JACKS HEAD TO MINNEAPOLIS FOR TRIANGULAR

Friday, October 28

Minneapolis, Minn.

5 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Minnesota

10/27/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SWIMMING & DIVING TRIANGULAR: South Dakota State vs. Minnesota and St. Thomas

When	Friday, Oct. 28 \| 5 p.m.
Where	Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center \| Minneapolis, Minn.
Live Video	Big Ten Plus (subscription)
Live Results	GopherSports.com \| Meet Mobile Women's Season Performance List \| Men's Season Performance List
Meet Notes	See Below \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to action Friday, traveling to Minneapolis for a triangular against St. Thomas and host Minnesota.

Competition is set for a 5 p.m. start at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus.

The Jackrabbit women hold a 2-3 dual record after dropping a 185-100 decision Oct. 22 at Iowa State. The SDSU men's squad brings a 2-0 dual record into the meet after winning a pair of duals on its opening weekend of competition Oct. 14-15 against Augustana and Iowa Central.

Minnesota, which is ranked 25^th in both the men's and women's divisions by the College Swim Coaches Association of America, holds a 3-0 dual record on the women's side and a 2-0 mark in men's meetS. St. Thomas, in its second season as a member of The Summit League, is 1-1 in both the men's and women's divisions.

WOMEN'S RECAP: Iowa State claimed first place in 15 of the 16 events contested to notch a 185-100 victory over South Dakota State in a women's swimming and diving dual Oct. 22 at Beyer Pool in Ames, Iowa.

Elisabeth Timmer was the lone winner for the Jackrabbits, clocking a winning time of 53.25 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle. Timmer also turned in an individual runner-up finish in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 24.21 seconds, and anchored the SDSU 200 freestyle relay team that placed second. The quartet of Emma Walz, Grace Witherspoon, Emma Bachelder and Timmer teamed for a time of 1:37.98.

Aleni Stoakes posted a pair of season bests in the diving events for SDSU, tallying scores of 215.05 in 1-meter competition and 229.40 on the 3-meter board.

MEN'S RECAP: The Jackrabbit men's swimming and diving team put together a successful opening weekend, winning duals on back-to-back nights.

South Dakota State 207, Augustana 87
South Dakota State freshmen combined to win five swimming event titles in their collegiate debuts and senior Spencer Fritze swept the diving events to help lead the Jackrabbit men to a season-opening 207-87 dual victory over Augustana Oct. 14 at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls.

Newcomers Aiden Carstensen and Jack Ellison were among the five two-time individual winners for the Jackrabbits. Carstensen, a freshman from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, swept the backstroke events, claiming the 100-yard race in 51.67 seconds and the 200 in 1 minute, 55.37 seconds.

An Omaha native, Ellison swam his way to victories in the distance freestyle events, clocking winning times of 4:49.90 in the 500 and 10:08.89 in the 1,000-yard race.

Other two-time winners for the Jackrabbit men on the swimming side were sophomores Eric Anderson and Austin Smith. Anderson paced SDSU in the sprints, posting respective winning times of 20.98 seconds in the 50 freestyle and 46.59 in the 100. He led a Jackrabbit sweep of the top four spots in the 50 freestyle, including a runner-up effort by Liam Murray (:21.37).

Anderson also anchored two winning relays for the Jackrabbits. SDSU opened the swimming portion of the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay, teaming with Carstensen, freshman Conner Harr and Charles Sieglaff for a time of 1:34.55. To close out the meet, the quartet of Anderson, Sieglaff, Alex Kraft and Sam Johnson was victorious in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:08.08 as the Jackrabbits claimed the top three spots in the event.

Smith's titles came in the second half of the dual as he won the 100 butterfly in 50.49 seconds before a victory in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:58.02.

Another freshman, Jon Galles, nearly pulled off a double-victory performance as he won the 200 freestyle in 1:43.17 and took second in the 100 freestyle (:46.76). Joining Harr and Galles with runner-up finishes among SDSU freshmen was Braxton McGrath in the 200 butterfly (1:56.56).

Also earning an individual swimming victory was senior Gavin Wheeler in the 100 breaststroke. Wheeler edged freshman teammate Conner Harr by .07 seconds, with Wheeler touching the wall first in :59.06. Wheeler later added a runner-up finish in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.32) and third-place mark in the 200 IM (1:59.64).

Meanwhile, Fritze dominated the diving events. A senior from Park Rapids, Minnesota, Fritze began his night by posting a total of 277.90 points on the 1-meter board before compiling a score of 301.55 on the 3-meter board. Teammate Zach Boyd placed second in both events with respective scores of 236.05 and 248.95.

