Jacks Ignite the Second Half Showdown Against Augie!

The South Dakota State men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads commence the latter part of their 2024-25 season with dual events on Friday at Augustana.

The diving events are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, with swimming competitions to follow around 6 p.m. The Jackrabbits head into these nonconference contests with a 2-2 dual record in the men’s division and a 2-4 overall dual record for the women’s team. Live results for Friday’s event will be accessible via the Meet Mobile app.

SDSU last saw competition on Dec. 6, where the Jackrabbits were defeated in their home dual event by Summit League rival Omaha. The Mavericks achieved a 177.5-122.5 win in the women’s division, while securing a 151.5-144.5 victory in the men’s match. The Jackrabbits spent the past week practicing in Arizona.

SCHOOL RECORDS BROKEN: Three athletes from the South Dakota State men’s swimming and diving team set new school benchmarks during the Tommie Invitational held from Nov. 21-23 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Senior Sam Johnson was the first to record a benchmark time, achieving a mark of 4 minutes, 29.95 seconds in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle on the opening day of the meet. This surpassed the previous record of 4:30.74 established last season by teammate Jack Ellison.

Two additional records were shattered the following day thanks to Braxton McGrath and Cody Vertin. A junior from Amana, Iowa, McGrath broke his own record in the 100-yard butterfly twice within the same day. In the Nov. 22 morning preliminaries, he achieved a then-record time of 48.51 seconds, reducing his previous standard by .07 seconds. In the evening finals, McGrath cut another .36 seconds from his earlier time, finishing first with a time of 48.15 seconds.

Vertin, a sophomore from Brookings, delivered his record-setting performance in the 400 individual medley during the morning prelims, clocking a top time of 3 minutes, 57.01 seconds. He slightly slowed down in the evening finals but still claimed the event in 3:57.40.

CASTRO ESTABLISHES NCAA ZONE MARK: Jackrabbit women’s diver Anna Mei Castro set an NCAA Zones-qualifying score with a winning total of 282.00 points on the 3-meter board in her event at the Tommie Invitational on Nov. 22 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

A sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, Castro surpassed the qualifying requirement by two points. The Zone D diving meet is scheduled for March 10-12 in Iowa City, Iowa. 

PEAK PERFORMERS: South Dakota State’s Gigi Hioki was recognized on Oct. 22 as the Summit League Peak Women’s Swimmer of the Week.

 

A sophomore from Liberty Lake, Washington, Hioki led the Jackrabbits in each of her individual races during an Oct. 18 tri-dual against Minnesota and league rival St. Thomas. She secured third overall in both the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 52.69 seconds) and 500 freestyle (5:09.64). She also ended up fifth overall in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.51 seconds.

 

Hioki improved her times in all three events, including a near 10-second reduction in the 500 freestyle from her seasonal debut at Iowa State on Oct. 10. Additionally, she anchored the Jackrabbits’ 400 freestyle relay that finished fifth in 3:32.54.

In the meantime, Anna Mei Castro has been recognized as the Summit League Peak Women’s Diver of the Week on two occasions thus far this season.

A sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, Castro led SDSU’s diving team during the season-opening dual at Iowa State on Oct. 10. She was the runner-up on the 3-meter board with a score of 234.07 over six dives and also secured fourth in the 1-meter competition with 225.82 points.

Castro received recognition again after winning the 1-meter diving event in a Dec. 6 home dual versus Omaha, achieving a season-best score of 230.48. She also garnered a runner-up finish on the 3-meter board with a score of 236.35 over six dives.

 

PRESEASON POLLS:  The South Dakota State men’s swimming and diving team has been predicted to finish second in the 2024-25 Summit League standings, while the women’s team has been anticipated to place third in the preseason polls released in early October.

 

The Jackrabbit men accumulated 31 points, placing behind defending champion Denver with 36 points and six first-place votes. South Dakota received the other first-place vote and came in third in the poll conducted among the league’s seven head coaches.

 

SDSU placed fourth in the league standings last season.

 

In the women’s division, SDSU garnered 26 points, ranking behind Denver (36 points) and South Dakota (31 points). The defending champion Pioneers received six first-place votes to secure the top spot, with USD collecting the other first-place vote.

 

The Jackrabbits finished fifth out of eight teams at the league championships last season.

 

Four Jackrabbits were acknowledged as swimmers and divers to keep an eye on for the upcoming season. Representing the SDSU men were Denilson Cyprianos and Reece Reid, while Gigi Hioki and Anna Mei Castro received nominations on the women’s side.

 

Cyprianos, a graduate student from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, holds the school record in the 200-yard backstroke (1:44.03) and finished second in this event at the 2024 Summit League Championships. He also attained sixth-place individual results in the 200 and 500 freestyle events during the league meet.

 

Cyprianos went on to represent his nation in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

 

Reid, a sophomore from Keller, Texas, attained 17th place in 3-meter diving at the 2024 Summit League Championships.

 

Hioki, a sophomore from Liberty Lake, Washington, excelled in the freestyle races for the Jackrabbit women last season, finishing seventh in both the 200 and 1,650 freestyle at the league championships.

 

Castro, a sophomore from Barcelona, Spain, achieved a ninth-place finish in 1-meter diving at the 2024 Summit League Championships and added a 15th-place finish on the 3-meter board.

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

In his first seven seasons, Humphrey has led the Jackrabbits to top-three team standings at the Summit League Championships five times in the men’s division and three times for the women’s team. Both squads achieved runner-up positions at the league competition during the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season.

Before SDSU, Humphrey was the head women’s swimming and diving coach at Northern Iowa for five seasons. His Panther teams demonstrated consistent improvement in the Missouri Valley Conference, including achieving consecutive third-place finishes at the conference championship during his final two seasons in Cedar Falls.

Humphrey worked as the assistant swimming coach at the University of Nebraska from 2000-12 under Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales. He competed for the Huskers from 1991-96 and later worked as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater.

 

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbit men are set to participate in dual events twice next weekend, welcoming St. Cloud State at 5 p.m. on Jan. 17 and South Dakota at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18. The matchup against South Dakota will also feature a women’s dual, marking the last home competition of the season for both Jackrabbit teams.