Students gathered in Scooter’s to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Mexican cuisine and a mariachi band for entertainment.

John Kruger can be reached at jrkruger@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas swimming and diving teams placed in several events on the second day of the MIAC championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

The second day is the hardest, said swim captain Grant Frost.

“Some teams have a tough time on day two, so it’s our job to take advantage of that,” Frost said. “It’s a battle to the end.”

Junior Erik Huls took the title in the men’s 100-yard butterfly, and sophomore Sam Rauchwarter took first in the men’s 200-yard freestyle.

For the women, sophomore Katie Bromback took third in the 100-yard butterfly, and senior Becca Ney took second in the women’s 200-yard freestyle.

In team scoring, the men’s team is in second with 395 points trailing St. Olaf, and the women are in a fight for third place with a narrow 13-point lead over Gustavus.

Coach Tom Hodgson said he was proud of the way the Tommies performed on day two.

“We needed to come out loud and spirited, and I think we did that,” Hodgson said.

The Tommies will compete in the final day of the championships 6 p.m. Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the St. Thomas Showcase home meet Friday. Freshman Emily Van Heel took first in the women’s 200-meter dash, while senior Matthew Griswold took first in the men’s 55-meter hurdles.

Athletes from Hamline, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Wartburg and the University of Minnesota took part in the meet. The men’s next meet is the Snowshoe Open Friday, Feb. 18, at the University of Minnesota. The women will also travel to the University of Minnesota next weekend to compete in the Minnesota Gopher Open Saturday, Feb. 19.

St. Thomas beat Linfield College 24-17 after two overtimes to advance to the next round of the NCAA playoffs. St. Thomas will play Bethel University next week.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas football team won the first round game 57-10 against Benedictine University Saturday. Next week, the Tommies will host the winner of the Linfield vs. Cal Lutheran game.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The North Campus cafeteria was packed with students Tuesday night for the annual Thanksgiving meal.

John Kruger can be reached jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The St. Thomas men’s swimming team beat St. Mary’s University and Carleton College to take first place at a meet Saturday at the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.

The Tommies swam well, placing first in a total of 14 events including the men’s 1,000-meter freestyle, won by senior Andrew Spratt, and the 100-yard breast stroke, won by junior Grant Frost.

The Tommies will swim Saturday at Macalester’s Ahlman Invitational.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

Senior All-American running back Ben Wartman rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns in a St. Thomas win over Carleton 38-7. Wartman broke the school’s all-time touchdown record with 47 career scores.

The Tommies also got a second-half score from junior Greg Morse on a 1-yard sneak, and senior quarterback Matt Joshi found sophomore tight end Logan Marks in the end zone for the Tommies’ final touchdown.

St. Thomas has a regular-season bye next week and is guaranteed a home game in the quarterfinals.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The Tommie defense was outstanding Saturday, giving up only six points to the MIAC’s best rushing offense.

Senior Tommy Becker had a huge interception with roughly two minutes left in the game to give the Tommies a 10-6 win.

The team heads to St. Peter next Saturday to take on Gustavus.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.

The Tommies won their second consecutive game Wednesday when they defeated the Gustavus Gusties 3-1 at St. Thomas’ South Field.

The game was tied 0-0 at halftime. But during the second half, the Tommies cruised to victory scoring three goals. Freshman Stephanie McCartan had one and senior Lexie Fisher scored the other two.

The Tommies’ possession in the second half was the key element to success. The team only allowed four shots and blasted 10 shots at Gustavus’ goal on the other end.

The team travels to Macalester at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24.

John Kruger can be reached at jckruger@stthomas.edu.