MINNESOTA VS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS ST. THOMAS
- January 17, 2026
- Minneapolis, Minn.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Gopher Sports
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The University of Minnesota swimming and diving programs returned to action at home in the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center for the first time in 2026, taking down the University of St. Thomas Tommies and the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits.
Minnesota tallied a collection of huge wins for its first home meet of the new calendar year, winning all 26 of this afternoon’s events. The women took down the Tommies 196.5-46.5 and defeated the Jackrabbits 198-43, with Jade Roghair and Elna Widerstrom leading the way with two individual event wins each. The men took down the Tommies 190.5-51.5 and the Jackrabbits 185-56, with Jacob Johnson, Joe Polyak, and Drew Bennett leading the way with two individual event wins each.
The 200 medley relay teams for the Gophers kicked things off with a pair of early wins. Ava Yablonski, Ava Goodno, Morgan Thomas, and Livi Wanner took the first place finish throughout the women’s races with a time of 1:40.46. Davide Harabagiu, Luke Mychalowych, Jacob Johnson, and Connor Groya took the win on the men’s side with a time of 1:28.28.
Anja Kaljevic kicked off the individual events with a 10:08.57 victory in the women’s 1000 free, which Jackson Scheiber quickly followed up with a 9:33.07 win in the men’s 1000 free.
Roghair and Johnson each collected their first individual event wins of the afternoon in the 200 free, tallying times of 1:50.97 and 1:38.20 respectively.
Thomas and Ryan Slonac paired up to sweep the 50 free races of the afternoon, topping the heat sheets with times of 23.12 and 20.82 respectively.
Keira Mullins and Joe Polyak cleared the 200 IM events before the first event break of the day, tallying times of 2:07.07 and 1:49.58.
Yablonski and Groya picked up where the Gophers left following the break, earning times of 55.72 and 49.37 to sweep the 100 fly races.
Wanner and Johnson picked up another pair of wins for Minnesota in the 100 free with times of 50.56 and 44.87.
Kamdyn Periat and John Watson earned the wins in the 100 back with times of 55.09 and 49.83. Soon after, Roghair and Luke Brennan followed it up with 4:57.68 and 4:31.57 wins in the 500 free.
Georgia Kahler and Polyak closed out the individual events with another pair of wins for the Gophers, tallying times of 1:04.66 and 55.17 to win the 100 breast.
Relay teams of Wanner, Thomas, Kaljevic, and Yablonski on the women’s side and Groya, Harabagiu, Abdelwahab, and Slonac picked up wins in the 200 free relay to finish off the swimming events, tallying times of 1:32.59 and 1:22.10.
Gopher divers Drew Bennett and Elna Widerstrom continued their successful seasons sweeping all four of the diving events today. Bennett tallied scores of 343.20 in the 1-meter and 363.40 in the 3-meter for his wins, while Widerstrom tallied scores of 311.95 in the 1-meter and 349.00 in the 3-meter.
The Gophers return to action on the road on Friday, Jan. 30, with two days of Big Ten action against Northwestern University and Purdue University. Action against the Wildcats and the Boilermakers is set to kick off from Evanston, Illinois at 5:00 PM.
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
MINNEAPOLIS — Four South Dakota State swimmers posted runner-up individual finishes as the Jackrabbits came away with a split Saturday in competition at the Minnesota Tri-Dual contested at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
Host Minnesota posted the top times and marks in all 13 and swimming and diving events to defeat SDSU, 185-56, while the Jackrabbits notched a 137-106 victory over St. Thomas. The Jackrabbits moved to 4-2 in duals on the season.
Minnesota also tallied a 190.5-51.5 victory over St. Thomas to round out the meet.
Three of the Jackrabbits’ second-place showings came in freestyle events, starting with freshman Luke Watkins clocking a season-best time of 9 minutes, 37.62 seconds in the 1,000-yard event. Jack Ellison placed fourth for SDSU in 9:53.21. Ellison later added a fifth-place effort in the 500 freestyle, 4:46.27.
Sophomore Zavier Kranz swam his way to a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle with a time 45.63 seconds. That performance came after a fourth-place effort in the 200 freestyle, 1:42.78, earlier in the meet.
Eric Anderson also turned in a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle, touching the wall in 20.86 seconds, while fellow senior Braxton McGrath took second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.82 seconds.
In addition, Cody Vertin notched a pair of top-four performances, placing third in the 200 individual medley (1:52.87) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (:56.61). David Bosch finished third in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.42 seconds to lead the Jackrabbits.
