JACKS WRAP UP DUAL SEASON AT USD

Saturday, January 24

Vermillion, S.D.

1 p.m.

South Dakota State University

South Dakota

Swim Splice Teaser 1-23-2026 featuring a men's swimming competing in the backstroke and a women's swimmer competing in the breaststroke.

1/23/2026 11:18:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SWIMMING & DIVING: South Dakota State at South Dakota

When	Saturday, Jan. 24 \| 1 p.m.
Where	USD Natatorium \| Vermillion, South Dakota
Live Video	None
Live Results	Meet Mobile App
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State swimming and diving teams conclude the dual portion of their seasons Saturday by taking on in-state rival South Dakota.

Competition is set for a 1 p.m. start at the USD Natatorium in Vermillion.

The Jackrabbit men enter the meet with a 4-2 dual record after coming out on top in two of three head-to-head matchups in the state of Minnesota last weekend. In its first action of the new calendar year, SDSU posted a 153-145 victory at St. Cloud State on Jan. 16. A day later, the Jackrabbits split a tri-dual in Minneapolis, defeating Summit League rival St. Thomas, 137-106, and falling to host Minnesota, 185-56.

On the women's side, SDSU holds a 2-5 dual record after being swept in the Jan. 17 tri-dual, dropping decisions to both St. Thomas (142-97) and Minnesota (198-43).

KRANZ, VERTIN LEAD JACKS: Zavier Kranz and Cody Vertin each won two individual events to lead the Jackrabbits in their Jan. 16 dual victory at St. Cloud State.

A sophomore from Watertown, Kranz posted both of his victories in freestyle events, clocking a top time of 1 minute, 43.83 seconds in the 200-yard race before winning the 100 in 46.06 seconds. He also anchored the Jackrabbits' runner-up 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.

Vertin, meanwhile, notched both of his wins in the second half of the meet. The junior from Brookings claimed the 200 breaststroke in 2:03.73, then led a Jackrabbit sweep of the top four spots in the 200 individual medley with a winning time of 1:54.58.

The next day at the Minnesota Tri-Dual in Minneapolis, Kranz swam his way to a runner-up finish in the 100 freestyle with a time 45.63 seconds. That performance came after a fourth-place effort in the 200 freestyle, 1:42.78, earlier in the meet.

Vertin, meanwhile, notched a pair of top-four performances, placing third in the 200 individual medley (1:52.87) and fourth in the 100 breaststroke (:56.61).

HIOKI, CURRIER PACE WOMEN'S SQUAD: Gigi Hioki and Jenna Currier each recorded two top-five finishes in swimming events for South Dakota State during tri-dual competition Jan. 17 against Minnesota and St. Thomas.

Hioki was the top individual finisher for SDSU with a runner-up showing in the 200-yard freestyle. She clocked a time of 1:52.85 in that event and added a fifth-place time of 52.94 seconds in the 100 freestyle later in the meet.

Currier continued her strong senior season with a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle (:24.18) and by placing fourth in the 100 butterfly (:57.69).

RECORDS FALL: Jenna Currier and Braxton McGrath each established school records in the butterfly during competition Nov. 20-22 at the St. Thomas Invite in St. Paul, Minnesota.

A senior from Denison, Iowa, Currier set a new Jackrabbit women's standard in the 100-yard butterfly with a runner-up time of 55.22 seconds during the event finals on Nov. 21. That eclipsed the previous mark of 55.36 seconds set by Elisabeth Timmer in 2022.

McGrath, a senior from Amana, Iowa, lowered his own school-record in the 200 butterfly on Nov. 22 with a winning time of 1 minute, 48.09 seconds. That bettered his previous record time set two seasons ago by .11 seconds.

NEW POOL MARK: The South Dakota State men's 400 medley relay kicked off the 2025-26 home season in style by setting a Marshall Center Pool standard Oct. 10 versus Augustana.

The quartet of Colby Williams, David Bosch, Braxton McGrath and Xavier Kranz combined for a facility-record time of 3 minutes, 24.17 seconds. The previous mark of 3:24.63 was set last season in a dual against Omaha by Aiden Carstensen, Cody Vertin, McGrath and Sam Johnson.

SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State swept the Summit League Kwik Star Swimming Peak Performer of the Week awards earlier this season as David Bosch was honored in the men's division and Gigi Hioki received the nod on the women's side after their performances in dual meets against Augustana on Oct. 10.

A native of Windsor, Colorado, Bosch claimed individual titles in both breaststroke events contested in SDSU's home opener, posting winning times of 26.25 seconds in the 50-yard race and 58.07 seconds in the 100. He also swam the breaststroke leg as the Jackrabbits opened the dual with a victory in the 400 medley relay (3:24.17).

The award was the first of Bosch's career and the first by a Jackrabbit men's swimmer this season.

Hioki, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii, was a four-time winner for the Jackrabbits in their home-opening dual. She claimed individual titles in both the 100-yard (53.96 seconds) and 200 freestyle (1:55.20), and also anchored SDSU victories in both the 400 medley relay (3:58.41) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:37.07).

The award was Hioki's first of the season and third of her career.

PRESEASON POLLS: South Dakota State has been picked to finish third in the Summit League men's team race, with the women's squad tabbed for a fifth-place finish, according to preseason polls among the league's coaches that were announced Wednesday. The rankings match the Jackrabbits' placings at the 2025 Summit League Championships.

In the men's division, defending champion Denver was picked as the favorite by garnering six of the seven first-place votes and 36 points. South Dakota received the other first-place vote and ranked second with 30 points, followed by SDSU with 26 points and Omaha with 22 points.

St. Thomas (16), Southern Indiana (10) and Eastern Illinois (7) rounded out the men's poll.

Denver also received top billing in the women's preseason poll with six first-place votes and 36 points. South Dakota was second with 31 points and the final first-place vote, with Omaha in the third spot with 24 points. St. Thomas edged the Jackrabbits by one point, 19-18, for fourth place in the poll, with Southern Indiana (12) and Eastern Illinois (7) claiming the final two spots.

The 2026 Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled for Feb. 18-21 in Iowa City, Iowa.

ATHLETES TO WATCH: Four Jackrabbit swimmers are listed among the Summit League Athletes to Watch in conjunction with the release of the preseason polls.

Representing the South Dakota State men's squad were junior Cody Vertin and sophomore Nik Keuser. Senior Jenna Currier and junior Gigi Hioki were the Jackrabbit representatives on the women's side.

A Brookings native, Vertin posted three top-three individual finishes at the 2025 Summit League Championships. He placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke (1:58.04) and set school records with third-place individual finishes in the 200 individual medley (1:47.92) and 400 IM (3:54.33).

Keuser, an Omaha native, won the 100-yard breaststroke at last season's Summit League Championships with an SDSU-record time of 53.74 seconds. He also placed fourth in the 200 breaststroke after establishing a school record time of 1:57.90 in the prelims.

Currier currently ranks in the top three among Summit League swimmers in three individual events: second in the 50 freestyle (:23.30), third in the 100 freestyle (:50.98) and third in the 100 butterfly (:55.22).

Hioki paced the Jackrabbits in the freestyle events, winning 15 event titles during her sophomore season. Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Hioki placed fourth in the 200 freestyle (1:49.77), seventh in the 100 free (:51.19) and ninth in the 500 free (4:57.02) at last year's Summit League Championships.

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 return to Vermillion for the USD Invite Jan. 30-31. The two-day meet will mark the final competition leading up to the Summit League Championships Feb. 18-21 in Iowa City, Iowa.

-GoJacks.com-