SJU Johnnies Swim and Dive

Hello Johnnie Swim and Dive fans and alumni! I hope you are doing well. We are excited to be starting a new school year and to have officially just begun the 2025-2025 swim and dive season here at Saint John’s as well. The fall always brings renewed hope and excitement as we prepare for another season and make another push towards a MIAC Championships. 

We have lots to be excited about for this upcoming season! We are returning our first swimming All-American since 2012, in our distance star Brayden Slavik. He will look to again qualify for NCAA championships in the 1650 and improve on his 15th place finish in the mile. Brayden was also a MIAC Champion in the 500 Free, the 1650, and the 400 IM, and will look to defend his titles in those events a well. Brayden will be joined by senior Carsten Reuter who was 50 Freestyle Champion (first one for SJU since 2011) and will look to defend his title in the 50 Free as well as build on his 3rd place finish in the 100 Free and 7th place finish in the 100 Fly. 

We did graduate our All-American diver Eli Grabinski, but we are looking forward to the development of Cody Watts, Junior diver who was a NCAA Regional Qualifier last year and has high hopes for making NCAA Championships this year. 

We are also excited to add to the team 8 freshman who will most certainly make an impact in this next season. David Lammers (Willmar, MN) brings a strong sprint free/fly background, Braydon Ohrtman (Highland Ranch, CO) will bolster our middle distance to distance freestyle group, and Lincoln Cochran will be a strong addition to our breaststroke and IM groups. While it is always hard to graduate talent like we had in last years seniors, we are excited about where this team can go and what they can achieve as they grow. 

With the beginning of a new season, we also begin another Go Johnnies Challenge. I’m sure many of you have received emails already asking for donations and support for Johnnie Athletics. We ask for your support because we simply would not be able to give our athletes the experience that we do without your support. Your donations purchase team equipment, like new resistance training buckets, and tempo trainers for our guys to help them hone their skills for the big meets at the end of the season. Your support also goes towards apparel and team gear such as Dome Caps our guys wore this last year at the MIAC Championships, and their tech suits that allow them to compete at the highest level. All your donations go directly to our team and make a huge impact in our ability to compete and be the best team that we can be. We have two generous donors who have put up matching donations, dollar for dollar, up to $6500, meaning your donation will go further to helping the team! Please consider donating today by going to this link: Go Johnnies Challenge 

Lastly, I would like to let you all know about our Alumni Meet coming up in September as well! Our annual CSB/SJU Alumni Meet will be on Saturday, 9/27 at 10:30 AM. This is an opportunity to swim against the current team and hang out with all your old teammates that are coming back as well. This year the meet falls on Homecoming so please come back check out the meet, see some old friends and then spend the day on campus watching the football game and cheering on the Johnnies. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know. We look forward to seeing you back on campus and hope we can count on your support in the Go Johnnies Challenge.