KEUSER, McGRATH LEAD JACKRABBIT SURGE

Nik Keuser competes in the breaststroke events.

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

2/20/2026 9:39:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Braxton McGrath and Nik Keuser returned to the podium with record-setting individual and relay performances for a South Dakota State men's swimming and diving squad that moved up a couple spots in the team standings Friday at the Summit League Championships.

A senior from nearby Amana, Iowa, McGrath re-wrote his own school record in the 100-yard butterfly twice on Friday. During the morning preliminaries, he cut .38 seconds off his previous standard of 48.15 seconds to earn a spot in the A final. McGrath opened the night session by clocking a time of 47.70 seconds, shaving another .07 seconds en route to a third-place finish.

SDSU's Hayden Tellier claimed the No. 2 spot on the SDSU career charts with his time of 48.55 seconds in the 100 butterfly preliminaries, but ended up with a seventh-place finish in the night session (:49.01).

Keuser also bettered his own school record in his attempt to repeat as Summit League champion in the 100 breaststroke. The Omaha native touched the wall in 53.38 seconds, clipping .36 seconds off his record time set at last year's league meet, but would have to settle for silver after Denver's Kito Campbell set a blistering pace early in the race and finished with a winning time of 52.61 seconds.

Teammate David Bosch finished sixth in 54.51 seconds. His time of 54.29 seconds in the morning prelims solidified his second-place standing on the SDSU career charts in the 100 breaststroke.

McGrath and Keuser formed half of the Jackrabbits' 400 medley relay team that closed the night with a bronze medal and another school-record performance. The duo combined with Colby Williams (backstroke) and Zavier Kranz (freestyle) for a third-place time of 3 minutes, 14.43 seconds.

That marked eclipsed the record of 3:15.04 set a year ago by the quartet of Denilson Cyprianos, Keuser, Austin Smith and Sam Johnson.

Kranz added an eighth-place individual finish in the 200 freestyle, turning in a time of 1:40.35. Senior Jon Galles came in 14^th in 1:40.78.

The Jackrabbits' biggest point total of the night came in the 400 individual medley, where six SDSU swimmers qualified for the finals. In the A final, Cody Vertin led the way with a fourth-place finish, 3:54.99, while freshman Owen Byrd placed sixth in 3:58.58.

Byrd was the top qualifier for the Jackrabbits in the morning session with a third-place time of 3:56.56 that put him second behind Vertin on the SDSU career charts in the event.

SDSU's four B finalists in the 400 IM were tightly bunched as Kolden Kringen won the heat in 3:58.14 to place ninth, followed by Jack Ellison in 10^th, 3:58.42. Freshmen Luke Watkins (4:00.67) and Evan Schott (4:01.95) finished 12^th and 13^th, respectively. Kringen's time moved him into fourth place on the Jackrabbit all-time list and Watkins took over the No. 7 spot.

Another freshman, Zack Heiar, was a two-time individual qualifier for consolation finals on Friday, placing 12^th in the 100 butterfly (:49.26) and 14^th in the 100 backstroke (:49.75). Williams was one spot ahead of his teammate in the 100 backstroke with a finals time of 49.58 seconds.

SDSU moved up two spots in the team standings with 292 points, overtaking both St. Thomas (239.5) and Southern Indiana (218).

The Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Preliminary events start at 10 a.m., with the finals session starting at 5:30 p.m.

MEN'S EVENT WINNERS — DAY 3
100 Butterfly: Hamish McLellan, Denver – :46.53
400 Individual Medley: Nicolas Morton, Denver – 3:49.45
200 Freestyle: Pierce Bickerton, Denver – 1:37.69
100 Breaststroke: Kito Campbell, Denver – :52.61
100 Backstroke: Nicholas Rounds, South Dakota – :45.21 (Summit League record)
3-Meter Diving: Colin Breuer, Denver – 335.00
400 Medley Relay: South Dakota (Joaquin Contreras-Fallico, Brock Russell, Dylan Alt, Nicholas Rounds) – 3:09.08

MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS THRU DAY 3
1. Denver – 628
2. South Dakota – 569
3. Omaha – 467.5
4. South Dakota State – 292
5. St. Thomas – 239.5
6. Southern Indiana – 218
7. Eastern Illinois – 131

-GoJacks.com-