The St. Thomas women’s swimming team placed 15th in the 200 free relay and gained four team points last night during day three of the NCAA Division III national championships in Texas. Free relay team members included Erin Hogan, Wendy Consoer, Emily Punyko and Averi Splinter, and their time was 1:36.27.

The free relay helped the Tommies move to 33rd place with six team points. The 400 medley relay team clocked in at 3:57.53, but did not qualify for the consolation finals while finishing 20th. Mariann Kukielka was 28th in the 100 fly prelims in 58.69.

Freshman Michael Lanz competed in the 100 fly prelims Thursday, finishing with a 49.58 time and placing him 24th out of 44 swimmers. He will swim in the 200 fly today.

The St. Thomas women’s 200 medley relay team of Emily Punyko, Mariann Kukielka, Averi Splinter and Hayley Trace finished 16th Wednesday.

The foursome clocked in at 1:47.15. The squad was three seconds slower than its 1:44.79 seed time, which was the eighth seed.

Coach Tom Hodgson said the team didn’t do as well as it had expected but he is proud of its results.

“We finished 16th, but we scored and those kids will be honorable mention all Americans,” Hodgson said. “We want to get into the finals and score points; that’s our goal.”

Trace said the relay team has “nowhere to go but up.”

“We were a tad disappointed. Anytime you gain time, it’s tough to rationalize,” Trace said.

Lanz has one more swim, the 200 fly, on Friday.

Kukielka said she is happy with the team’s results.

“The other teams tapered specifically for this meet, so they’re more fresh,” Kukielka said. “We were proud with our prelims and final swims. And going into finals, we went after it pumped that we made it back and knowing that we were all honorable mention All-Americans.”

The MIAC schools are known for cheering each other on and have done so again this year, she said.

“All the MIAC teams, St. Olaf and Carleton especially, who have been our rivals and competition all year long are now like teammates,” Trace said. “We sit together and cheer each other on.”

Splinter tied for 41st in the women’s 50-yard freestyle finals Wednesday.

“It was a decent first swim. It helped get the jitters out before the relay,” Splinter said.