RESULTS

MINNEAPOLIS -- Setting 29 season-best individual and relay times, eight season team-best times and 13 times that rank among the top-10 event times in school history, the Augsburg College women's swimming team had a strong performance at the Minnesota Challenge, held Friday and Saturday at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Kelsey Hlavac (SO, Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) and Maggie Royce (FY, Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) each set two top-10 individual times at the two-day event.

Hlavac cut 35 seconds off her previous season-best time with a 20:22.86 time in the 1,650-yard freestyle, marking the fifth-best time in the event in school history. She also recorded the seventh-fastest time in school history in the 500-yard freestyle, a 5:57.06 effort.

Royce set the sixth-fastest time in school history in the 500-yard freestyle, a 5:53.16 effort, while also recording the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 200-yard freestyle, a 2:10.50 time.

Elianna Bier (FY, St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park HS) and Samantha Hebzynski (SR, Maple Grove, Minn.) each set top-10 times in the 200-yard backstroke, as Bier's 2:33.75 effort is the fourth-fastest in school history, while Hebzynski's 2:34.68 time is eighth-fastest. Abby Novak (JR, Aurora, Minn./Mesabi East HS) set the fifth-fastest time in school history in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:10.34, while Elizabeth Hilgendorf (FY, Tomahawk, Wis.) set the 10th-fastest time in school history in the 200-yard freestyle, in 2:12.75.

Four Auggie relays also set top-10 school history times -- the 800-yard freestyle relay of Royce, Hebzynski, Hilgendorf and Hlavac with the third-fastest time of 9:07.96; the 400-yard freestyle relay of Royce, Novak, Hlavac and Hilgendorf with the third-fastest time of 4:04.96; the 400-yard medley relay of Novak, Hilgendorf, Kayla Mitchell (FY, St. Paul, Minn./Insight School of Minnesota# in 4:45.55; and the 200-yard freestyle relay of Royce, Novak Hlavac and Hilgendorf with the eighth-fastest time of 1:52.22.

Royce recorded three season-best times for the Auggies -- in the 500-yard freestyle (5:53.16), 200-yard freestyle (2:10.50) and 100-yard freestyle (1:00.80), with her 500 and 200 times also team-bests this season. Hlavac also recorded three season-best times -- in the 500-yard freestyle (5:53.16), 200-yard freestyle (2:13.85) and the 1,560-yard freestyle (20:22.86), with her 1,650 time a team-best.

Bre Kirch (FY, Waunakee, Wis.) recorded three season-best times, knocking 1:04 of her previous best in the 1,650-yard freestyle (23:02.94) and 19 seconds of her previous best in the 500-yard freestyle (6:37.02). She also had a season-best in the 100-yard backstroke (1:24.32).

Hilgendorf set season- and team-best times in the 50-yard freestyle (27.12 seconds) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:20.18). Hebzynski also recorded season-best times in the 500-yard freestyle (6:10.67), 200-yard backstroke (2:34.68) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:22.82).

Mitchell set two season- and team-best times -- in the 100-yard butterfly (1:12.98) and 200-yard butterfly (2:48.12) -- while also recording a season-best time in the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.93).

Novak recorded a season- and team-best time in the 100-yard backstroke (1:10.34), while also recording season-best times in the 50-yard freestyle (28.08 seconds) and 100-yard freestyle (1:01.37). Bier notched season-best times in the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.72), 50-yard freestyle (29.92 seconds) and 200-yard backstroke (2:33.75), with the 200 backstroke time also a team-best.

Hilgendorf's 200-yard freestyle time of 2:12.75 was a season-best, as was the 38.82-second 50-yard freestyle of Dustina Granlund (SO, St. Paul, Minn.).

The Minnesota Challenge is the final meet for the Auggies before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, to be held Feb. 16-18 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.