ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul swimming and diving team returns to action Saturday, traveling to Marshall, Minn., to face Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State in a double dual beginning at 1 p.m.

The meet marks the Golden Bears' first road competition of the season and will take place at the Don Palm Natatorium in the Physical Education building at SMSU.

PREVIEW FROM COACH BUSCH
"This is our sixth consecutive year doing this meet," head coach Rachel Busch said. "It started as a fun reunion between the three programs because the head coach at SMSU and I both swam for the head coach at Minnesota State. It has turned into a great tradition, and we rotate the location each year."

Busch added, "we are super pumped to see our swimmers and divers compete. They've been putting in a lot of hard work, and I expect to see tremendous growth in their times and scores from two weeks ago, when we opened the season against MSU Moorhead."

LAST TIME OUT
Dual: MSUM 157, CSP 142

Freshman Estee VerSteeg led the Golden Bears with three individual first-place finishes in her first career races. VerSteeg took first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:57.99 before winning the 50-yard freestyle in 24.41 and the 100-yard freestyle in 54.01.

Avery Farmer added two first-place finishes, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in 11:19.59 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:28.88.

Claire Briest also earned a pair of first-place finishes, taking the top spot in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:07.62 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.77. Briest also finished third in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:16.78.

Alejandra Lira added a pair of runner-up finishes, taking second in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:14.03 and the 200-yard individual medley in 2:15.21. Lira also finished third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:16.90.

On the diving board, Mina Dahl recorded a pair of second-place finishes, scoring 199.15 on the 1-meter board and 204.65 on the 3-meter board. Chloe Jones added a pair of third-place finishes, scoring 188.00 on the 1-meter board and 185.75 on the 3-meter board.

SATURDAY'S ORDER OF EVENTS 
1) 1M Diving
2) 200 Medley Relay
3) 1,000 Free
4) 200 Free
5) 100 Back
6) 100 Breast
7) 200 Fly
8) 50 Free
9) 3M Diving
10) 100 Free
11) 200 Back
12) 200 Breast
13) 500 Free
14) 100 Fly
—Break—
15) 400 IM
16) 200 Free Relay 

HISTORY AGAINST MSU
The two programs have met a total of eight times in duals dating back to October 15, 2021. MSU holds a 8-0 all-time record. 

The teams last met in a dual meet last season, with Minnesota State defeating the Golden Bears 230-69.

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State was picked to finish first in the 2026-27 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning 81 points and nine first-place votes after winning the NSIC championship last season.

Junior Savannah Acker was named the NSIC Preseason Swimmer of the Year after winning six events at the NSIC Championships and earning Swimmer of the Meet honors last season.

The Mavericks currently sit at 0-1 in duals this season after falling to South Dakota 177-129 to open their season. 

Last weekend, Minnesota State took first place at the St. Cloud Invite with 869 points. 

HISTORY AGAINST SMSU
The two programs have met a total of eight times in duals dating back to October 15, 2021. SMSU holds a 6-2 all-time record. 

Last season, the Golden Bears earned their second consecutive win over the Mustangs, 170-129. Sophomore Chloe Jones made a strong impact, finishing second in the 1-meter dive and third in the 3-meter dive. Her score of 207.35 in the 3-meter dive marked a personal best.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
SMSU were picked to finish eighth in the 2026-27 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 26 points after finishing in eighth at the 2025-26 NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships. 

Junior Lexi Weems was named SMSU's preseason swimmer to watch, while freshman Ella Roering was selected as the Mustangs' preseason diver to watch. 

The Mustangs currently sit at 1-0 in duals after defeating Jamestown 226-54 this past weekend.