2/16/2016 4:14:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
The South Dakota State University swimming and diving teams will compete at the 2016 Summit League Championships this week in Indianapolis. The four-day meet runs from Wednesday through Saturday at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Competition begins at 4 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday with the men's 3-meter diving preliminaries. The event finals, plus the 200-yard medley relays and 800-yard freestyle relays will be contested starting at 6 p.m.
For the last three days of competition, event preliminaries will begin at 11 a.m. ET, with the finals sessions starting at 6 p.m.
Denver is the defending champion in both the men's and women's divisions. South Dakota State finished third out of six teams in the men's division at the 2015 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships, while the Jackrabbit women placed second out of seven teams for the second year in a row.
WOMEN'S HIGH MARKS: A number of Jackrabbit swimmers and divers appear in line to reach the finals of their respective events as they rank in the top eight of the Summit League performance lists heading into this week's championships.
On the women's side, senior Kayce Smith and sophomore Kristin Erf are each in the top six of both breaststroke events, with Erf holding the second-fastest time in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.22) so far this season.
First-year swimmer Richelle Bruyckere also holds top-eight showings in the two butterfly events.
Senior diver Olivia Olesiak has set school records on both the 1-meter (275.85 points) and 3-meter (305.71) boards this season and ranks second in both events. Olesiak has also set a Zones-qualifying standard on the 3-meter board.
Following is a complete listing of the top-eight seeds for the Jackrabbit women:
Richelle Bruyckere
• 5th in 200 butterfly, 2:06.07;
• 8th in 100 butterfly, :57.31
Kristin Erf
• 2nd in 100 breaststroke, 1:03.22;
• 6th in 200 breaststroke, 2:20.69
Cassie Hendricks
• 7th in 200 backstroke, 2:03.40
Olivia Olesiak
• 2nd in 1-meter diving, 275.85;
• 2nd in 3-meter diving, 305.71
Hadlie Overhue
• 8th in 500 freestyle, 4:59.48
Relays (top 3)
• 3rd in 200 freestyle realy, 1:34.56
MEN'S HIGH MARKS: In the men's division, senior Ben Bolinske holds two top-four times in the freestyle sprints, with junior Daniel Jacobson ranking in the top eight in both the 50 freestyle and 200 backstroke. Freshman Wyatt Rumrill also holds a pair of top-eight seeds in the breaststroke events.
The Jackrabbit men also figure to pick up a slew of points in the diving events, where freshman Joseph Weber ranks first on the 1-meter board (309.90) and fourth in the 3-meter event (292.64). He is joined by teammates Noah Batenhorst and Parker Brown, who also rank in the top seven in each diving event. Weber will compete at Zones with his 1-meter score meeting a qualifying standard.
Following is a complete listing of top-eight seeds for the Jackrabbit men:
Noah Batenhorst
• 3rd in 1-meter diving, 277.42;
• 7th in 3-meter diving, 285.45
Ben Bolinske
• T-3rd in 50 freestyle, :20.40;
• 4th in 100 freestyle, :45.07
Parker Brown
• 3rd in 3-meter diving, 295.43;
• 7th in 1-meter diving, 268.27
Weston Christensen
• 8th in 1,650 freestyle, 16:23.58
Daniel Jacobson
• 6th in 50 freestyle, :20.80;
• 8th in 200 backstroke, 1:52.03
Wyatt Rumrill
• 7th in 200 breaststroke, 2:05.85;
• 8th in 100 breaststroke, :57.75
Joseph Weber
• 1st in 1-meter diving, 309.90;
• 4th in 3-meter diving, 292.64
Relays (top 3)
• 2nd in 200 freestyle relay, 1:22.73;
• 3rd in 400 freestyle relay, 3:05.65
A LOOK AHEAD: Several Jackrabbit swimmers will attempt to qualify for the United States Olympic Trials during time trials Sunday in Indianapolis.
The NCAA Zone D diving competition is set for March 7-9 in College Station, Texas.
Should anyone meet an NCAA qualifying standard either at the Summit League Championships or NCAA Diving Zones competition, the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships are slated for March 16-19 in Atlanta, Georgia. The NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships will be held March 23-26, also in Atlanta.
