CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Luther College men's swimming and diving team is the champion. It wasn't the easiest of victories the Norse have come by this season, but they once again proved they are, in fact, the top team in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C). Not Nebraska-Wesleyan, which swept Luther during the regular season and was heavily favored entering the A-R-C Swimming and Diving Championships. Fueled by heart and speed, the Norse claimed their second consecutive A-R-C title, scoring 652 team points over the course of the three day competition.
Additionally, Luther took home a slew of awards at the championships. First year Kevin Kretz (Fairfield, Iowa / Ottumwa) was named the A-R-C Swimmer of the Meet for his performance, while fellow first year Colin Halverson (Oak Creek, Wis. / Oak Creek) was named the conference Diver of the Meet. Additionally, the Norse coaching staff of Aaron Zander (head coach), Dustin Rhoads (assistant), Linnea Lee-Brown, Joe Myhre and Peder Smith were named the A-R-C Coaching Staff of the Year at the conclusion of the meet.
PRELIMS
The Norse saw a handful of swimmers qualify for either the "A" or "B" finals, as Saturday's morning session was highlighted by yet another impressive swim by Kevin Kretz (Fairfield, Iowa / Ottumwa). The first year was once again the fastest swimmer in the pool in Saturday's morning session, as he clocked the fastest time in the 100 freestyle. Kretz clocked a season best time of 47.44 in prelims, which ranks fourth all-time in Luther history. His teammate Nico Shrestha (Hopkins, Minn. / Minnetonka) finished seconds behind him, as Shrestha swam 46.51 to earn a spot in "A" finals. Dylan Rauser (Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny) earned a spot in "B" finals with a time of 52.51.
In the 200 back, Drew Chamberlain (Decorah, Iowa / Decorah) and Ryan Malecha (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield) finished third and fifth in prelims with times of 1:57.07 and 1:59.82. Cade Hawkins (Batavia, Fla. / Batavia) made the "B" finals cut with a time of 2:04.64.
Gabe Armstrong (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) continued to lead the charge for the Norse in the breaststroke races, as he was the team's highest qualifier in the 200 breaststroke. The first year clocked a season best time of 2:15.14 in prelims to qualify for "A" finals and was joined by his teammate Jack Meehan (Northfield, Minn. / Northfield). The senior earned the final spot in "A" finals thanks to his time of 2:22.77, while Brennan Wirth (Rosemount, Minn. / Rosemount) earned a spot in "B" finals with a time of 2:42.52.
Jacob Wenger (Manchester, Iowa / West Delaware) and Kyle Pluskwa (St. Charles, Ill. / North) clocked "A" qualifying times in the 200 butterfly of 2:19.60 and 2:30.09.
FINALS
Luther's first individual win of the evening came in the 1650 free, as Brock Ohlensehlen (Bettendorf, Iowa / Bettendorf) continued to dominate the distance races. The first year won the event in dominant fashion, as he was the lone swimmer to touch the wall before the 17 minute mark. Ohlensehlen won the race with a time of 16:48.08, the seventh fastest time in Norse swimming and diving history. His teammate Jake Walz (Rochester, Minn. / Mayo) finished second with a time of 17:03.02, while Jacob Dahl (Chanhassen, Minn. / Chanhassen), Rob Scheel (Faribault, Minn. / Faribault) and Lars Marquardt (Decorah, Iowa / Decorah) all finished in the top-6 for Luther. Dahl finished fourth with a time of 17:39.08, while Scheel and Marquardt finished fifth and sixth respectively with times of 17:42.38 and 17:43.85.
Kretz proved he was the fastest swimmer in the pool the entire weekend as he completed his sweep of the freestyle races. The first year won his third individual title of the weekend, as his time of 46.73 in the 100 freestyle bestest the competition by nearly a full second. It additionally moves Kretz to third all-time on Luther's top-10 list and helped him sweep the sprint freestyle races at the A-R-C Championship. His teammate Shrestha finished in second place, as his time of 47.12 is the fourth fastest in program history behind Kretz, Cameron Webb and program record holder Taylor Nelson.
Chamberlain earned yet another All-Conference honor to highlight his first ever trip to the A-R-C Championships. The first year earned a third place finish in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.53, nearly three seconds faster than his prelim time of 1:57.07. Malecha finished fourth with a time of 1:57.73.
Armstrong, also a first year with the program, provided another highlight on the day. Like Chamberlain, he too earned All-Conference honors in the pool Saturday evening, this time in the 200 breaststroke. Armstrong swam a season best time of 2:12.42 in the race, earning second place honors and 13 points towards the Norse overall team score. Teammate Meehan finished sixth in the race with a time of 2:21.53.
Two swimmers earned top-6 honors in the 200 fly, as Wenger finished fourth with a time of 2:17.55. Teammate Pluskwa finished his night with two top-6 honors. After a career performance in the 1650, Pluskwa finished sixth in the 200 fly with a time of 2:23.83.
Luther locked up its destiny well before the final relay, but fans let out a sigh of relief as the Norse earned a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Jack Bell (Madison, Wis. / Memorial), Malecha, Ohlensehlen and Walz swam their way to a second place finish in the relay, cementing Luther's team win with a time of 3:16.83.
UP NEXT
Thanks to these and three days worth of top performances, the Norse won their second consecutive A-R-C title with 652 total team points compared to the favored Prairie Wolves 574. Luther will wait to see if any of its swimmers qualify for the NCAA Championships, but at least two Norse will be competing in the postseason. Divers Bell and Colin Halverson (Oak Creek, Wis. / Oak Creek) are headed to Atlanta, Georgia February 24-25 to compete in the NCAA Regional Diving Zones, hosted by Emory College. More information regarding the Zones will be available in the upcoming days.