UP NEXT
SDSU continues dual action with a trip Jan. 24 to the University of South Dakota. Start time is set for 1 p.m. at the USD Natatorium in Vermillion.
Courtesy: Tommie Sports
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas swim and dive program continued its 2025-26 season at the University of Minnesota Saturday afternoon. The Tommies competed in a triangular with Minnesota and South Dakota State, with the women defeating SDSU for the first time in program history. The St. Thomas women defeated the Jackrabbits 142-97 but fell to Minnesota 196.50-46.50.
The Tommie men were competitive throughout Saturday but came up short against both SDSU and the Gophers. The Jackrabbits outscored St. Thomas 137-106, while the Tommies fell to Minnesota 190.5-51.5.
WOMEN’S RESULTS: ST. THOMAS vs MINNESOTA / SDSU
St. Thomas beat SDSU for the first time since jumping to Division I in 2021-22. The Tommies also saw several other impressive performances from their swimmers and divers.
- St. Thomas “A” team finished fifth in the 200 yard medley relay, the highest finishing non-Minnesota team in the event. The team of Jordyn Davis (Cambridge, Wis.), Amber Hess (Kohler, Wis. / Kohler), Brooke Gothard (Golden, Colo. / Wheat Ridge) and Ellie Undem (Chisago City, Minn. / Chisago Lakes) swam the race in 1:46.45 to finish in fifth place, beating the top team from SDSU by nearly three full seconds.
- Gothard earned the highest individual finish for the Tommies in the 200 IM. The first year finished second in the race with a time of 2:08.34. Tessa Jones (Marengo, Ill. / Marian Central Catholic) finished ninth with a time of 2:13.41.
- Undem and Davis put together impressive performances in their respective races. Undem finished third in the 100 free with a time of 52.80, while Davis also finished third in the 100 back with a time of 56.88.
- Sophia Hayes (Naperville, Ill. / Central) continued to dominate distance freestyle, finishing third in the 1000. The junior was the highest finishing non-Gopher, claiming third with a time of 10:36.37. She also finished fourth in the 500 free with a time of 5:11.61.
- Hess and Libby Fischer (Eagan, Minn. / Visitation) finished 5-6 in the 50 free with times of 24/54 and 24.55 respectively. Mary Selden (Davenport, Iowa / Central) was the top Tommie finisher in the 200 free with a time of 1:57.56.
- Emily Wooden (Chino Hills, Calif. / Ayala) paced St. Thomas in the butterfly, finishing seventh with a time of 1:00.61.
- Maya Kelly (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Stillwater) was one again the top Tommie diver, finishing fifth in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions.
- In the final event of the day, the 200 freestyle relay, the St. Thomas “A” team earned a third place finish behind impressive swims from Undem, Hess, Fischer and Selden.
- Several other St. Thomas swimmers and divers earned top finishes Saturday. Click here for full results.
MEN’S RESULTS: ST. THOMAS vs. MINNESOTA/SDSU
St. Thomas put together several strong performances in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon, including two impressive relay swims.
- Like the women, St. Thomas’ “A” team was the top non-Minnesota finisher in the 200 medley relay, as the Tommies top team finished in fourth place. The team of Philip Jensen (Hastings, Minn. / Hastings), Ian Leonard (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego), Nicholas Salido (Kansas City, Mo. / Rockhurst) and Carter Fask (Elmhurst, Ill. / Fenwick) swam a time of 1:32.59, earning the fourth place finish.
- Fask and Salido both found success in individual races. Fask went on to finish fourth in the 50 free with a time of 21.22, while Salido finished in a tie for fourth in the 100 fly with a time of 50.72.
- Jensen impressed in the 100 back, finishing third with a time of 51.05.
- Charlie Folks (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Eden Prairie) once again broke 10 minutes in the 1000 freestyle, finishing in fifth with a time of 9:59.65.
- John Trosper (Clive, Iowa / Waukee) earned a fourth place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:55.26. while Miguel San Jose (Eagan, Minn. / Eagan) finished eighth.
- St. Thomas’ best performance came in the final race of the day. The Tommies “A” team earned a second place finish in the 200 freestyle relay behind outstanding swims from Fask, Salido, Trosper and Lucas Becker (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen)
- Several other St. Thomas swimmers and divers earned top finishes Saturday. Click here for full results.
UP NEXT
The Tommie women will return to the pool on Friday, January 30 as they compete at the University of Iowa. The dual is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. CT. Both teams will compete at the First Chance Meet, hosted by Minnesota, February 6-7. The St. Thomas divers will also compete at the UNO Diving Meet the same weekend.
