by Alexis Spier–The Mustangs travelled to Saint Peter, Minnesota Saturday, Nov. 18, to face off against four other teams in the season’s first Invitational. Gustavus Adolphus College hosted Saint Johns University, MacAlester College, College of Saint Benedict, and Morningside University. The distance swimmers had the earliest morning as their depart time was 5 a.m., and the rest of the swimmers got a couple more hours of sleep before the bus left at 7 a.m.
“Invitationals are a whole different vibe from a meet or a duel,” said senior Bradley Palmer. “There are way more teams and way more events.”
The distance swimmers had their first event at 10 a.m., and the rest of the team arrived at 11:30 a.m. After the national anthem plays for the sprint swimmers, the teams huddle up and perform their chants.
“The captains get in the middle of the huddle and we yell our chant and the team repeats it,” said Captain Grace Holzerland. “Sometimes all the opposing teams are doing their cheers at the same time, so we have to be the loudest.”
After the distance events, the first event is the 200 medley relay. Each member of the relay swims a 50 with back stroke first, then breast stroke, fly, and freestyle bringing it home.
“The 2med relay is my favorite, because it’s team oriented and it brings the most energy out of every team,” said Holzerland. “We shake hands with the opposing swimmers next to us; everyone’s just having a great time.”
Almost every swimmer had to swim five events. Holzerland’s specialty is the breaststroke; she swam the 200 medley relay, 100 breaststroke, 200 free relay, 200 breaststroke, and the 200 individual medley relay. The 200 individual relay is an event where each member has to swim a 50 of each stroke, so it requires a great amount of technique to switch strokes mid race. Holzerland led the women’s team with 30 points.
Palmer is a backstroker, so he swam the 200 medley relay, 100 back, 200 free relay, 200 back, and the 400 free relay. He finished the Invitational with 26 points. Freshman Jake Bolda led the men’s team with 37 points.
The winner is calculated by adding the total number of points given to each individual swimmer. However, the women and men scores are separate, so the women could place higher than the men and vise versa. Home team Gustavus Adolphus won the invitational with a loaded roster of 83 swimmers. Morningside finished in last place.
“Team size is a huge factor in who wins, because the more people you have in a single event, the more points are up for grabs,” said Holzerland.
The Invitational ends just like it starts, with relays. The 400 free relay is the last event, and the most exhausting event according to Holzerland and Palmer. However, it is also one of their favorites.
“We’re exhausted, but we’re going to swim our hearts out in the relays, because we’re all in it together,” said Holzerland.
The Morningside swim team’s next event is an Invitational scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1st in Saint Paul, Minnesota hosted by MacAlester College.
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