SWIMMERS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON IN SIOUX FALLS

Friday, January 28

Sioux Falls, S.D.

10 a.m.

South Dakota State University

Coyote Invite

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

1/27/2022 4:32:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

South Dakota State at Coyote Invitational (Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving)

When	Friday-Saturday, Jan. 28-29 Session I: 6 p.m. Friday (Events: 200 Free Relay, 500 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, 50 Free, 400 Medley Relay) Session II: 10 a.m. Saturday (Events: 200 Medley Relay, 400 IM, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back) Session III: 1 p.m. Saturday (Events: 1-Meter and 3-Meter Diving) Session IV: 4 p.m. Saturday (Events: 1,650 Free, 100 IM, 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 400 Free Relay)
Where	Midco Aquatic Center \| Sioux Falls, South Dakota
TV	GoYotes.com/watch
Results	GoYotes.com \| Meet Mobile
Meet Notes	See Below \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State University men's and women's swimming and diving teams close out the regular season this weekend by competing at the Coyote Invite in Sioux Falls.

Competition runs Friday and Saturday at Midco Aquatic Center and will feature five women's teams and three men's squads. SDSU, USD and Omaha will field teams in both divisions, while the women's competition also will include Northern Iowa and the University of Sioux Falls.

Friday's opening session begins at 6 p.m. Three sessions are slated for Saturday with start times of 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Video streaming of the entire meet will be available through GoYotes.com.

LAST WEEK: The Jackrabbits competed for the first time in more than two months but were swept by in-state rival South Dakota in dual action last Saturday in Vermillion.

Men's Recap
Zach Boyd swept the diving events for South Dakota State, but the University of South Dakota held the upper hand in the swimming events to defeat the Jackrabbits, 194-103, at the DakotaDome Pool.

The reigning Summit League Diver of the Year, Boyd won the 3-meter competition with a score of 286.35 and added a victory on the 1-meter board with 260.50 points. Erik Thompson added a runner-up finish on the 1-meter board (241.00) and Spencer Fritze contributed a third-place effort in the 3-meter portion (254.80).

USD claimed the top spot in all 14 swimming races, with Charlie Bean (100-meter freestyle, 200 freestyle), Keegan Henning (400 freestyle, 800 freestyle) and Jacob Won (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly) each two-time winners for the Coyotes.

Alex Kraft and freshman Austin Smith paced the Jackrabbits with a pair of runner-up finishes each. Kraft's second-place efforts came in the freestyle events as was edged by .02 seconds by Bean in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 56.40 seconds and took second in the 100 freestyle in 52.84 seconds. Sam Johnson contributed a third-place time of 53.92 seconds in the 100 free.

Smith notched runner-up finishes in the 100 butterfly (58.06 seconds) and 200 individual medley (2:14.26).

Other second-place finishes for SDSU were turned in by Caleb Harthoorn in the 200 backstroke (2:11.78) and Quenton Steffen in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.97). Steffen also placed third in the 200 IM (2:17.67).

Women's Recap
Elisabeth Timmer and Kelsey Kocon each won individual swimming events to pace the Jackrabbit women's swimming and diving team in a losing effort Jan. 22 at in-state rival South Dakota. The home-standing Coyotes claimed title in 13 of 16 events en route to a 197-98 dual victory at the DakotaDome Pool.

Timmer claimed her in individual title in the 100-meter freestyle, winning in 58.68 seconds, and also swam the anchor leg of the Jackrabbits' 200 freestyle relay, which closed the dual with a victory in 1 minute, 49.90 seconds. Joining Timmer on the winning relay were Emma Bachelder, Emma Walz and Katie Drezen.

In addition, Timmer was runner-up in both the 50 freestyle (26.46 seconds) and 200 freestyle (2:07.59). She was clipped by USD's Emily Kahn by one one-hundredth of a second in the 50 free.

Kocon, a sophomore from St. Michael, Minnesota, edged teammate Sianne Downes by .01 seconds in the 100 backstroke by clocking in at 1:05.84. Kocon later placed third in the 200 individual medley (2:30.76) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (1:00.93).

Meanwhile, Downes notched two more runner-up finishes on the afternoon, placing second in both the 200 backstroke (2:23.00) and 200 IM (2:30.76).

Bachelder contributed second-place efforts in both breaststroke events with respective times of 1:16.23 and 2:48.94 in the 100- and 200-meter races.

In the distance events, Natalie Cannell was the team leader by placing second in the 400 freestyle (4:41.66) and third in the 800 freestyle (9:44.97).

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Jackrabbit swimmers and divers have combined for 12 TicketSmarter Summit League Athlete of the Week awards so far this season, with men's diver Zach Boyd the latest to earn recognition.

A junior from Omaha, Nebraska, Boyd swept the diving events in dual action Jan. 22 at South Dakota. He posted a winning score of 286.35 points on the 3-meter board and claimed the 1-meter title with a score of 260.50 in what was the Jackrabbits' first competition since mid-November.

Boyd earned the league's weekly award for the second time this season and sixth time in his career. He is one of three Jackrabbit men's divers to receive the honor this season, joining Erik Thompson (Oct. 12) and Spencer Fritze (Nov. 16, Nov. 23). Boyd first earned the award this season on Nov. 9.

Leading the way is junior Elisabeth Timmer, who has been honored four times with the women's swimmer of the week award. A native of Savaneta, Aruba, Timmer is undefeated in the 50 freestyle in seven starts so far this season.

Following is a complete list of TicketSmarter Summit League Athlete of the Week award winners:

Aleni Stoakes – Women's Diver of the Week (Oct. 5)
Elisabeth Timmer – Women's Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 12, Oct. 19, Nov. 9, Nov. 23)
Eric Anderson – Men's Swimmer of the Week (Nov. 9)
Zach Boyd – Men's Diver of the Week (Nov. 9, Jan. 25)
Alex Kraft – Men's Swimmer of the Week (Nov. 16)
Spencer Fritze – Men's Diver of the Week (Nov. 16, Nov. 23)
Erik Thompson – Men's Diver of the Week (Oct. 12)

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

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.

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.

COACH HUMPHREY: Doug Humphrey is in 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: The Coyote Invite serves as the Jackrabbits' final tune-up before the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 19-22 in West Fargo, North Dakota.

-GoJacks.com-