This past weekend, the Women’s Swim and Dive competed in the University of St. Thomas Invite. The event featured host team St. Thomas, Hamline University, College of St. Benedict and the Auggies. Despite having the smallest team present, the Auggie swimmers showcased several stellar individual performances on the day.
In the lone relay the Auggies competed in, Amanda Pedersen, Lindsey Luke, Carli Kirchoff and Morgan Mangel completed the 200-meter freestyle relay in 1:51.49 which was their second fastest time this season. The fastest time came earlier this year when they finished the sprint at 1:50.59.
In the 50-yard backstroke, Kirchoff finished third place with a time of 32.93, and teammate Autumn Francois finished in a close fourth with a time of 33.14. Mangel swam the 50-yard breaststroke in 36.35 seconds which was good for fifth place. In a tough 50-yard butterfly, Lindsey Luke finished sixteenth despite swimming a solid time 31.73. The final individual event that Augsburg competed in was the 200-yard freestyle which saw valiant efforts from Mangel, Kirchoff, Luke and Pedersen. They swam times of 2:08.84, 2:18.25, 2.23.08, and 2.28.16, respectively.
The next time the Auggies compete will be at the MIAC Championships which will take place over three days from Thursday, Feb. 15 to Saturday, Feb. 17. All events will take place at the University of Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center which is easily accessible by public transportation or walking. Tickets are only five dollars for students, so go out and support the Auggies!
This article first appeared in the Friday, February 9, 2018, Edition of The Echo.