Omaha vs South Dakota State
- December 6, 2024
- Brookings, S.D.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: Omaha Athletics
BROOKINGS, S.D. – Omaha Swim & Dive left the Marshall Center Pool victorious Friday night as both men’s and women’s teams finished a successful day against a Summit League foe.
The men’s team beat the Jackrabbits in their meet 151.50-144.50. Omaha Women’s Swim & Dive won 177.50-122.50 over South Dakota State.
“This was a gritty meet for our team,” head coach Jessica Hessel said. “It would have been an easy meet to throw in the towel and not fight to the end, but that’s not the route we took. This was truly a team effort, and I’m proud to see our team culture carry us to a win for both the men and women.”
On Friday, the Mavericks finished first in 19 of 32 events, both individual and relay. Omaha also set three records for head-to-head matchups against South Dakota State, two individual records and one relay record.
16 of the 19 first-place finishes were in individual events. While Omaha started the evening with a victory from Payton Easley, Julia Thomas, Jillian Altmaier, and Hailey Matthews took first place in the women’s 400 medley relay, recording a time of 3:55.81.
The Mavericks also finished first in the women’s 200-free relay, with the core of Easley, Thomas, Kate Novinski and Leah Spencer finishing in 1:36.66.
One Omaha men’s relay team picked up a finish at the top of the box score and set a new pool record against the Jackrabbits in the men’s 200 free relay. The group of Grant Waszak, Stefan Varga, Grant Schaeffer and Owen Hoak clocked in at 1:23.65.
The previous record in the men’s 200 free relay (1:23.89) was set in 2015 against South Dakota State.
Easley finished first in all four events she participated in (two relays and two individual). Individually, she won the women’s 50 free (23.77), a new pool record against the Jackrabbits, beating Elizabeth Timmer’s 23.92 in 2021, and also won the women’s 100 free (53.39).
Varga also had three first-place finishes. He recorded a 50.02 in the men’s 100 back and a new pool record of 1:49.61 in the men’s 200 back. The previous record was held by Raf Hendricks (1:50.28) in 2023.
Bella Price won the women’s three-meter dive, scoring 270.68, and Owen Kipp scored 290.55 in the men’s three-meter dive.
The Mavericks will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 11, when they travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers at 4 p.m.
Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics
South Dakota State claimed the top spot in three freestyle events, but Omaha held the upper hand in the other strokes Friday to earn a 177.5-122.5 victory over the Jackrabbits in a Summit League women’s swimming and diving dual at the Marshall Center Pool.
Sophomore Gigi Hioki was a two-time winner for the Jackrabbits, who fell to 2-4 overall in duals, including a 1-1 mark against league foes. Hioki swam her way to victory in the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 53.28 seconds in her first individual race of the day, followed by posting the top time in the 500 freestyle at 5:15.83.
Teammate Emma Schultz placed third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:56.66.
Hioki’s pursuit of a third individual title was stopped by the Mavericks’ Payton Easley in the 100 freestyle. Easley, who also won the 50 freestyle, , clocked a winning time of 52.39 seconds in the 100 freestyle, followed by Hioki in 52.67 seconds.
In addition, Hioki and Schultz formed one half of the Jackrabbits’ runner-up 200 freestyle relay, teaming with Jenna Currier and Hannah Miller for a time of 1:37.38.
Sophomore Poppy Mead was SDSU’s other victor in the freestyle events as she swam to a win in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:46.33.
Freshmen Emma Ingalls and Kailee Crane added individual wins for the Jackrabbits. Ingalls led a group of three SDSU swimmers to place in the top four of the 200 butterfly with a winning time of 2:09.80. Mead was second in 2:11.77, with Isabella Gnewuch taking fourth in 2:16.06.
Crane clocked the top time in the 200 individual medley at 2:11.04, while Ingalls placed third in 2:15.60. Crane also was runner-up in the 200 backstroke, 2:10.65, with Lily Esmas coming in third, 2:11.47.
UP NEXT
Friday’s dual marked SDSU’s final competition before a month-long holiday break. The Jackrabbits are scheduled to return to competition Jan. 11 against Augustana at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls.
