MIAC Swimming & Diving Athletes-of-the-Week

http://www.miac-online.org/news/2011/12/12/MSWIM_1212113915.aspx

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

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

Saint John's Wes Schlichting (Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) is off to quite a start during his senior season. The Johnnies' diver continued his hot start Saturday in a dual against rival St. Thomas by winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, while meeting the NCAA provisional cut in both events and moving to the top of the MIAC's performance list on the 1-meter board. For his performance, Schlichting has been named the MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week for the second time in a month.

Schlichting won the title on the 3-meter board against the Tommies with a score of 307.95, which met the NCAA provisional cut for the Division III National Championships. He was even better on the 1-meter board, racking up an impressive score of 328.15, which now ranks as the best score in the MIAC this season, and it also met the provisional cut. Schlicthing was also named the MIAC Men's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week on Nov. 21 after also winning both diving events at a three-team meet that weekend. His 1-meter score is the first over 300 this season in the and his score on the 3-meter board put him in second place, less than 11 points out of first.

The Johnnies and their star diver will now enjoy almost a month off with finals and the Holiday break approaching. They'll return once the calendar flips to 2012, with a meet at Carleton on Jan. 14 serving as the next event on their schedule. SJU will then have a little over a month to prepare for the MIAC Championships, which will be held Feb. 16-18 at the U of M Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.

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

Morgan Peterson, Saint Benedict
Rogers, Ark. / St. Pius X

Saint Benedict freshman Morgan Peterson (Rogers, Ark./St. Pius X) is already swimming like a seasoned veteran in just the second month of her collegiate career. Just a week after setting a new Blazers' school record, the first-year swimmer won three events to help her team win a dual meet Saturday against St. Thomas, 168-132, and she now holds the fastest time in the conference in two different events. For her performance, Peterson has been named the MIAC Women's Swimming and Diving Athlete-of-the-Week.

Saturday, Peterson was both versatile and dominant, with first-place finishes in three very different events. She claimed victory in the 200-yard freestyle, the 200yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley while helping the Blazers beat the visiting Tommies in head-to-head competition. The three-win performance was just the latest highlight of Peterson's stellar first season at Saint Benedict. A week earlier she broke the CSB school record in the 400-yard individual medley, and she holds the MIAC's top times in that event and the 200-yard individual medley.

The win over St. Thomas concluded the 2011 portion of the Saint Benedict swimming and diving schedule. The Blazers will take three weeks off for finals and the Holidays before returning to action in a much warmer climate thanks to a winter training trip. CSB's next competition will be the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Fla., on Jan. 3. It's next meet in Minnesota will be at Carleton on Jan. 14, and then just over a month between that event and the MIAC Championships on Feb. 16-18.

Courtesy of MIAC