First-year swimmer Anna Astrup competes in a 200m fly event. Astrup won the event in the MIAC title race this year. (Photo Courtesy of Anna Astrup)
The St. Thomas swim and dive teams ended their regular seasons on February 17 when the women claimed a MIAC title and the men placed second in the MIAC.
Both swim and dive teams finished with a 3-1 dual meet record on the season, with many individual swimmers claiming accolades as well.
Women’s Swim and Dive
The Tommies have tied Hamline University for the third time as the longest women’s win-streak in MIAC history while obtaining their fourth straight title.
“It was a complete team effort,” coach Walter Blanchard said. “It took everybody on the team to pull this off and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Tommies claimed victory by over 200 points, with Gustavus edging out St. Catherine University for second place with 588 points. St. Kate’s ended with 587. 
First-year swimmer Anna Astrup prepares to enter the pool. Astrup won two events for the Tommies in the MIAC championships this year. (Photo Courtesy of Anna Astrup)
Two out of St. Thomas’ three first place finishes were first-year swimmers. Swimmer Anna Astrup won the 200m fly and 100m fly, while diver Peyton Ekman took first in three meter diving.
“It was super cool to start out with a title in my first year, and it’s our class’ goal to try and do it again next year,” Astrup said.
Senior swimmer Alexandra Howard was the other first place finisher for St. Thomas over the weekend with a time of 2:04.18 in the 200m Backstroke.
“It was a bittersweet ending to my career, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end,” Howard said. “I came back from behind and won and then we won MIAC’s for a fourth consecutive year; it honestly ended perfectly for me and my class.”
The women’s swim and dive team sent three divers to NCAA regionals, with Elizabeth Konkel placing 15th, Peyton Ekman placing 19th and Emily Weldon placing 26th.
Men’s Swim and Dive
The men’s swim and dive team claimed a runners-up award in the MIAC championships, ending the Tommies’ four-year reign as champions.
They went into the tournament with a 3-1 dual meet record, hoping for a fifth straight victory.
“Defending the title is sometimes harder than chasing the title holders,” Blanchard said. “It’s something we’ve had to face for the past four years or so now.”
Blanchard said he was extremely proud of how they performed the entire season and how excellent every single athlete on his team was.
“Freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, they’re all impactful on the team and they all prove how hard they want to be here,” Blanchard said.
Sophomore Adam Boerner placed first in the 500 freestyle at the MIAC championships with sophomore Nate Stone placing third. Stone would place first in the 200 yard butterfly a few races later. The team scored four second place finishes in individual races and four more second place finishes in relay races.
“For me, it’s great to be looked at as an example for the team,” Boerner said. “It shows a good example for years to come, and i’m really hoping that I can prove myself further as a role model for other swimmers on the team.”
Boerner’s teammate, Nate Stone, was happy to see both of them win first place.
“We were all really tired and at that point, we had taken some heavy losses on the previous days,” Stone said. “Watching (Adam) win the mile, it got me really excited and it sort of hyped me up to the point of where I told myself I could win too.”
More than anything, coach Blanchard wants all of his athletes to know how proud he is of them.
“St. Thomas has this distinction of having students who push themselves inside the classroom and in the pool,” Blanchard said. “They’re all smart kids who are just a joy to be around.”
Jacob Schneider can be reached at schn6923@stthomas.edu.