JACKRABBITS RETURN HOME TO FACE OMAHA

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S DUAL: Omaha at South Dakota State

When	Friday, Nov. 11 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	None
Results	Live Results \| Meet Mobile SDSU Women's Performance List \| SDSU Men's Performance List
Meet Notes	See Below \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

The South Dakota State swimming and diving teams return home Friday to face Summit League rival Omaha in dual action.

Competition for the Veterans Day event is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the Stanley J. Marshall Center Pool on the SDSU campus.

The Jackrabbit men enter the dual with a 7-5 record in head-to-head competition, while the SDSU women hold a 9-10 mark.

In dual competition last season, SDSU was swept by the Mavericks. Omaha scored a 170-105 victory on the women's side and edged the Jackrabbit men by a score of 148-133.

LAST WEEK: Both Jackrabbit squads came away with a split of their head-to-head competitions at the Coyote Extravaganza in Sioux Falls Nov. 4-5. The SDSU men turned in a 4-4 record over the two days, while the Jackrabbit women posted a 6-6 mark.

Women's Recap
Elisabeth Timmer continued her excellence in the freestyle events and Sianne Downes claimed the 100-yard backstroke to pace the South Dakota State women's swimming and diving team at the Coyote Extravaganza.

A senior from Savaneta, Aruba, Timmer placed first out of a field of 27 swimmers in the 100 freestyle on Saturday with a time of 52.42 seconds. She clocked a time of 1 minute, 55.31 seconds in placing third in the 200.

Timmer opened the meet on Friday with a pair of runner-up finishes in the sprint freestyle events with times of 23.64 seconds in the 50-yard race and 51.89 seconds in the 100.

Downes topped the field in the 100 backstroke Friday with a time of 58.60 seconds, while teammate Kelsey Kocon placed third out of 30 finishers in the event with a time of 58.85 seconds.

On Saturday, Downes contributed a third-place effort in the 200 backstroke as the Jackrabbits placed three swimmers in the top of the six of the event. Downes touched the wall in 2:08.87, followed by Emma Walz in fourth (2:08.87) and Kelsey Kocon in sixth (2:09.14).

Walz and Timmer made up half of SDSU's fourth-place 400 freestyle relay, teaming with Emma Bachelder and Gabriella Gnewuch for a time of 3:34.13. The Jackrabbits' 200 medley relay team of Kocon, Morgan Nelson, Sara Juez and Bachelder also took fourth in 1:48.44.

Timmer also swam the leadoff leg of the Jackrabbits' 200 freestyle relay, combining with Walz, Katie Pattee and Grace Witherspoon for a fourth-place time of 1 minute, 37.98 seconds.

Men's Recap
Reigning Summit League Men's Diver of the Week Spencer Fritze was the lone individual champion for the Jackrabbit men as he won on the 3-meter board Friday and added a runner-up finish in 1-meter competition on Saturday.

In the swimming events on Friday, a pair of SDSU freshmen turned in third place finishes. Jon Galles clocked a time of 47.70 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle for his third-place finish, while Aiden Carstensen took third in the 100 backstroke in 52.22 seconds. Alex Kraft placed fifth in the 100 freestyle for the Jackrabbits in 48.06 seconds.

Kraft would come back to post a runner-up finish in the 200 freestyle on Saturday as he recorded a time of 1:45.48. He later combined with Rafael Negri, Austin Smith and Galles for a third-place showing in the 400 freestyle relay, 3:10.08.

Smith led three SDSU swimmers in the top five of the 100 butterfly on Friday, touching the wall in 52.20 seconds to place third, while freshman Braxton McGrath was right behind in fourth place with a time of 52.48 seconds, followed by Luke Nichols in fifth at 52.66 seconds.

Galles and Smith were members of a Jackrabbit trio with third-place individual finishes on Saturday. Smith's mark came in the 100 individual medley, 53.73 seconds, while Galles clocked a time of 47.40 seconds. Fellow freshman Jack Ellison turned in a third-place time of 4:57.07 in the 500 freestyle.

Sam Johnson closed out the top-five individual finishes for SDSU on Friday with a fourth-place time of 1:45.80 in the 200 freestyle. He and Kraft later combined with Rafael Negri and Liam Murray for a third-place time of 1:26.20 in the 200 freestyle relay.

FRITZE EARNS ANOTHER SUMMIT HONOR: For the second week in a row and third time this season, South Dakota State's Spencer Fritze has been named the TicketSmarter Summit League Men's Peak Diver of the Week.

A senior from Park Rapids, Minnesota, Fritze won the 3-meter diving competition last weekend at the Coyote Extravaganza with 286.00 points. That total was more than 45 points better than his nearest competitor. Later in the competition, Fritze took second on the 1-meter board with a score of 249.00 points.

Fritze has now earned the Summit League weekly award seven times in his Jackrabbit career.

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.

FRESHMEN MAKE A SPLASH: South Dakota State freshmen combined to win five swimming event titles in their collegiate debuts Oct. 14, helping lead the Jackrabbits to a 207-87 dual victory over Augustana 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 second 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.

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).

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: The Jackrabbits close out a busy first semester by competing at the Augustana Invitational Nov. 17-19 at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Zach Boyd

Aiden Carstensen

Jack Ellison

Spencer Fritze

Jon Galles

Alex Kraft

Braxton McGrath

Austin Smith

Aleni Stoakes

Elisabeth Timmer

Grace Witherspoon

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Coyote Extravaganza on October 31, 2025 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at St. Thomas Invite on November 20, 2025 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Minnesota on January 17, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus St. Thomas on January 17, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at South Dakota on January 24, 2026 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at USD Invite on January 30, 2026 at TBA

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Iowa State on October 23, 2025 , Loss , 115, to, 180

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Northern State on October 17, 2025 , Win , 135, to, 53

Cancelled Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Iowa Central CC

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Augustana on October 10, 2025 , Win , 203, to, 96

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving at Nebraska on October 3, 2025 , Loss , 77, to, 223

Completed Event: Women's Swimming and Diving versus Omaha on October 3, 2025 , Loss , 83, to, 217

South Dakota State University Athletics