JACKS TO FACE FIRST SUMMIT OPPONENTS

Friday, November 5

Sioux Falls, S.D.

6 p.m./10 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Coyote Extravaganza

11/3/2021 9:07:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

South Dakota State at Coyote Extravaganza

When	Friday, Nov. 5 \| 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 \| 10:15 a.m.
Where	Midco Aquatic Center \| Sioux Falls, South Dakota
TV	GoYotes.com
Results	GoYotes.com
Meet Notes	South Dakota State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

After two weeks away from competition, the South Dakota State University men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to the pool by facing Summit League opposition for the first time this season at the multi-team Coyote Extravaganza in Sioux Falls.

Six women's teams and four men's teams are slated to compete over two days at the Midco Aquatic Center. The meet begins at 6 p.m. Friday and concludes with a 10:15 a.m. session Saturday. Swimming events will consist of timed finals, with head-to-head scores tabulated in a dual format.

Besides SDSU and host South Dakota, Summit League newcomer St. Thomas is slated to compete in both men's and women's divisions. NCAA Division II member St. Cloud State also will field both men's and women's squads, with the rest of the women's field consisting of Northern Iowa and the University of Sioux Falls.

The Jackrabbit men enter the week with a 3-0 record in duals, while the women's team has posted a 3-2 mark so far this season in dual competition.

LAST TIME OUT: The Jackrabbits traveled to Fort Dodge, Iowa, Oct. 16, with both squads sweeping a double dual against Barton (Kan.) and host Iowa Central.

Men's Recap
Alex Kraft won the 200-yard freestyle and added runner-up finishes in two other events to help lead South Dakota State to a pair of victories. The Jackrabbits claimed five event titles in the meet en route to defeating their two opponents by identical scores of 163-99.

A senior from Shakopee, Minnesota, Kraft clocked a winning time of 1 minute, 44.81 seconds in the 200 freestyle, while adding second-place efforts in the 100 freestyle and 500 freestyle (4:55.39). Parker Brown took third in the 500 with a time of 4:59.26 and later paced second in the 1,000 freestyle in 10:20.14.

In making his Jackrabbit debut after swimming earlier this month at the FINA World Cup in Europe, freshman Eric Anderson claimed the 100-yard freestyle in 46.75 seconds, with Kraft right behind in 47.60 seconds. Anderson also placed second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.30 seconds.

Anderson and Kraft later teamed with Charles Sieglaff and Sam Johnson to close out the meet with a winning time of 3:07.74 in the 400 freestyle relay.

Further highlighting the Jackrabbit victory was a sweep of the top three spots in the 200-yard backstroke. Marcus Benson won the event in 1 minute, 58.91 seconds and was followed by teammates Austin Smith (2:00.09) and Caleb Harthoorn (2:00.22).

In the 100 backstroke, Smith came out victorious with a time of 53.06 seconds, with Benson taking third (:54.10) and Henry Skinner placing fourth (:55.86). Smith closed his afternoon with a runner-up finish in the 400 individual medley, 4:19.00.

The Jackrabbits also fared well in the 200 butterfly as Damon Venner placed second (1:59.88) and Max White took third (2:00.66).

Women's Recap
One day after dropping a home dual to Iowa State, the Jackrabbit women dominated the freestyle events and received production up and down their lineup to down Iowa Central by a 180-76 count and outscore Barton, 195-62.

Emma Bachelder, a sophomore from Decorah, Iowa, led SDSU in the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50 freestyle in 24.89 seconds and leading a Jackrabbit sweep of the top three spots in the 100 freestyle with a top time of 54.46 seconds. Emma Walz took second in the 100 with a time of 54.51 seconds and Grace Witherspoon was third in 56.63 seconds. Witherspoon also was third in the 50 free (:25.31).

Bachelder recorded a third individual event title in the 200 breaststroke, posting a winning time of 2:30.03, with Samantha Frigard right behind in 2:31.06.

Frigard led another SDSU sweep for the podium spots in the 100 breaststroke, winning in 1:07.41. Freshmen Annemarie Rehbein (1:09.63) and Morgan Nelson (1:10.44) finished second and third, respectively.

The Jackrabbits made it a sweep of the freestyle events as Elisabeth Timmer won the 200 freestyle in 1:57.58 and Zoey Ahrens was victorious in the two longest races of the day. A sophomore from Bettendorf, Iowa, Ahrens clocked respective winning times of 5:24.15 and 11:02.04 in the 500- and 1,000-yard races. Natalie Cannell was third in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:33.80.

For good measure, SDSU closed the meet by claiming the 400 freestyle relay as the quartet of Timmer, Walz, Witherspoon and Kocon teamed for a time of 3:36.99.

Timmer also swam to an event title in the 100 butterfly, 59.60 seconds, and was part of the 400 medley relay foursome with Walz, Bachelder and Katie Pattee that opened the meet with a winning time of 3:45.73.

Kocon turned in an individual title of her own in the 100 backstroke as SDSU took three of the top four spots in the event. Kocon won in 58.52 seconds, while Walz was second in 58.85 and Rori Conners placed fourth in 1:02.95. Kocon placed behind teammate Sianne Downes in the 200 backstroke, with Downes touching the wall first in 2:07.67 and Kocon coming in second in 2:09.23. Conners was again fourth in 2:14.80.

Leticia Mendes contributed a runner-up time of 2:23.79 in the 200 butterfly.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Through the first month of the 2021-22 season, three Jackrabbits have combined for four awards as Summit League athletes of the week in swimming and diving.

Leading the way has been Elisabeth Timmer, who was honored as TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week in consecutive weeks on Oct. 12 and 19. Timmer received her first award after winning four event titles and clocking a new pool record in the Oct. 8 dual against Augustana.

