2026 COYOTE INVITE
- January 30-31, 2026
- Vermillion, S.D.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: South Dakota Athletics
VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota hosted a successful invite this weekend at the USD Natatorium while securing 18 event wins and establishing 12 new pool records.
DAY ONE
Day one consisted of the men’s 1 meter dive, the women’s 3 meter dive, and a handful of swimming events for the Friday night session. The highest placing diver of the day was Maddox Mork as he scored a 262.55 in the men’s 1 meter.
Two individuals placed first throughout the swimming events. Shyann Kissinger won the 500 free with a time of 5:05.28 setting a new pool record. Chloe Miller set a pool record of her own for the 50 free in 23.81.
The Yotes also took three relay wins. Miller, Anna Balfanz, Carson White, and Henley Hatzung won the 200 free relay to kick off the night. Gabbie Ahrendt, Taylor Buhr, Dawsyn Green, and Hatzung later set a new pool record in the 400 medley relay at 3:52.17. And lastly, Joaquin Contreras-Fallico, Ethan LaBounty, Dylan Alt, and James Schreiber won the 400 medley relay for the men’s team.
DAY TWO
Morning Session:
The morning brought another relay win, along with six more individual wins which broke six more pool records.
Ahrednt and Xander Taylor both won the 400 IM, with Ahrendt’s time of 4:33.63 breaking the previous pool record and putting her 9th in the Coyote Top 10. Nick Rounds broke a pool record in the 200 freestyle in 1:38.93 and entered the Coyote Top 10 in 4th place.
Taylor Buhr set a new pool record in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.31. Kissinger and Alex Parkinson both set new pool standards as they swam the mile in 17:37.22 and 15:47.00.
Four Coyotes also took the 200 medley relay pool record when Contreras-Fallico, LaBounty, Alt, and Rounds swam the race in 1:30.40 for the win.
Between swim session the divers competed on the boards once again. The men’s team of Mork, Charlie Matthews, and Mason Evenson took first place in the team diving event with a score of 282.30.
Evening Session:
The Evening started with a win and a new pool record from Buhr in the 100 IM. Rounds also took a second individual win when he took the 200 back. USD then took double wins in the 100 free thanks to Madilyn Gehrke and Schreiber. Lastly, Contreras-Fallico won the 200 butterfly and cemented a new pool record in the process.
Coyote Event Wins
| 50 Freestyle | Chloe Miller | 23.81* |
| 100 Breaststroke | Taylor Buhr | 1:03.31* |
| 100 Ind. Medley | Taylor Buhr | 57.62* |
| 100 Freestyle | Madilyn Gehrke | 52.60 |
| 100 Freestyle | James Schreiber | 45.57* |
| 200 Backstroke | Nick Rounds | 1:50.24 |
| 200 Butterfly | Joaquin Contreras-Fallico | 1:52.68* |
| 200 Freestyle | Nick Rounds | 1:38.93* |
| 400 Ind. Medley | Gabbie Ahrendt | 4:33.63* |
| 400 Ind. Medley | Xander Taylor | 4:12.52 |
| 500 Freestyle | Shyann Kissinger | 5:05.28* |
| 1650 Freestyle | Shyann Kissinger | 17:37.22* |
| 1650 Freestyle | Alex Parkinson | 15:47.00* |
| 200 Freestyle Relay | Miller, Balfanz, White, Hatzung | 1:35.15 |
| 200 Medley Relay | Contreras-Fallico, LaBounty, Alt, Rounds | 1:30.40* |
| 400 Medley Relay | Ahrendt, Buhr, Green, Hatzung | 3:52.17* |
| 400 Medley Relay | Contreras-Fallico, LaBounty, Alt, Schreiber | 3:20.31 |
| Team Diving | Mork, Matthews, Evenson | 282.30 |
UP NEXT
The Yotes will take a couple weeks to train before competing in the Summit League Championship in Iowa City, Iowa on February 18-21.
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
VERMILLION — Three South Dakota State women’s swimmers won event titles and etched their names into the Jackrabbits’ top-10 lists to close out competition at the Coyote Invite Saturday at the USD Natatorium.
Jenna Currier led the way with a pair of top-10 performances — one in each of the morning and evening sessions. A senior from Denison, Iowa, Currier opened the day by winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 52.76 seconds, a mark that tied her with teammate Aubrey Douds for 10th place on the SDSU career charts.
Currier came back in the evening session with the fourth-fastest mark in program history in the 100 individual medley with a runner-up time of 57.89 seconds.
Mia Pendleton contributed a runner-up finish of her own in the 100 freestyle with her time of 52.62 seconds.
Junior Gigi Hioki clocked the second-fastest time in program history in the 200 butterfly during the evening session with a winning time of 2:04.83 seconds. Hioki previously held the sixth spot on the SDSU leaderboard with a mark of 2:05.46 established a year ago.
Hioki also notched a fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly, 58.32 seconds, while freshman Mallory Knutson placed sixth in 58.41 seconds. Knutson later placed fourth in the 200 butterfly Saturday night for SDSU with a time of 2:12.24.
In the 200 breaststroke, event winner Emma Ingalls took over the No. 7 spot on the Jackrabbit career charts with her time of 2:19.71. Ingalls led a group of four SDSU swimmers in the top five as Hannah Miller was runner-up in 2:23.97, with Marissa Branham taking fourth (2:25.99) and Douds finishing fifth in 2:26.46.
