Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics
South Dakota head swimming and diving coach Jason Mahowald is pleased to announce the hiring of Joseph Gucwa III as the newest addition to the staff. Gucwa will serve as the diving coach and comes to South Dakota after four seasons at Saginaw Valley State University.
“We are super excited for Joe to join our staff,” said Mahowald. “Joe’s experience developing the diving program at Saginaw Valley State made him a clear choice to be our next head diving coach.”
The Cardinals had a diver appear at the NCAA Division II National Championships in each year under Gucwa’s guidance. In his first season in 2018-19, diver Libby Caird qualified for the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships and finished in 15th place in the one-meter diving event. She earned All-American honors after 385.45 points. Gucwa again helped Caird to the NCAA Championship meet in the 2019-20 season.
The 2020-21 season brought more success for Gucwa and his divers. Half of the divers for the Cardinals qualified for the national meet including the third straight appearance for Caird. Gucwa made history for the Cardinals when his diver, Justin Ott, became the first ever NCAA First Team All-American for the men’s program after a seventh-place finish at the national meet. Gucwa was noticed for his work at the end of the season as he was nominated for SVSU Coach of the Year.
This past season, Gucwa had two divers win Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference titles. Caird claimed the one-meter title and finished in second in the three-meter event while Adrien McGill won both the one-meter and three-meter titles on the men’s side. Both Caird and McGill earned GLIAC Diver of the Year awards following the conference meet, and both received Honorable Mention All-American honors at the NCAA Championship meet.
“I’m extremely blessed at the opportunity to continue my coaching career at the University of South Dakota,” said Gucwa. “The coaching staff and team really present a family-oriented core and that’s something that I look for in a program. I’m super excited to join the family and continue to elevate the diving program. Go Yotes!”
A native of Naperville, Illinois, Gucwa was a member of the swimming and diving team while attending Grand Valley State University. He was an eight-time All-American for the Lakers from 2015-2017. He earned a National First Team All-American honor after finishing third in the three-meter dive with a score of 472.10 at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Gucwa obtained his bachelor’s degree in communications from Grand Valley State in 2019.
Go Yotes #YipYip