A junior from Savaneta, Aruba, Timmer won the 50-yard freestyle in a pool-record time of 23.92 seconds, bettering a mark that stood for 12 years. She also claimed individual races in the 100 butterfly (58.90 seconds) and 200 freestyle (1:55.84) and was a member of the winning 200 medley relay, teaming with Kelsey Kocon, Morgan Nelson and Emma Bachelder for a time of 1:48.80.

Her second honor came after she went undefeated in four individual events across two dual meets on consecutive days. In an Oct. 15 home dual against Iowa State, Timmer swept the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50-yard race in 24.04 seconds and the 100 in 52.21 seconds.

The next day, in a double dual against Iowa Central and Barton (Kan.), Timmer claimed individual event titles in the 200 freestyle (1:57.58) and the 100 butterfly (59.60 seconds). She also swam on the Jackrabbits' winning 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Timmer's awards marked the fourth and fifth times in her career she has been named Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week.

To kick off the season, Aleni Stoakes was honored as the first TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Diver of the Week. A junior from Lincoln, Nebraska, Stoakes posted scores of 200.78 on the 1-meter board and 181.57 in 3-meter competition at a season-opening dual Oct. 2 at Nebraska.

A week later, Erik Thompson was selected as TicketSmarter Summit League Men's Diver of the Week after a pair of runner-up finishes. An all-Summit League performer a year ago and a junior from Prior Lake, Minnesota, Thompson placed second with a score of 261.15 points in the 1-meter competition and 268.13 on the 3-meter board.

ANDERSON COMPETES INTERNATIONALLY: South Dakota State freshman Eric Anderson represented the United States at the FINA?World Cup earlier this month in Europe.

In early October, in Berlin, Germany, Anderson finished 19th in the preliminaries of the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 22.67 seconds. The following week, in Budapest, Hungary, Anderson improved his time to 22.36 seconds en route to an 18th-place showing out of 50 international competitors.

Anderson also competed in the short-course competition in the 100-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly, posting respective top times over the two competitions of 49.53 seconds and 25.04 seconds.

A native of Fargo, North Dakota, Anderson was selected for Team USA based on his performance at the Olympic Swimming Trials this past summer in Omaha, Nebraska.

SUMMIT LEAGUE POLLS: The South Dakota State women's swimming and diving team is picked to finish second in the 2021-22 Summit League race and the men's squad has been tabbed third, according to preseason polls announced recently.

The Jackrabbit women are coming off a second-place finish at last season's Summit League Championship and received one first-place vote in this year's survey among the league's six head coaches.

Defending champion Denver received the five other first-place votes to finish with 25 points. SDSU was second with 20 points, followed by South Dakota with 18 points. The remainder of the poll consisted of Omaha (13 points), newcomer St. Thomas (8 points) and Eastern Illinois (6 points).

In the men's division, defending champion South Dakota earned the nod in the top spot with four first-place votes and 23 points. Denver received two first-place votes en route to the second spot with 21 points, with the Jackrabbits third with 16 points.

Omaha (12), St. Thomas (10) and Eastern Illinois (8) rounded out the men's poll.

The Jackrabbit men's squad also placed second at last year's league championships.

In addition, SDSU had a pair of representatives in both divisions on the list of Summit League Swimmers and Divers to Watch. On the women's side, Elisabeth Timmer and Kelsey Kocon were honored.

Timmer, a junior from Savaneta, Aruba, was honored as the Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week three times last season en route to earning all-league honors in the sprint freestyle events and four relays. She is the school record holder in the 50 freestyle and also is a member of the Jackrabbits' record-setting 200 freestyle relay.

Kocon, a sophomore from St. Michael, Minnesota, was a top performer in the backstroke events last season before being hampered by an injury.

Representing the Jackrabbit men were junior diver Zach Boyd and senior swimmer Alex Kraft. An Omaha native, Boyd was honored as the 2021 Summit League Men's Diver of the Year after winning conference titles on both the 1- and 3-meter boards. He also earned NCAA Zones qualifying scores in both events.

Kraft, a senior from Shakopee, Minnesota, has been a mainstay in the Jackrabbit lineup in the freestyle and breaststroke events throughout his career. He earned all-Summit League recognition as a member of the 800 freestyle relay team last season.

The 2022 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships are slated for Feb. 16-19 in West Fargo, North Dakota.

HENDRICKS TAKES ON NEW ROLE: Former Jackrabbit swimmer Cassie Hendricks recently was promoted to assistant coach for the South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

A Brookings native, Hendricks served the past two seasons as a graduate assistant coach for the Jackrabbits. She also fills the role of the program's recruiting coordinator.

Hendricks earned all-Summit League honors in 2016 and recorded top-10 times during her Jackrabbit career in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 50 freestyle.

She also serves as the head coach of the Brookings Swim Club.

COACH HUMPHREY: Doug Humphrey begins his fifth season as head coach of the South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams.

Last season, the Jackrabbits recorded runner-up finishes at the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships in both the men's and women's divisions, continuing an upward trend in the standings. SDSU had previously finished third in the men's race in each of Humphrey's previous seasons on deck with the Jackrabbits, along with a pair of third-place performances on the women's side.

Prior to SDSU, Humphrey served as the head women's swimming and diving coach at Northern Iowa for five seasons. His Panther squads showed steady progression in the Missouri Valley Conference, including posting back-to-back third-place finishes at the conference championship his final two seasons in Cedar Falls.

Humphrey served as the assistant swimming coach at the University of Nebraska from 2000-12 under Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales. He swam for the Huskers from 1991-96 and later served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater.

A LOOK AHEAD: Both Jackrabbit men's and women's squads return to Summit League dual competition by traveling to Omaha next Saturday (Nov. 13). Meet time is scheduled for 2 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-