After the first night of competition at the Minnesota Challenge, the University of Minnesota swimming and diving team sits on top. The Gophers claimed 9 different titles on the night.
The meet kicked-off with the 200 medley relay in which the Gopher men’s and women’s A relay teams placed first. The women, made up of Marina Spadoni, Natalie Herrild, Monica Radecke and Heidi Busack finished with a time of 1:33.53, while the men, made up of Jimmy Rafter, Niklas Brinck, CJ Smith and Christopher Johnson finished in 1:24.67.
Christie Clarke was the only Gopher on the women’s side to swim in the 500 free, finishing in first-place with a time of 5:01.26. The men had several swimmers compete in the event, but it was Logan Redondo who claimed the title with a 4:29.31.
In the 200 IM, David Friesch earned the victory for the Gophers, touching the wall at a career-best 1:50.70.
Derek Toomey swam a very impressive 50 free on the night, setting a new career top-time and the fastest time the Gophers have notched all season, 19.83, for first-place honors. Monica Radecke also claimed the title in the event for the women with a season-best time of 23.36.
The 400 medley relay was the final race of the night, ending in two more Gopher victories. Spadoni, Busack, Radecke and Amelia Marsh won the event for the women with a time of 3:41.95, while Rafter, Smith, Brandon Hatanaka and Alex Cisneros won it for the men in 3:29.61.
The Gophers aim to have another successful day tomorrow as competition continues at 11am and 6pm.
Session II: Saturday 11:00 am
Women’s 1-meter or Platform /Men’s 3-meter 6 Dives (9:00am)
200 Medley Relay
400 IM
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
800 Freestyle Relay
Session III: Saturday 6:00pm
Women’s 3-meter/Men’s 1-meter or Platform 6 Dives (3:00pm)
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay