ST. PETER, Minn. (www.blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire swim and dive teams completed the events in the Gustie Challenge hosted by Gustavus Adolphus College on Saturday. Between the two Blugold squads, UWEC posted 38 top-3 placements during the weekend meet.
 
Both UW-Eau Claire teams had reputable days in the pool and Bryna Gulbrandson (So. – Eagan, Minn.) got things started for the women with a 1^st place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:20.08. Gulbrandson kept her stellar weekend going in the women's 1650-yard freestyle with a 19:00.51 finish and 1^st place honors.
 
On the men's side, Owen Yeager (Fr. – Maplewood, Minn./Tartan) captured a 1^st place finish in the men's 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:20.91. Todd O'Connor (Fr. – Grafton, Wis.) was crowned champion of the men's 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48 seconds and Brett Farmer (Sr. – Antigo, Wis.) also placed 1^st in the men's 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.21.
 
During the relays, UW-Eau Claire's women's 400-yard freestyle team of Bryna Gulbrandson, Maddie Grahn (Fr. – Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest), Cora Burroughs (So. – Stoughton, Wis.), and Olivia Richetto (Jr. – Wausau, Wis./East) posted the top time with a 3:41.99 and a 1^st place finish.
 
After the meet, head coach, Annie Ryder, was impressed with how her squads performed during the weekend meet in Minnesota. "This meet was all about those whose season came to a close. There were so many incredible personal bests and season bests across the board. This is a group that is very willing to do the workday in and day out and it showed this weekend. I am so proud of these athletes' dedication, passion, and commitment to swimming to their highest potential.  I'm so happy for them all on how they finished their season."
 
The Blugolds will return home and gear up for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship in two weeks. First events are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, February 14^th at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer, Wis. and will run until Saturday, February 17^th. For more information and event schedule, visit the WIAC Swimming & Diving Championships website.