What an incredible season. In so many ways this has been one of the best years for Johnnie Swimming and Diving. We started out the year celebrating our 50th anniversary and reconnecting with alumni after a long hiatus from COVID. And then to finish our season with a 2nd place MIAC team finish scoring the most points we have ever scored at the MIAC Championship. It has been a year of great growth for our swim and dive team, and we are so proud of where we have been and where we are going.
It felt so good to be back at the University of Minnesota for our championship meet this year. While the meet had a different feel without St. Thomas in the mix, our guys clearly stepped up and took advantage of the opportunity. We scored 731 points as a team this year at the MIAC Championships, for context the next highest point total of a Johnnie Swim and Dive team at MIACs was 678.5 in 2003. We had 27 All-MIAC honorees this year (1 – 3 individual or relay), the most in team history, and another 13 honorable mentions (4-6 individual, 4th place relay). The next most was 2003 or 2004, both years SJU had 24 All-MIAC honorees. We had two individual champions, who won a combined four events at MIACs as well: Joe Koller (JR) won the 100 and 200 Backstroke, and Eli Grabinski (FR) won 1m and 3m diving. Eli was also named Diver of the Year. Connor Reed (JR) was second on both 1m and 3m dive this year as well, meaning our divers went 1-2 on both boards, led by our new diving coach Elise Morell, who was named Diving Coach of the Year.
Both Connor and Eli qualified for NCAA Regionals this year as well. Eli ended up 10th in the Region on 3m, and 18th on 1m, and Connor ended up 18th on 1m and 22nd on 3m. Eli joined us late (starting school in January) and Connor was studying abroad in the fall, meaning they both did what they did this year with about one month of training for the season. They are incredible athletes, and we are so proud of what they did this year and what they can achieve next.
We also had multiple team records and top 5 all time performances. Joe Koller broke the team record in the 100 Back (50.88) and the 200 Back (1:51.44), previously held by Braden McCormack (100 Back) and Joe Alvarez (200 Back). We also broke the team record in the 400 Medley Relay (Koller, Fleischhacker, Heer, Noble) with a time of 3:27.37, previously held by McCormack, Duxbury, Alvarez, and Knaak. On top of the team records we had several athletes join the All-Time top 5 list for the team and Freshman. On the All-Time Top 5 list we had Carter Larson join the 200 Free (4th), 500 Free (4th), 1000 Free (3rd) and the 1650 Free (3rd). The 200 Free Relay: Kern, Noble, Larson, and Brinkman is 3rd All-Time, the 800 Free Relay of Larson, Thayer, Kern, and Huber is 4th All-Time, and the 200 Medley Relay of Koller, Fleischhacker, Kern, and Noble is 5th All-Time. We also had many additions to our All-Time Freshman top 5 record board as well: Liam Noble is 5th in the 50 Free, 5th in the 100 Free, Carter Larson is 1st in the 200 Free, 1st in the 500 Free, 1st in the 1000 Free, and 1st in the 1650 Free. AJ East is 3rd in the 100 Fly, and Connor Thayer is 4th in the 500 Free.
We just recently also finished our team banquet. Each year at our team banquet we award a few team awards for those who achieved greatness throughout the season. Our Rookie of the Year this year was Liam Noble, a standout first year sprinter. Our most improved athlete was Rafael Rios, a sophomore who made incredible strides in his technique and saw it pay off with huge time drops at the end of the season. Our MVP was Joe Koller, a junior with a record setting season no doubt, breaking the first team record in 6 years. Finally, our Johnnie of the Year award: we renamed this award in honor of the original team captain, Steve Smith. Steve set the standard for what it means to be part of the Johnnie Swim and Dive team. Our Steve Smith Johnnie of the Year was Ethan Huber, a junior who led our team in and out
of the pool. We are so proud of all of our guys, but these four clearly went above and beyond in what they accomplished and deserved recognition.
All that is to say, we had an amazing season. I’m proud of what we accomplished, but I know we are hungry for more. I look forward to watching our younger classes continue to grow as athletes and young men, and I’m sure that we are just beginning what will be a great continue sustained success for many years to come. We are excited for the future, but proud of what we accomplished this year. All of you had an impact on our team this year, and our guys know that the success that they had this year is in part due to those who came before them. I hope that we can see you at an alumni meet next fall, or cheering in the stands for Johnnie Swim and Dive in the near future. Go Johnnies!