Iowa State Moves to 2-0 Following Dominant Win Over South Dakota

Iowa State vs South Dakota

• October 18, 2024
• Ames, Iowa
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: Iowa State Athletics

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State swimming and diving team (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) won 13 of 16 events and each of the final 12 events on Friday night to take down South Dakota (1-3, 0-0 Summit). Carley Caughron and Corinne Guist combined for five individual titles to lead the Cyclone effort.

“I tell our student-athletes all the time that there’s more in there than what they know and to dig in and find that drive, and we found that after the first couple of events,” said head coach Matt Leach. “South Dakota is a really well-coached team, and they came out well in the relay and got us in the 200 free and 100 back, but then we started showing up and doing what we had to do to race and perform well.”

How It Happened

The 400 medley relay team of Lili Neisser, Grace Swoboda, Kayla Bulseco and Andie Quirke were runners up with a time of 3:52.86. The team of Fallon DeWitt, Emma Kuhn, Keirlyn Mullica and Lydia McClugage finished third with a time of 3:59.24.

Corinne Guist picked up the first Cyclone win of the night, swimming to a 10:26.62 finish in the 1000 free. She returned to the pool for the 500 free and again took the win in 5:05.47. Swoboda followed up with a win in the 100 breaststroke in 1:05.46 with teammate Abbi Crum following in 1:08.22. Winter Craig and Miray Abay each finished the 200 fly in 2:06.57, tying for first place.

ISU got crucial boosts in team points from diving as Kate Mitchell swept 1-meter (249.45) and 3-meter (260.32) diving. Ally Blumenfeld was second in 3-meter, finishing with a score of 259.20 for four points.

“The divers were big,” Leach added. “They helped a ton. To have diving to lean on when we needed it early on was helpful. We weren’t panicking and we knew what we needed to do, what we executed in practice and just work at eye-level.”

Caughron continued her hot streak on Friday night, winning each of the four events in which she competed. She opened the night with a win in the 50 free before turning around after the break to win the 100 free. She became the night’s only three-time individual winner when she took the 100 fly. Caughron led off the winning 200 free relay team which edged out the Coyotes by less than a half-second.

Neisser, Mullica and DeWitt finished 1-2-3 in the 200 back to give Iowa State a boost in team points, helping the Cyclones to a 98-71 lead through 10 events. ISU picked up big points in the 200 breaststroke as Abbi Crum won the event while Anja Peck finished second.

Iowa State closed out strong as Mallory Miller won the 400 IM by over five seconds before the 200 free relay team of Caughron, Quirke, McClugage and Bulseco took the win to finish the night.

Event Winners

• 400 Medley Relay – South Dakota, (Ahrendt, Buhr, Mayer, Kahn), 3:52.01
• 1000 Free – Corinne Guist, Iowa State, 10:26.62
• 200 Free – Gabbie Ahrendt, South Dakota, 1:56.12
• 100 Back – Grace Shultz, South Dakota, 58.51
• 100 Breast – Grace Swoboda, Iowa State, 1:05.46
• 200 Fly – *Winter Craig, Iowa State, 2:06.57; *Miray Abay, Iowa State, 2:06.57
• 50 Free – Carley Caughron, Iowa State, 23.76
• 3-Meter Diving – Kate Mitchell, Iowa State, 260.32
• 100 Free – Carley Caughron, Iowa State, 52.10
• 200 Back – Lili Neisser, Iowa State, 2:07.47
• 200 Breast – Abbi Crum, Iowa State, 2:24.79
• 500 Free – Corinne Guist, Iowa State, 5:05.47
• 100 Fly – Carley Caughron, Iowa State, 56.72
• 1-Meter Diving – Kate Mitchell, Iowa State, 249.45
• 400 IM – Mallory Miller, Iowa State, 4:34.47
• 200 Free Relay – Iowa State, (Caughron, Quirke, McClugage, Bulseco), 1:36.58

On Deck

The Cyclones take their first road trip of the season when they travel to Nebraska (1-1, 0-1 Big Ten) on October 25. Start time in Lincoln is set for 3:00 p.m. next Friday.

Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics

AMES, Iowa – South Dakota women’s swimming and diving team picked up three race victories during Friday’s dual with Iowa State of the Big 12 held at Beyer Pool.

The Coyotes won the opening relay, the 400 medley relay, while also receiving individual wins from Gabbie Ahrendt and Grace Schultz during its 179-119 setback to the Cyclones.

South Dakota came away with a total of eight runner-up finishes and 13 third-place efforts during the dual.

Ahrendt, a sophomore, clocked 1:56.12 to claim the 200 freestyle while she also placed third (58.78) in 100 butterfly in a race where teammate Sara Mayer was second in 58.00.

Schultz, a sophomore, touched the wall first in the 100 backstroke in 58.51.

Emily Kahn and Emily DiProspero each claimed a pair of runner-up finishes while Mayer, Samantha Mersnick and Dylan Hogenson also produced second-place efforts.

Kahn, a senior, was clocked in 24.07 in the 50 free and 53.67 in the 100 free while DiProspero, a freshman, finished in 10:38.77 in the 1000 free and 5:13.91 in the 500 free.

Ahrendt and Kahn both swam on both relays during the dual for South Dakota as the pair teamed with Mayer and Taylor Buhr to win the 400 medley relay while Christina Spomer and Carson White swam on the runner-up 200 free relay quartet with Kahn and Ahrendt.

Mersnick, a senior, led the Coyote divers during the meet with a runner-up on the one-meter board and a third-place finish on the three-meter board.

Hogenson, a freshman, finished second in the 400 IM while teammate Madeline Schrank was third.

Schrank, a freshman, added another third in the 200 fly while Buhr, a junior, also had two third place finishes in the meet coming in the 100 breast and 200 breast.

Third-place efforts also came from Ashley Koenig (1000 free), Skyler Leverenz (200 free), Anna Balfanz (100 back), Spomer (50 free), Madilyn Gehrke (100 free), Camilla Brogger-Andersen (500 free) and Mady Schmidt (1 Meter Dive).

Both the women and men’s teams will take to the pool in the two-day Kansas Tri-Duals in Lawrence, Kansas on Oct. 25-26.