MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — There's something about swimming at the University of Minnesota's Aquatic Center that brings out the best in Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Grace VanBeest (Flossmoor, Ill.).
 
A year ago, VanBeest had a part in breaking six school records during the Cardinal swimming and diving team's appearances in the U of M Aquatic Center during the Jean Freeman Invitational and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Friday afternoon, the Cardinal senior was back in the Golden Gophers' home pool for the first day of the two-day Jean Freeman Invitational—and once again VanBeest was turning in eye-popping performances.
 
VanBeest earned a spot in the Friday evening consolation finals in the 100 breaststroke, stopping the clock in 1:08.54—hundreths of  a second off her school-record time of 1:08.37, set at last year's MIAC championships. In her Friday evening consolation final, VanBeest could not quite replicate her preliminary effort, settling for a 1:09.52 and a 14^th place overall finish.
 
The breaststroke wasn't the only event VanBeest excelled in Friday, either, as the senior shaved eight seconds off her season-best 200 IM time, touching the wall in 2:21.43.
 
And she wasn't the only Cardinal swimmer putting together season-best efforts.
 
Reese Galewski (Winona, Minn.) added a time of 5:49.14 in the 500 freestyle—nine seconds faster than her previous best this season, while Kizzy Bell (St. Paul, Minn.) chipped in a 1:12.33 in the 100 breaststroke and a 2:30.44 in the 200 IM, while Zoe Schaetz (Winona, Minn.) locked up a spot in the MIAC Championships in the200 freestyle with a time of 2:16.27 to lead off the Cardinals' 800 freestyle relay. Christina Weldai (London, England) also got into the action, adding a time of 26.83 in the 50 freestyle.
 
Not to be outdone by his female counterparts, Joe Tonda (St. Paul, Minn.) also earned a spot in Friday's consolation final with his season-best time of 2:04.38 in the 200 IM. Tonda followed that up with a 2:05.35 to place 13^th overall
 
Tonda also added a 2:08.58 in the 1200 backstroke, while Lucas Gerads (St. Cloud, Minn.) whittled three seconds off his 500 freestyle time, posting a 5:22.88; Matt Clayton (Forest Lake, Minn.) chipped in a 2:11.70 in the 200 IM; and Nick Sawchuk (Rochester, Minn.) finished in 24.85 in the 50 freestyle.
 
The Cardinals are back in the U of M Aquatic Center on Saturday for the second day of the Jean Freeman Invitational.