MIAC Swimming and Diving Athletes-of-the-Week

http://www.miac-online.org/news/2011/11/21/MSWIM_1121113010.aspx

MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week

Wes Schlichting, Saint John's
Sauk Rapids, Minn. / Sauk Rapids-Rice

The MIAC has been a showcase of diving talent - particularly on the 3-meter board - thus far in 2011-12, and last week was no exception. This time, the conference's shining star on the diving board was Saint John's Wes Schlichting (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice). The senior won both diving events Saturday while leading the Johnnies to a second-place finish. His score on the 3-meter board also met the cut for nationals to highlight his impressive showing. For his great diving performance over the weekend, Schlichting has been named the MIAC's Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week.

Schlichting scored 262.20 points on the 1-meter board to claim victory in that event, and his score of 285.10 on the 3-meter board helped him sweep first place in the diving events by a comfortable margin. The 285.10 also met the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving National Championship standard to punch Schlichting's ticket to nationals. His 1-meter score was more than 20 points better than the runner up, and he enjoyed a margin of victory by more than 90 points on the 3-meter board. SJU scored 1,080 points as a team to beat Minnesota State-Mankato, but trailed first-place Gustavus, which hosted the event.

The Johnnies and their star senior diver will enjoy a shot break over the holiday week before wrapping the 2011 portion of their schedule with two December meets. On Dec. 2-3 Saint John's will compete at the Falcon Invitational, hosted by UW-River Falls at the University of Minnesota's aquatic center in Minneapolis. It follows that up by hosting St. Thomas in Collegeville on Dec. 10 before taking the rest of the month off from competition due to finals and semester break.

MIAC Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week

Ellen Dean, Saint Benedict
Bothell, Wash. / Henry M. Jackson

Saint Benedict swimmer Ellen Dean (Bothell, Wash./Henry M. Jackson) had a breakout season last year as a freshman, and it appears she's ready to continue her progression as a sophomore in 2011-12. Dean was tremendous Saturday at the Gustavus Invitational, winning two events, finishing third in another and setting a new pool record to help the Blazers finish second in the competitive three-team invite. For her performance, Dean has been named the MIAC Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week.

Dean's top individual highlight from Saturday's standout performance was her first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Dean won the race with a time of 2:12.31, which was more than seven seconds faster than the runner up, and a new Gustavus pool record. She added a first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, with a winning time of 1:00.81. It was a much closer race, as Dean won by less than a half-second to beat four Division II swimmers from Minnesota State-Mankato who all joined her in the top five. Dean added a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley to her busy day, recording a time of 4:53.23, which was just four seconds out of second and eight seconds from making her a triple winner. Saint Benedict beat D-II Mankato by more than 300 points for second, while the host school - Gustavus - claimed first-place with a score of 1,333.

The Blazers and their super sophomore will enjoy a shot break over the holiday week before wrapping the 2011 portion of their schedule with two December meets. On Dec. 2-3 Saint John's will compete at the Falcon Invitational, hosted by UW-River Falls at the University of Minnesota's aquatic center in Minneapolis. It follows that up by hosting St. Thomas in conjunction with Saint John's in Collegeville on Dec. 10 before taking the rest of the month off from competition due to finals and semester break.

Courtesy of MIAC