, Ryan Lester (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) took third in both the 1- and 3-meter, with scores of 393.70 and 354.40. Tyler Johnson (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) added sixth place finishes on both boards, while Cole Matetich took seventh on the 3-meter. 

"It was a great meet at Saint John's and Saint Ben's," said Head Coach Jon Carlson '88. "The women swam amazing and put on a great performance. They're feeling good about how things are shaping up with one meet to go before we get ready for conference championships. The men had an epic battle all day long with Saint John's that featured a lot of great racing. Credit to them, they stepped up big in the races, and their diving was absolutely dominant. Hats off to them, it's shaping up to be a great battle at the conference meet."

The loss was the first for the Gustie men all season, first against Saint John's since the 1997-98 season, and first in a dual meet since a 130-189 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 4, 2023.

The Gusties return to the pool next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7-8, competing at the Minnesota Challenge.