JACKS MAKE SEASON DEBUT AT NEBRASKA

Friday, October 3

Lincoln, Neb.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Omaha

Photo by: SDSU Athletics

10/2/2025 4:31:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SWIMMING & DIVING: South Dakota State at Nebraska/vs. Omaha

When	Friday, Oct. 3 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Devaney Natatorium \| Lincoln, Nebraska
Live Video	Nebraska YouTube Channel
Live Results	SwimCloud.com \| Meet Mobile App
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State swimming and diving teams take to the water for the first time in the 2025-26 season with competition Friday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Jackrabbit women will be competing in a tri-dual against Omaha and host Nebraska, while the SDSU men will square off in a Summit League dual against Omaha. Start time is set for 1 p.m. at the Devaney Natatorium on the University of Nebraska campus.

South Dakota State completed the 2024-25 season with a 2-6 record in women's duals and a 4-3 mark in men's duals before a third-place finish at the 2025 Summit League Championships. The Jackrabbit women placed fifth out of seven teams at the league meet.

MEN'S PREVIEW: Five swimmers who hold a combined 10 individual school records return to lead the Jackrabbit men during the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Seniors Eric Anderson and Jack Ellison pace SDSU in the freestyle events. A Fargo native, Anderson sat out last season due to injury, but continues to hold the Jackrabbit standards in the 50-yard freestyle (19.81 seconds) and 100 freestyle (:44.22) he set in 2023 and 2021, respectively.

Sophomore Zavier Kranz, who posted top-five marks in both the 100 (:44.96) and 200 (1:38.96), also is expected to be a key contributor in the sprint freestyle events again this season.

Ellison, meanwhile, established school records in both the 1,000 freestyle (9 minutes, 27.05 seconds) and 1,650 freestyle (15:37.84) at the end of his sophomore season in 2024. The Omaha native also ranks second in program history in the 400 individual medley (3:57.09).

Junior Cody Vertin supplanted Ellison as the school record holder in the 400 IM at last season's Summit League Championships with a third-place finish in the event at 3:54.33. The Brookings native also earned all-Summit League honors with a runner-up finish in the 200 breaststroke (1:58.04) and a third-place effort in the 200 IM in which he set another school record with a time of 1:47.92.

Complementing Vertin in the breaststroke events are sophomores Nik Keuser and David Bosch. Keuser put together a strong second half of his freshman campaign to win the 100 breaststroke title at the Summit League Championships with a school-record time of 53.47 seconds. He also set a new SDSU standard in the prelims of the 200 breaststroke (1:59.87) before settling for a fourth-place finish.

Bosch took over the second spot on the SDSU career charts in the 100 breaststroke (:55.10) and placed sixth in the event at the league meet during his freshman campaign.

Senior Braxton McGrath will again lead the Jackrabbits in the butterfly events. He holds school records in both the 100 fly (:48.15) and 200 fly (1:48.20) and earned all-Summit League recognition with a third-place showing in the 200.

Adding depth in the butterfly events are sophomore Hayden Tellier and senior Bryan Wong, both of whom etched their names into the SDSU career top 10 in the 200 fly last season.

In the backstroke events, the Jackrabbits will be without the services of senior Aiden Carstensen to begin the season. Carstensen ranks second in program history in both the 100 (:48.63) and 200 (1:47.77) back, but is currently sidelined due to injury and may be a candidate to redshirt this season.

In Carstensen's absence, freshmen Colby Williams and Zack Heiar may be called on to pick up the slack. Other freshmen expected to make an immediate impact include Luke Watkins in the middle distance and distance freestyle events, as well as Evan Schott and Owen Byrd in the individual medley events.

The diving crew has undergone some re-tooling with the additions of Alaska natives Deshawn Campbell and Roman Billings. Campbell is a transfer from Wyoming, while Billings is a freshman. Sophomore Seth Berens, who was the team's top diver a year ago, also returns.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW: The Jackrabbit women's swimming and diving team will receive an infusion of young talent during the 2025-26 season with the addition of 11 freshmen and a transfer.

In early returns, newcomers Jessalyn Carpenter and Marissa Renaud are poised to make immediate impacts in the breaststroke and distance freestyle events, respectively, following strong performances at a recent intrasquad competition. Makenzie Peter and Ava Humphrey also will bolster the lineup in the breaststroke events, while a crop of newcomers in the freestyle events that includes Kaylen Torrence and Mallory Knutson are expected to provide depth in the freestyle events.

Natalie Ziebell, who previously competed in gymnastics at Northern Illinois, is making the transition to competing in diving at SDSU and was the team's top performer on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards at the intrasquad meet. She is joined on the diving crew by Annabelle Gifford and Lily Davis.

Among other returning student-athletes, senior Marissa Branham and junior Gigi Hioki both posted fourth-place finishes at the Summit League Championships to pace the Jackrabbits in postseason competition. Branham placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke, while Hioki turned in a fourth-place effort in the 200 freestyle and also was a finalist in the 100 freestyle with a seventh-place showing.

Hioki currently ranks second all-time at SDSU in both the 200 freestyle (1:49.77) and 500 freestyle (4:57.02), along with a third-place standing in the 100 freestyle (:50.94).

Also holding high rankings in multiple events is senior Jenna Currier. The native of Denison, Iowa, holds the second-fastest time in program history in the 100 butterfly at 55.41 seconds, while also posting top-10 marks in the sprint freestyle events.

Sophomore Emma Ingalls was the lone Jackrabbit woman to set a school record at last season's league championships, clocking a new standard of 2:03.82 in the 200 individual medley. Ingalls also notched sixth-place finishes in both the 200 butterfly and 400 IM.

Junior Poppy Mead also was a two-time finalist at the 2025 Summit League Championships, placing seventh in both the 200 butterfly and 1,650 freestyle.

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

Through his first eight seasons, Humphrey has guided the Jackrabbits to top-three team finishes at the Summit League Championships six times in the men's division and three times on the women's side. Both squads recorded runner-up finishes at the league meet during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season.

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 are scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule Oct. 10 with home duals against Augustana. Start time is set for 1 p.m., with an alumni meet to follow as part of the Hobo Week (homecoming) celebration.

-GoJacks.com-