ST. CLOUD, Minn.- The Wildcats took on the St. Cloud Huskies on Friday and Saturday with the Women coming out on top.

FRIDAY

Opening the meet was the Women's 200-yard Medley Relay with the Wildcats taking the lead. Group A's Camilla Carbone, Evelyn DeCarlo, Txell Font-Cantarero, and Nadia Helm earned the team 11 points with a time of 1:47.78. Tailing behind with a time of 1:48.88 was NMU's Group B who gained four more points. The Men's relay fell short to the Huskies, but Leo Nolles, Roberto Camera, Hudson Lowery, and William LaCount acquired four more points to the score.

Caitlin Aarseth, Vanessa Steigauf, and Paige Carothers came in third, fourth, and fifth which contributed 6 more points to the Women Wildcat's team. Ondrej Zach and Jasper Pullinen came in first and second places with times of 9:53.48 (Zach) and 9:55.62 (Pullinen). Logan Robillard came in fifth, and the men added 14 points to their score.

The 200-yard Freestyle was led by our very own Nadia Helm with a time of 1:56.57 and Jenna Joerger at 1:59.67. These girls added 13 points to the scoreboard for their team. Daniel Khmara and James Werwie earned five points for the Men's side with places of second (Kharma) and fifth (Werwie).

Events seven and eight were all about the 50-yard freestyle with Olivia Haerr taking second place, Michaela Nelson claiming third, and Jillian McKinley following behind in fifth; all bringing in a total of 8 points. The second placer, Leo Nolles, and the sixth placer, Ben Stolberg, raised the score by five points.

Heidi Billings, Zoe Dekievit, and Ella Houwers brought their A-game to the 400-Yard IM with an addition of 14 points. Daniel Lopez-Aponte, Erikas Kapocius, and Javier Pena-Reyes gave the Huskies a run for their money by placing in the top three, earning the Men's side 16 points.

Tobie Stiles found himself in first place in the 1-Meter Dive with a final of 263.20 while Lauren Plockmeyer, Ashlee Smith, and Izzy McCabe took third, fourth, and fifth for the Women's side and boosted the score by six points. Stiles came in second for the 3-Meter Dive supplying the team with 4 extra points. Plockmeyer held the same placement, whereas McCabe fell into fourth, and Madison Germaine in fifth.  

Txell Font-Cantarero flew in first for the 100-Yard Butterfly with a time of 58.07. In the middle of the pack was Jillian McKinley, in third, at 1:01.20. Lowery, Liam Boomer, and Ryan Lund placed respectively in second, third, and fourth. Both sides upped the ante by a total of 22 points.

The 100-Yard Freestyle was won by Olivia Haerr and Leo Nolles. Notable mentions include Donna Hannig, DeCarlo, LaCount, and Kharma. All earning their teams a combined total of 26 points.

Carbone, Faith Sill, and Joerger pulled out in front with 16 points while Thibault Auger, Kapocius, and Kyle Griswold took the middle places and added six to their score.

There were wins all around for the 500-Yard Freestyle by Nelson, Font-Cartarero, Steigauf, Zach, and Pullinen leading the pack with a notable mention from Lopez-Aponte who fell into fourth. The score was raised by a total of 31.

The Women prevailed in the 100-Yard Breaststroke with DeKievit flying into first place and earning nine points. Close behind were DeCarlo and Billings who added a collective five points. Camera and Andrew Tease placed second and fourth, adding 6 points to the Men's side.

Friday ended with the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay where NMU's Women's Group A took first. This group consisted of Nelson, Haerr, Hannig, and Helm who earned 11 points, and Group B in second with four points. On the other hand, the Men's Group A was in third and added two points

SATURDAY

Day Two's opener was the 400-Yard Medley where Group A on the Women's side earned first place with 11 points. Group B fell into third place and accumulated two points. The Men's groups took second and third place and acquired 6 points.

Aarseth, who came in second, Font-Cantarero, in third, and Steigauf, who placed fifth, gathered eight points for the 1650-Yard Freestyle. On the Men's side, Zach came out on top, while Pullinen followed right behind, and Robillard was a bit farther back in fourth; they added 15 to their scoreboard.

Nelson and Hannig pulled through for the 200-Yard Freestyle where they placed first and second with times of 1:57.29 and 1:59.53. Burrows earned her spot in fourth where she added two points to Nelson and Hannig's combined 13. Nolles and Kharma took places three and four where they gained seven points.

The 50-Yard Freestyle had Wildcat's Olivia Haerr take first place at 24.70, third place Nadia Helm at 25.07, and fifth place Jillian McKinley at 25.78. Roberto Camera came in third and William LaCount came in eighth for the men. Each side accumulated 17 points.

Billings once again found herself in the lead for event nine 200-Yard IM where she had a final of 2:11.11. Following right behind was Joerger, while Ella Houwers trailed behind in fourth, earning their side 15 points. For the Men's side, we saw Lopez-Aponte take second, Kapocius in fourth, and Pena-Reyes right behind in fifth; all earning seven points for the Wildcats.

Lauren Plockmeyer earned the third-place title for 1-Meter Diving and Tobie Stiles claimed second with 241.95 where they both gathered seven points. Stiles went up to first place in the 3-Meter Dive where he added nine points while Plockmeyer, McCabe, and Germain took places three through five gaining a total of six points.

Font-Cantarero kicked butt the whole meet and it was proven once again when she took first in the 200-Yard Butterfly at 2:12.61. Right behind was Nelson and Sill who added seven points to Font-Cantarero's nine. The men's team claimed places one through four where they accumulated 16 points. This included Lowery, Pena-Reyes, Werwie, and Felipe Lemos.

Haerr led the team with first place at 53.68 and had Hannig right behind with 54.66. Honorable mention is Emilia Morris who claimed fifth place and added a point to the 13 made by Haerr and Hannig. Nolles prevailed in first for the Men at 46.97 and acquired nine points while LaCount found himself in sixth with one point going to their score. 

Events 17 and 18 consisted of the 200-Yard Backstroke which was won by Billings. Carbone, Joerger, and Mia Strazny were right behind her, adding seven. Auger took fourth and Griswold in fifth where they gathered three points.

The 500-Yard Freestyle included Helm in first, Houwers in third, and Aarseth in fifth, all claiming 13 total points. However, second place found Zach and fourth for Pullinen, where their points added up to 6.

Nearing the end of the meet, DeKievit pulled through for the Wildcats and proudly earned first place for the 200-Yard Breaststroke. DeCarlo found herself in fourth and contributed two points to DeKievit's nine. Lopez-Aponte also found a first place with Camera coming in second, and Tease in fourth. All accumulating 15 points to the Wildcats. 

In the final event, we saw the Wildcats and Huskies go head-to-head in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay. NMU Women's Group A prevailed with 11 points coming from Nelson, Haerr, Burrows, and Helm. Trailing not too far behind was the B Group in third place consisting of DeCarlo, Sill, Joanne Arbic, and Houwers with 2 points. Men's Group A took second place including LaCount, Kharma, Lund, and Nolles who contributed four points.

FINAL SCORES

The Women's team found themselves in first place on both days; 156-87 on Friday and 157-86 on Saturday. 

However, the Men were struck down by the Huskies on both days; 134-107 on Friday and 135-106 on Saturday.

UP NEXT

You can catch the swim and dive team at their next home meet on October 28, 2022, against Saginaw Valley State University at 5 p.m. and Saginaw Valley State University/Grand Valley State University at 12:30 p.m. on October 29.