By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ­ — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Griffin Rades (Shawano, Wis.) set the bar awfully high during his first-ever race at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships—and the freshman just keeps raising that bar higher and higher.
 
Just a day after breaking the school record—twice—in the 200 IM, Rades was at it again on Thursday in the 400 IM.
 
Rades, who shaved nearly three seconds off the 200 IM school-record with a time of 1:56.35 in winning the B Final Friday evening, was in a shaving mood again in the 400 IM, whittling nearly four seconds off the previous school mark—stopping the clock in 4:15.52—to qualify fourth for Friday's evening final.
 
But wait, there's more.
 
In the A Final, Rades was at his best yet, knocking another four seconds off his not-very-old school record, holding down the fourth spot in the eight-person final with a time of 4:11.11.
 
And the freshman wasn't finished.
 
Leading off the Cardinals' 800 freestyle relay, Rades set school-record No. 5, swimming the first 200 yards in 1:46.96—besting the 19-year-old record held by Rick Loeffelholz.
 
Five swims, five school records—not a bad first MIAC impression.
 
Claire King (Red Wing) and Brian Mockler (Dubuque, Iowa) both narrowly missed reaching the B Final in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke, respectively. King clocked a season-best 1:05.60 to finish 17^th—while Mockler matched that 17^th-place showing with his 100 breaststroke time of 1:02.91.
 
Kierra Walske (Rochester, Minn.) finished 14^th in the 3-meter diving (286.90), while Emme Quandt (Shawano, Wis.) chipped in a time of 1:07.70 in the 100 butterfly, and the trio of Brooke Shefchik  (Stevens Point, Wis. / 2:08.69), Alyssa Haram (Maple Grove, Minn. / 2:13.06), and Amanda Hansen (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 2:14.04) all competed in the 200 freestyle. A pair of relays were also in action Friday for the Cardinal women—the 200 medley placed ninth in 2:00.86 and the 800 freestyle finished 10th (8:37.41).
 
On the men's side, Jack Wells (Glenview, Ill.) and Nick Sawchuk (Rochester, Minn.) posted times of 1:53.86 and 2:01.69 in the 200 freestyle, while the 200 medley relay finished seventh in 1:43.48, and the 800 freestyle also placed seventh in 7:33.70.
 
Action in the three-day event concludes on Saturday at the University of Minnesota's Jean Freeman Aquatic Center.
 
DAY 1 IN REVIEW: Rades broke the school record in the 200 IM twice—the second time with a time of 1:56.35 that earned the freshman first place in the B Final. Rades opened competition with a 1:58.92 in the preliminaries. …  Jack Wells (Glenview, Ill.) touched the wall in 22.45 in the 50 freestyle, while Brian Mockler (Dubuque, Iowa) shaved 13 seconds off his season best in the 500 freestyle (5:14.37) and Nick Sawchuk (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in a 5:33.72 in the 500 freestyle. The men's 200 freestyle relay also competed, placing seventh in a time of 1:32.18. … On the women's side, Claire King (Red Wing, Minn.) stopped the clock in 26.28 in the 50 freestyle, with Emme Quandt (Shawano, Wis.) and Erica Camarato (Deforest, Wis.) adding times of 2:31.00 and 2:34.06 in the 200 IM. Brooke Shefchik (Stevens Point, Wis.) led a trio of Cardinals in the 500 freestyle, posting a time of 5:39.28, and was followed by Alyssa Haram (Maple Grove, Minn. / 5:48.22) and Amanda Hansen (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 5:58.40). In the 200 freestyle relay, Saint Mary's posted a time of 1:50.89 to finish 11^th, while the 400 medley relay team placed 10^th with a time of 4:29.31 | Recap