DOWNES, SMITH LEAD JACKS IN SUMMIT FINALE

Wednesday, February 16

West Fargo, N.D.

10 a.m./6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Summit League Championships

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

2/19/2022 10:39:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

COMPLETE RESULTS

WEST FARGO, N.D. — Sianne Downes and Austin Smith each set school records en route to third-place finishes to lead South Dakota State on the final night of the 2022 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday at Hulbert Aquatic Center.

Downes, a sophomore from Edenvale, South Africa, turned in her second record-breaking performance in as many nights in a backstroke event. After setting a new Jackrabbit standard in placing third in the 100-yard backstroke (55.77 seconds) on Friday, Downes duplicated the feats in the 200 backstroke on Saturday. Her time of 2 minutes, 1.18 seconds was good for a bronze medal and eclipsed one of the longest-standing records in program history as the previous mark of 2:01.54 was set by Morgan McLain in 2012.

Teammate Kelsey Kocon placed sixth in 2:02.46 to also set a personal best.

Other event finalists for the Jackrabbit women included:

Elisabeth Timmer, fourth in the 100 freestyle (:50.68);
Samantha Frigard, seventh in the 200 breaststroke (2:22.79, PR), and
Kristen Davis, eighth in the 200 butterfly (2:11.01).

As a team, the SDSU women finished fourth out of six squads.

In men's competition, Smith established a new Jackrabbit mark in the 100 individual medley in both sessions on Saturday. He clocked a time of 51.52 seconds in the morning prelims to surpass teammate Gavin Wheeler's mark of 51.54 from a year ago, then shaved another quarter-second in the evening finals, clocking in at 51.25 seconds to take bronze.

Charles Sieglaff was seventh in the 100 IM with a time of 52.93 seconds.

Also recording a third-place finish for the Jackrabbit men Saturday was Damon Venner in the 200 butterfly. The Sioux Falls native set a personal best with a time of 1:51.72. Defending champion Max White placed fifth for SDSU in 1:51.94

The Jackrabbits were able to maintain their hold on third place in the men's team standings in large part due to a 51-point effort in the 100 freestyle. The field of 16 swimmers in the A and B finals included six Jackrabbits, highlighted by three in the A final. Eric Anderson led the Jackrabbit contingent with a fourth-place finish in 44.85 seconds, while Sam Johnson turned in a sixth-place effort (45.24 seconds) and Alex Kraft placed eighth in 45.61 seconds.

Swimming in the 100 freestyle B final for SDSU were Justin Wallar (10^th, :46.41), Rafael Negri (13^th, :46.67) and Collin Schock (16^th, :48.45).

Rounding out the finalists for the Jackrabbit men were Caleb Harthoorn, fifth in the 200 backstroke (1:52.58), and Quenton Steffen, who was seventh in the 200 breaststroke in a personal-best time of 2:03.58.

Denver claimed the team title in both the men's and women's divisions.

WOMEN'S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Denver – 1,079.5
2. South Dakota - 748
3. Omaha - 621
4. South Dakota State - 404
5. St. Thomas – 369.5
6. Eastern Illinois – 208

WOMEN'S EVENT CHAMPIONS
100 Individual Medley – Cassie Ketterling, South Dakota (:56.92)
1,650 Freestyle – Angie Lindsay, Denver (16:51.21)
200 Backstroke – Natalie Arky, Denver (1:56.21)
100 Freestyle – Aysia Leckie, Denver (:49.98)
200 Breaststroke – Jessica Maeda, Denver (2:13.57)
200 Butterfly – Mia Moulden, Denver (2:01.21)
3-Meter Diving – Maya Belanger, Denver (309.80)
400 Freestyle Relay – Denver (3:23.25)

MEN'S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Denver - 987
2. South Dakota - 723
3. South Dakota State - 595
4. Omaha - 564
5. St. Thomas – 302
6. Eastern Illinois - 217

MEN'S EVENT CHAMPIONS
100 Individual Medley – Mack Sathre, South Dakota (:49.74)
1,650 Freestyle – Kieran Watson, Denver (15:25:03)
200 Backstroke – Dylan Wright, Denver (1:44.27)
100 Freestyle – Kody Hollingsworth, Omaha (:44.63)
200 Breaststroke – Marco Nosack, Denver (1:58.41)
200 Butterfly – Brandon Chapman, Denver (1:46.21)
400 Freestyle Relay – Denver (2:59.29)

WOMEN'S AWARDS
Swimming Championship MVP – Aysia Leckie, Denver
Diving Championship MVP – Stella Fairbanks, South Dakota
Newcomer of the Championship – Jessica Maeda, Denver
Diving Coach of the Year – Aaron D'Addario, Denver
Swimming Coach of the Year – Alicia Franklin, Denver

MEN'S AWARDS
Swimming Championship MVP – Dylan Wright, Denver
Diving Championship MVP – Ammar Hassan, Denver
Newcomer of the Championship – Dylan Wright, Denver
Diving Coach of the Year – Aaron D'Addario, Denver
Swimming Coach of the Year – Alicia Franklin, Denver

-GoJacks.com-