JACKS END SEASON AT NATIONAL INVITATIONAL

Thursday, March 9

Elkhart, Ind.

9:30 a.m. ET/6 p.m. ET

South Dakota State University

CSCAA National Invitational Championship

Preseason Swim Teaser - Elisabeth Timmer, Austin Smith

3/8/2023 4:02:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SWIMMING & DIVING MEET: South Dakota State at National Invitational Championship

When	Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11 CHAMPIONSHIP HOME PAGE
Where	Beacon Health Aquatic Center \| Elkhart, Indiana
Live Video	CSCAA.org (subscription required)
Live Results	Meet Mobile
Meet Notes	See Below
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

A group of South Dakota State swimmers will get one final taste of postseason competition when they compete this week at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship in Elkhart, Indiana.

The three-day competition runs Thursday through Saturday at Beacon Health Aquatic Center. Event preliminaries begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 a.m. Central Time) each day, with finals getting under way at 6 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Central).

In all, 14 Jackrabbits — 10 men and four women — are slated to compete. Individual qualifiers include:

Men

Eric Anderson — 50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle;
Aiden Carstensen – 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke;
Denilson Cyprianos — 1,000 freestyle, 1,650 freestyle, 200 backstroke;
Matthew Heaphy — 50 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 individual medley;
Sam Johnson — 200 freestyle, 100 individual medley;
Liam Murray — 50 freestyle, 100 individual medley;
Collin Schock — 1,650 freestyle, 100 individual medley;
Austin Smith — 100 butterfly, 100 individual medley;
Damon Venner – 500 freestyle, 400 individual medley, 100 individual medley, 200 butterfly.

Women

Emma Bachelder — 50 breaststroke;
Jenna Currier — 50 backstroke, 100 individual medley;
Sianne Downes — 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke;
Elisabeth Timmer — 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 individual medley, 100 freestyle.

In addition to individual events, the Jackrabbits will field teams in a variety of relays, with Matt Sorenson added to the men's contingent.

Smith is seeded second in the men's 100-yard individual medley with a time of 49.17 seconds, a school-record mark he achieved during the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships last month in Minneapolis.

Also seeded in the top 10 of an event is Denilson Cyprianos in the 200 backstroke with an SDSU-record time of 1 minute, 44.03 seconds.

Anderson holds the 12^th-fastest time among the field in the 50 freestyle after clocking an SDSU-record 19.83 seconds at the league championships.

On the women's side, Elisabeth Timmer holds top-20 times among the field in both the 50 freestyle (14^th, 22.77 seconds) and the 100 IM (17^th, 57.49 seconds).

RECORDS FALL: The SDSU swimming and diving teams combined to break 15 school records during competition at the Summit League Championships Feb. 22-25 in Minneapolis. Of the 15 records, 11 were set by the men's squad and four by the women's squad. Individual records fell in 10 events, while five relay marks were rewritten.

Austin Smith led the way by setting individual records in three events: 100 butterfly, 100 individual medley and 200 individual medley.

Men

50 Freestyle: Eric Anderson — 19.81 seconds
100 Butterfly: Austin Smith — 48.64 seconds
100 Individual Medley: Austin Smith — 49.17 seconds
200 Backstroke: Denilson Cyprianos — 1:44.03
200 Butterfly: Braxton McGrath — 1:48.21
200 Individual Medley: Austin Smith —1:48.18
500 Freestyle: Alex Kraft — 4:31.35
200 Freestyle Relay: Eric Anderson, Rafael Negri, Charles Sieglaff, Aiden Carstensen — 1:20.83
200 Medley Relay: Rafael Negri, Austin Smith, Luke Nichols, Eric Anderson — 1:28.72
400 Medley Relay: Aiden Carstensen, Austin Smith, Luke Nichols, Eric Anderson — 3:16.05
800 Freestyle Relay: Denilson Cyprianos, Alex Kraft, Jon Galles, Sam Johnson — 6:38.30

Women

100 Backstroke: Sianne Downes — 55.11 seconds
100 Freestyle: Elisabeth Timmer — 50.30 seconds
200 Backstroke: Sianne Downes — 2:01.10
200 Freestyle Relay: Katie Pattee, Elisabeth, Emma Bachelder, Katie Drezen — 1:32.37

ALL-LEAGUE: Five South Dakota State swimmers were honored as members of the all-Summit League Team after posting top-three individual finishes at the Summit League Championships Feb. 22-25 in Minneapolis.

Eric Anderson – 50 freestyle (3^rd)
Aiden Carstensen - 100 backstroke (2^nd)
Denilson Cyprianos - 200 backstroke (2^nd)
Austin Smith - 100 individual medley (2^nd)
Elisabeth Timmer – 50 freestyle (3^rd), 100 freestyle (2^nd)

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Eight South Dakota State University swimming student-athletes — four men and four women — were recognized recently as members of the 2022-23 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Receiving the honors in the men's division were:

Caleb Harthoorn, Sr., Norfolk, Nebraska – 3.93 grade-point average in biology;
Naested Smith, Sr., Lusaka, Zambia — 4.0 GPA in aviation;
Damon Venner, Grad., Sioux Falls —4.0 GPA in curriculum and instruction;
Max White, Sr., Kokomo, Indiana — 4.0 GPA in ecology/environmental science.

White's award was his second academic-related honor in the span of a week. He was named Men's Scholar of the Championship at last month's Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships in Minneapolis.

Representing the Jackrabbit women's squad on the CSC Academic All-District Team were:

Natalie Cannell, Jr., Olathe, Kansas – 3.96 GPA in business economics;
Sianne Downes, Jr., Edenvale, South Africa – 3.85 GPA in mechanical engineering;
Katie Pattee, So., Farmington, Minnesota – 4.0 GPA in mechanical engineering;
Grace Witherspoon, Sr., Eden Prairie, Minnesota – 3.82 GPA in nursing.

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in mid March.

UP NEXT: The CSCAA National Invitational Championship marks the end of the 2022-23 season.

-GoJacks.com-