BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Gustavus fifth-year Peyton Richardson (Crystal Lake, Ill.) repeated as the MIAC Men's Co-Swimmer of the Year, first-year Jacob Robischon (Sauk Centre, Minn.) was named the Co-Rookie of the Year, and 11 Gusties earned All-MIAC honors when the 2024-25 MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Awards were announced on Monday, Feb. 24.  

All-Conference honors are awarded to the top three finishers of each event at the MIAC Championship meet. A total of 10 Gusties earned 17 individual awards, while four Gustavus relays swam to All-MIAC honors. Honorable Mention distinction is presented to individual finishes from fourth to sixth, as well as the fourth place relay team.

Richardson defended his MIAC Swimmer of the Year title with three event victories at the championship meet, sharing the honor with Saint John's freestyler Brayden Slavik, as both won all three of their individual events. Richardson took first in the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.99, 0.74 off an NCAA B cut time. He was the only athlete to swim a sub-50 in the 100 butterfly, taking first with a 48.78, 0.15 seconds from the B cut mark. He was also first in the 200 of the same stroke, cutting his own prelims time by three seconds for a 1:51.87. Richardson additionally swam on three All-MIAC relay teams, taking first as a part of the 200 medley and 400 medley squads, as well as a second place finish in the 800 freestyle relay. 

Richardson finished his MIAC career as one of the most decorated swimmers in Gustavus history, winning a total of 10 Athlete of the Week awards, six of which came in his final season. Richardson was a three-time MIAC Champion in all of the same individual events at last season's MIAC meet, and collected nine individual conference titles through his career. He has been a part of 12 first place relay teams at the conference meet, and has been awarded 24 All-Conference honors as a Gustie. He owns the school records in the 100 butterfly (48.78), 200 IM (1:50.35), and was a part of the 200 medley and 400 medley teams that broke the school and MIAC records. 

The Gusties have now earned the Men's Swimmer of the Year award for the last six seasons, collecting seven total awards in that time, as Matt Strom '24 shared the honor with Richardson last season. 

Robischon shared the Rookie of the Year honor with Macalester's Kean Pajarillaga after scoring the most points of any first-year at the MIAC meet. Robischon took second in the 200 butterfly behind Richardson with a time of 1:53.84, and collected a pair of Honorable Mention honors, as well. The Sauk Centre native took fourth in the 200 IM (1:55.49) and fifth in the 400 IM (4:12.26) at his first conference meet. He is the second Gustavus swimmer to win Rookie of the Year, joining Logan Cyr (So., Maple Grove, Minn.), who won the award last season. 

Cyr was also a three-time All-Conference honoree alongside Richardson, taking second in both the 400 IM and 200 backstroke and finishing third in the 500 freestyle. Braden Ripken (So., Blaine, Minn.) and Nyden Hill (Sr., Conway, Ark.) collected individual titles in the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke for All-MIAC honors, respectively. Ripken also took third in the 50 freestyle while Hill was second in the 100 breaststroke behind his teammate. Ben Kell (So., Minneapolis, Minn.) collected a pair of third place finishes in the 400 IM and 200 backstroke for two All-Conference swims. Matthew Lillejord (So., Naples, Fla.), Jonathan Cordano (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.), Aiden Shermak (So., Bloomington, Minn.), and Aiden Carlson (So., Moorhead, Minn.) all contributed All-Conference performances as well, with Lillejord taking second in the 100 backstroke as the top Gustie in the event. Cordano (100 butterfly), Shermak (200 freestyle), and Carlson (200 breaststroke) all placed third.

A total of 19 Honorable Mention awards were claimed by 11 Gusties, including Robischon's performances in the 200 IM and 400 IM. Brandon Wilcek (Jr., Farmington, Minn.) collected a trio of Honorable Mention All-MIAC performances in the 100 breaststroke (fourth), 200 IM (sixth), and 200 breaststroke (sixth). Landon Vaupel (So., Shakopee, Minn.) took fourth in the 500 freestyle and fifth in the 200 freestyle, while Carlson went fourth and fifth in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. Will Sarkinen (Jr., St. Michael, Minn.) and Brendan Collins (So., Maple Grove, Minn.) collected a pair of sixth place finishes, with Sarkinen in the 50 freestyle and 200 backstroke and Collins in the 200 and 500 freestyles. 

Logan Braley (Jr., Elk River, Minn.) took fourth in the 200 freestyle, while Lillejord placed fourth in the 200 backstroke and Ripken sixth in the 100 freestyle to round out the Gustie award winners in the pool. Ryan Lester (Sr., Hastings, Minn.) took fourth off the 3-meter board and fifth off the 1-meter for a pair of Honorable Mention honors to lead the Gustie divers. 

Four of five Gustie relays were All-Conference, as the 400 freestyle team was disqualified from its second place finish. Lillejord, Hill, Richardson, and Braley led the 200 medley relay to a first place finish, while Lillejord, Hill, Richardson, and Ripken took first in the 400 medley. Richardson, Cyr, Collins, and Ripken composed the second place 800 freestyle relay for All-Conference honors, while Ripken, Sarkinen, Braley, and Shermak collected a second place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. 

Ben Gill of Saint John's was named the MIAC Men's Coach of the Year, putting an end to Head Coach Jon Carlson's '88 five-year streak winning the award. Carleton's Hans Anderson was selected as the MIAC Diver of the Year after winning both the 1- and 3-meter dives over the weekend. 

The Gustie swimmers will await the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championship selections to be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 26.