South Dakota State 108, Iowa Central 97
SDSU held the upper hand in three freestyle events to secure their second dual win in as many nights, downing Iowa Central, 108-97, Oct. 15 at the Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool.

Freshmen Jon Galles in the 200-yard freestyle and Jack Ellison in the 500 freestyle sparked the SDSU victory, with Galles leading an SDSU sweep of the top four spots in his event with a winning time of 1 minute, 45.36 seconds. He was followed by Alex Kraft (1:46.92), Ellison (1:49.48) and Matt Sorenson (1:49.67).

Ellison came back later in the dual to post his second win in the 500 freestyle in as many meets with a time of 4:53.20.

Sam Johnson added a victory in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.48 seconds, while Galles took second in 47.89 seconds.

A third freshman, Aiden Carstensen, picked up his second win in a row in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 52.17 seconds to edge teammate Rafael Negri (:53.29).

Carstensen and Galles teamed to make up one half of the Jackrabbits' victorious 400 medley team, joining forces with Gavin Wheeler and Austin Smith for a winning time of 3:27.96.

TIMMER HONORED: South Dakota State's Elisabeth Timmer was honored as TicketSmarter Summit League Women's Peak Swimmer of the Week on Oct. 18 after winning event titles in five different events in competition the previous weekend.

A senior from Savaneta, Aruba, Timmer swept the freestyle events in an Oct. 14 dual at Augustana, winning the 50-yard race in 23.28 seconds, as well as the 100 (:51.63) and 200 (1:54.79). She also was a member of the Jackrabbits' runner-up 400 freestyle relay team.

A day later, in a triangular against Northern State and Iowa Central, Timmer came out on top in the 100 butterfly (:58.90) and 500 freestyle (5:20.14), while anchoring the winning 400 medley relay (3:58.20).

Timmer's award was the eighth of her career, tying her for the most Peak Swimmer honors in Summit League history.

DOWNES SETS POOL RECORD: Jackrabbit junior Sianne Downes set a Stanley J. Marshall Center women's pool record in the 100-yard backstroke during competition Oct. 15 in a triangular against Northern State and Iowa Central.

A native of Edenvale, South Africa, Downes clocked a winning time of 57.51 seconds. The previous mark of 57.96 seconds was set by Nan Liu of Iowa State in 2009.

JACKRABBITS PICKED FIFTH: Both the South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams have been picked to finish fifth in The Summit League standings, according to preseason polls conducted among the league's head coaches that were released in mid-September.

The Jackrabbit men posted a third-place finish out of six teams at the 2022 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships, while the women's squad finished fourth.

Denver was picked to repeat as league champion in both divisions, picking up six first-place votes in the men's poll and seven in the women's survey. In fact, the order of finish in both the men's and women's polls was nearly identical, with the lone exception being new affiliate member Lindenwood tying for second with South Dakota in the men's poll, while USD took sole possession of second place in the women's poll followed by Lindenwood in third place.

In all, eight schools are scheduled to compete in both divisions at the 2023 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships, which are set for Feb. 22-25 at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Also new to Summit League competition for the upcoming season is Southern Indiana.

In addition, four Jackrabbits were recognized by the Summit League as Swimmers and Divers to Watch. Representing the SDSU men were sophomore Austin Smith and senior Zach Boyd, while the women's team featured seniors Elisabeth Timmer and Aleni Stoakes.

Smith established new school records in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 individual medley during his freshman season. At the 2022 Summit League Championships, he earned all-league honors with a third-place individual finish in the 100 IM and as a member of the runner-up 800 freestyle relay team.

Boyd is a two-time individual league champion on the 1-meter board and added a 3-meter title during the 2020-21 season en route to being named the Summit League Men's Diver of the Year. The Omaha native has earned six Summit League Diver of the Week honors in his Jackrabbit career.

Timmer, a native of Savaneta, Aruba, holds school records in both the 50 and 100 freestyle. She was a four-time Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week honoree a season ago before posting a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle at the league championships.

Stoakes, from Lincoln, Nebraska, was the Jackrabbits' top diver a season ago and earned her first Summit League Diver of the Week award. She was a consolation finalist on the 3-meter board at the 2022 Summit League Championships, placing 12^th.

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

During the 2021-22 season, Humphrey led the Jackrabbits to a third-place finish in the men's division and a fourth-place showing in the women's division at the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships.

The previous campaign, one that was abbreviated by the COVID-19 pandemic, SDSU recorded runner-up finishes in both 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 squads are slated to compete at the Coyote Extravaganza Nov. 4-5 in Sioux Falls. Competition is slated for a 6 p.m. start on Nov. 4 at the Midco Aquatic Center, followed by a 10 a.m. start on Nov. 5.

-GoJacks.com-