HOBART, Ind. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's swimming & diving team closed the Liberal Arts Championships with a third-place finish on Saturday night. The Cougars ended the four-day event with 226.5 points, eking out a one-point triumph over Asbury University.

St. Ambrose University was the team champion of the 2024 LACs with a score of 719 points. Illinois Institute of Technology was second with 530 points. Williams Baptist University closed out the team standings in fifth place with 78 points.

In the morning prelims, John Gulon set a school record and earned the top seed in the 200 Backstroke with a time of 1:53.61, moving into the 'A' final. In the 200 Breaststroke, Jakob Linscheid was eighth to earn a spot in the consolation final with a school record of 2:26.78. Finally, Max Lundgren earned a spot in the consolation final of the 200 Butterfly with a school record of 2:30.43.

The evening began with the 1650 Freestyle and a huge drop of more than 90 seconds for John Slatinski as he finished fifth with a time of 18:23.32. 

In the 100 Backstroke, Gulon went even lower and finished with a school record of 1:53.37 to finish third overall. Linscheid did likewise in the 200 Breast, finishing in 2:25.41 for a new record and an eighth-place finish. 

On the 3-meter boards, Gregory Simons posted a score of 263.15 to place third.

The final race of the LACs was the 400 Freestyle Relay. Led off by a scorching 46.83 from Gulon, the Cougar 'A' team that included Slatinski, Nathan Fronk, and Louis Freeman touched the wall in 3:22.91 to finish fourth.

All-LAC awards from this weekend's competition will be announced next week.