University of St. Thomas Athletics
Phoenix Fall Classic
St. Thomas earns fourth place finish in Chicago
11/20/2023 10:40:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Tommies score 323 points at Phoenix Fall Invite
CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of St. Thomas men's swimming and diving program put together a strong weekend at the Phoenix Fall Invite in Chicago, Ill. The Tommies saw some of their fastest swims of the season occur at the University of Chicago, propelling them to a fourth place finish at the mid-year invite. St. Thomas scored 323 points as a team over the weekend to earn its fourth place team finish.
DAY ONE:
The Tommies opened the three-day meet with a strong performance in the 200 freestyle relay, as all four relay teams finished in the top-20, though only one counted toward the team's overall score. St. Thomas' "A" team of Lucas Becker (Carver, Minn. / Chanhassen), Alex Foti (Waukesha, Wis. / Waukesha West), Nick Welle (Alexandria, Minn. / Alexandria) and Nicholas Salido (Kansas City, Mo. / Rockhurst) swam their way to an eighth place finish in the event thanks to a time of 1:24.71, which was nearly two seconds faster than their seeded time of 1:26.01. The Tommies "B" and "C" teams also finished in the top-15 in the event, with the "C" team earning an 11th place finish behind a time of 1:25.52.
Those finishes set the tone for the second event of the day, as Tommy Seiler (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee Falls) Foti and Luke Ridler (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) earned top-20 finishes in the 500 freestyle. Seiler put together the best performance in the distance race, clocking a time of 4:40.03 to finish in 15th place. Foti finished one place behind his teammate with a time of 4:40.84, while Ridler closed out the top-20 with a time of 4:53.59.
While the men only qualified individual racers in the 500 freestyle on Friday, they did earn another top-10 finish in the 400 medley relay. Becker, Sean Bannon (Rochester, Minn.), Phillip Jensen (Hastings, Minn. / Hastings) and Foti swam their way to a ninth place finish in the relay, clocking a time of 3:23.10 during the final race of the day.
DAY TWO:
The men got off to a similar start on Saturday as they did on Friday, earning another top-10 finish in the first relay of the day: the 200 medley relay. Becker, Bannon, Jensen and Welle proved to be a formidable force in the event, as they finished in eighth place with a time of 1:33.31. St. Thomas then saw several individuals qualify for races as individuals, including Jensen, who would go one to finish 10th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 50.57. Teammates Salido and Morgan Gillard (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) qualified for the "B" finals, finishing in 18th and 20th respectively.
Jensen and Becker's best race of the day with the 100 backstroke, as the duo both earned their spots in the "A" finals. Jensen would finish fourth in the race with a time of 50.40, while Becker earned a sixth place finish behind a time of 50.61. A.J. Carollo (Long Grove, Ill. / Stevenson) made the cut for "B" finals, earning a top-20 finish with a time of 53.07.
Charlie Folks was the lone Tommie swimmer to qualify for finals in the 400 IM for the men, finishing in 10th with a time of 4:15.97, while Foti and Ridler were St. Thomas' top swimmers in the 200 freestyle. Both qualified for the "B" finals, with Foti clocking in at 1:43.98 for a 17th place finish. Ridler finished in 20th with a time of 1:45.55.
The Tommies closed out the night with a ninth place finish in the 800 freestyle relay, as the team of Gillard, Foti, Seiler and Drew Testin (Mequon, Wis. / Homestead) clocked a time of 7:03.65 in the final race of Saturday.
DAY THREE:
St. Thomas came to life on day three of the Phoenix Fall Invite, as the Tommies opened the day with two top-20 finishes. Foti earned his first top-10 finish of the weekend as an individual in the 1650 freestyle, clocking a time of 16:18.79 in the longest race of the weekend. Seiler finished on place behind him in 11th thanks to his time of 16:25.50. Folks and Julien Yung (Duluth, Minn. / East) also excelled in the race, as both scored points for St. Thomas with times of 17:16.08 and 17:41.31 respectively.
Becker continued his impressive weekend with a top-20 finish in the 200 backstroke, as he claimed 13th place with a time of 1:51.99, and Bannon closed the weekend with a top-20 finish in the 200 breaststroke thanks to his time of 2:09.17.
Matt Glenna (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park) and Thomsen Yatso (Milwale, Wis. / Shorewood) were the final individuals to place for St. Thomas over the weekend, as both earned top-20 finishes in the 200 butterfly. Glenna would finish in 16th behind a season best time of 1:59.68, while Yatso closed the day with a top-20 finish thanks to a time of 2:00.40.
In the final relay of the weekend, the Tommies "A" team of Foti, Willy Coborn (St. Paul, Minn. / North Saint Paul), Ridler and Testin finished in 13th with a time of 3:08.93.
UP NEXT
The Tommies will swim in one final dual before the new year and will do so from the comforts of their own home. St. Thomas will host Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday, December 9 at the Anderson Pool in St. Paul, Minnesota. Events are set to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
