JACKRABBITS READY FOR SUMMIT CHAMPIONSHIPS

Wednesday, February 18

Iowa City, Iowa

10 a.m./5:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Summit League Championships

SDSU Summit League Swim Preview Teaser 2026-01 featuring Mia Pendleton (left) and Eric Anderson (right)

2/17/2026 10:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

SWIMMING & DIVING: South Dakota State at Summit League Championships

When	Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 18-21 Wednesday: Diving Session, 12:30 p.m.; Swim Relay/Diving Finals at 5:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday: Swim Prelims,10 a.m.; Diving Prelims, 12:30 p.m.; Finals at 5:30 p.m. MEET SCHEDULE
Where	University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center \| Iowa City, Iowa
Live Video	Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus • Video Entry Page (subscription required)
Live Results	www.SwimCloud.com \| Meet Mobile app SDSU Men's Season Performance List \| SDSU Women's Season Performance List
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram \| #GoJacks

The South Dakota State men's and women's swimming and diving teams will strive for peak performance over the next four days as they close out the 2025-26 season at the Summit League Championships.

Competition runs Wednesday through Saturday at the University of Iowa's Campus Recreation and Wellness Center in Iowa City. The men's 1-meter diving preliminaries kick off the championships at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, with finals for that event and a pair of relays starting at 5:30 p.m. For the remaining three days of competition, swimming prelims start at 10 a.m., followed by diving prelims at 12:30 p.m. and event finals at 5:30 p.m.

Video coverage of the entire championships will be available through the Summit League Network streaming platform powered by Midco Sports Plus (subscription required).

SDSU will look to improve upon its preseason team rankings of third in the men's division and fifth in the women's poll, which match the Jackrabbits' placings at the 2025 Summit League Championships. Denver is the defending champion in both divisions.

RETURNING ALL-LEAGUE PERFORMERS: Four all-Summit League performers from last year's championship return to the pool for the Jackrabbits this season. All-league honors are determined by top-three showings in both individual events and relays at the Summit League Championships.

The contingent is led by breaststroke swimmers Nik Keuser and Cody Vertin. A sophomore, Keuser is the defending champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Vertin was runner-up in the 200 breaststroke and added third-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and 400 IM. Keuser also is the lone returning swimmer from the Jackrabbits' runner-up 400 medley relay.

Also returning after posting a third-place individual finish in the 200 butterfly is senior Braxton McGrath.

Rounding out the returning all-league performers is sophomore Zavier Kranz, who swam on SDSU's runner-up 800 freestyle and third-place 400 freestyle relays.

At the 2025 Summit League Championships, the Jackrabbit men established seven school records, while Emma Ingalls set a new SDSU women's standard in the 200 individual medley (2:03.82).

MEN'S SEEDINGS: Through the end of the regular season, 12 Jackrabbits rank in the top 10 of individual events among Summit League men's swimmers.

Junior Cody Vertin leads SDSU with three top-six seedings. The Brookings native enters the championships with the third-fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley (1:48.79), while ranking fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.00) and sixth in the 400 IM (3:57.77).

Six other Jackrabbits are seeded in the top 10 in two events, including freshmen Luke Watkins and Colby Williams. Watkins is fifth in the 1,650 freestyle (15:46.84) and 10^th in the 500 freestyle (4:34.06) entering the championship meet, while Williams has been a top performer in the backstroke events with an eighth-place showing in the 200 (1:48.11) and ranking ninth in the 100 (:49.19).

Sophomore David Bosch holds the highest seed with a No. 2 ranking in the 100 breaststroke (54.68 seconds). Defending 100 breaststroke champion Nik Keuser is seeded fourth for the Jackrabbits with a top time of 54.76 seconds this season and is sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.34).

Following is a complete list of top-10 seedings for the Jackrabbit men:

NAME/EVENT	RANKING	TIME
Eric Anderson
• 50 Freestyle	10th	:20.56
David Bosch
• 100 Breaststroke	2nd	:54.68
Owen Byrd
• 400 Individual Medley	7th	3:58.13
Jack Ellison
• 1,650 Freestyle	6th	15:55.19
• 500 Freestyle	9th	4:33.94
Zack Heiar
• 100 Backstroke	8th	:49.11
Nik Keuser
• 100 Breaststroke	4th	:54.76
• 200 Breaststroke	6th	2:00.34
Zavier Kranz
• 200 Freestyle	4th	1:38.77
• 100 Freestyle	5th	:44.33
Braxton McGrath
• 200 Butterfly	3rd	1:48.09
• 100 Butterfly	5th	:48.40
Evan Schott
• 200 Backstroke	6th	1:47.80
Cody Vertin
• 200 Individual Medley	3^rd	1:48.79
• 200 Breaststroke	5^th	2:00.00
• 400 Individual Medley	6^th	3:57.77
Luke Watkins
• 1,650 Freestyle	5^th	15:46.84
• 500 Freestyle	10th	4:34.06
Colby Williams
• 200 Backstroke	8^th	1:48.11
• 100 Backstroke	9^th	:49.19

In relays, SDSU's top seedings are third in the 400 freestyle (3:00.45) and 800 freestyle (6:46.61). The majority of the seed times were posted during competition at the Tommie Invitational Nov. 20-22 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

WOMEN'S SEEDINGS: Senior Jenna Currier leads a group of 10 Jackrabbit women to rank in the top 10 of Summit League swimmers in their respective individual events.

Entering the league championships, the native of Denison, Iowa, holds the second-fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle (23.30 seconds), while ranking third in both the 100 freestyle (:50.98) and 100 butterfly (:55.22).

Junior Gigi Hioki and sophomore Emma Ingalls also hold three top-10 rankings through the regular season. Hioki ranks fourth in the 200 butterfly (2:04.83), sixth in the 100 freestyle (:51.53) and 10^th in the 200 freestyle (1:52.31).

Ingalls' highest ranking is a sixth-place showing in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.71), an event she did not swim until the second half of the regular season. She also stands eighth in the 200 butterfly (2:06.59) and 10^th in the 400 individual medley (4:31.87).

NAME/EVENT	RANKING	TIME
Marissa Branham
• 200 Breaststroke	5th	2:18.23
• 100 Breaststroke	8th	1:04.07
Jessalyn Carpenter
• 100 Breaststroke	10th	1:04.31
Hailey Creary
• 400 Individual Medley	9th	4:31.06
Jenna Currier
• 50 Freestyle	2nd	:23.30
• 100 Freestyle	3rd	:50.98
• 100 Butterfly	3rd	:55.22
Gigi Hioki
• 200 Butterfly	4th	2:04.83
• 100 Freestyle	6th	:51.53
• 200 Freestyle	10th	1:52.31
Emma Ingalls
• 200 Breaststroke	6th	2:19.71
• 200 Butterfly	8th	2:06.59
• 400 Individual Medley	10th	4:31.87
Lucia Lopez
• 200 Backstroke	7th	2:01.63
• 100 Backstroke	9th	:56.54
Poppy Mead
• 200 Butterfly	9th	2:06.99
Hannah Miller
• 100 Breaststroke	6^th	1:03.35
Kaylen Torrence
• 1,650 Freestyle	10th	17:42.59

In addition, the Jackrabbits' 400 freestyle relay holds a No. 2 ranking (3:25.99), with the 400 medley relay (3:48.11) ranking third.

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.

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.

-GoJacks.com-