During competition Saturday morning, Ingalls placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke after clocking a time of 1:05.02. Douds again placed fifth in 1:06.75.
Kailee Crane paced the Jackrabbits in the longest races of the day, finishing third in the 400 individual medley, 4:36.73, and fourth in the 1,650 freestyle, 18:32.35.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will be in training until the Summit League Championships Feb. 18-21 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Courtesy: UNI Athletics
VERMILLION, S.D. — The UNI swimming and diving team captured seven event titles this weekend at the Coyote Invitational, its penultimate meet ahead of next month’s Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championships.
Competing against a crowded field, Northern Iowa saw three swimmers make their way into the top ten all-time lists in program history in the 200-yard individual medley, 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard backstroke.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Action started Friday night with the 200-yard freestyle relay that saw the UNI squad of Charlotte Sander, Morgan Raether, Sabra Brueggen and Averie Bilskemper take second with a time of 1:35.87. Elyse Brayton, Nikki Walters, Molly Johnson and Natalie Harris followed right behind in third in 1:36.11. Julia Eastman put on a strong showing in the 500-yard freestyle, taking fourth with a time of 5:11.85, as Kirsten Tarran took eighth in the event (5:13.04).
The 200-yard individual medley action saw the Panthers dominate with a podium sweep, including Aspen Cole taking first in 2:05.42, swimming a personal best and moving her to sixth on the top-ten all-time list for the event. Brayton would swim a 2:07.33 to claim second, while Harris would take third at 2:07.54. Abby Lear meanwhile finished second in the 50-yard freestyle swimming with a time of 24.06, with Raether taking fourth (24.20) and Sander finishing sixth (24.26) to close out day one of competition.
Saturday morning competition started with the 200-yard medley relay, which saw the team of Raether, Cole, Sander and Morgan Meyer come out on top with a time of 1:43.54. Brayton, Aird, Nedder and Bilskemper would go on to claim third in 1:45.03. Walters and Harris would place first and second in the 100-yard butterfly with times of 56.65 and 56.97, as Eastman claimed seventh (58.63).
Continuing with the morning session was the 400-yard individual medley, where Aird placed fourth in the event (4:37.49), as Peyton Pasqualicchio took sixth (4:38.75) and Crystal Benjamin seventh (4:39.55). Sam Oeltjen and Abigail Barkhurst showed off their speed in the 200-yard freestyle by tying for second in the event at 1:53.94, with Cassidy Miklos taking sixth (1:55.88).
Neriah Giedrys had a strong showing in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming a 1:04.16 for second place, moving her to sixth on the top ten all-time list. Sander would follow Giedrys in eighth at 1:08.33. Meyer took first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 56.18, moving her to ninth on the top ten all-time list. Ceci Nicholson secured fifth (58.97) and Lear seventh (59.04) in the event.
Saturday night kicked off with the 400-yard individual medley in which Cole placed fourth with a time of 59.01, while Sander placed fifth (59.51) and Johnson in sixth (59.67). Meyer and Peyton Paqualicchio took first and second in the 200-yard backstroke with times of 2:04.13 and 2:05.73 while Jennifer Barajas took sixth (2:09.99).
Harris and Brayton placed third and fourth in the 100-yard freestyle at 52.71 and 53.13, as Walters and Eastman claimed sixth and seventh in the 200-yard breaststroke with times of 2:27.77 and 2:29.74. Rounding out the night in the 200-yard butterfly was Nedder as she placed third in the event with a time of 2:10.05.
In the diving well, Friday night’s three-meter action saw Erica Peters take first in the event with a score of 242.40, with Avery Hogan close behind in second (240.40), followed by Addison Bausman in sixth (226.20), Trista Thompson eighth (212.90), and Eva Coonrad tenth (204.90). One-meter saw a Panther podium sweep as Peters (258.10), Thompson (250.70) and Hogan (245.20) took first, second, and third respectively.
UP NEXT
The Panther divers will head to Omaha, Nebraska to compete in the UNO Diving Invite set to be held at H&K Pool Feb. 6-7. Competition will start Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT and continue Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Courtesy: Omaha Athletics
VERMILLION, S.D. – Omaha men’s and women’s swimming and diving competed at the Coyote Invite, hosted by the University of South Dakota, from Jan. 30–31.
The Mavericks combined for three individual first-place finishes over the two-day meet.
On the men’s side, freshman swimmer Mason Zadina (Omaha, Neb.) won the 100-yard breaststroke with a personal-best time of 56.02, ranking him among the Summit League’s top 16 performers in the event. Senior Jace Walker (Houston, Texas) captured first in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 50.75.
Freshman Brady Wainionpaa (Hudson, WI) claimed the top spot in the 100 individual medley with a time of 50.43 and currently ranks third on the Summit League’s top-five list in the 100 breaststroke.
Omaha also found success in the relays, as the men won both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The women added a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
On the boards, sophomore diver Owen Kipp (Eagan, Minn.) delivered a strong showing, winning the 3-meter dive with a score of 313.30 and placing second in the 1-meter dive with 268.30 points. Kipp ranks second on the Summit League’s 3-meter diving list with a season-best score of 353.40, trailing only teammate Nathan Frette (371.40).
“This is always a fun meet for our team to swim some off events and brush up on race strategies going into conference,” said head coach Jessica Hessel. “The icing on the cake for me is to see some new races that we can start to develop into next season. There was energy, lots of support for each other and we ended up with some pool records.”
“This was the team’s chance to get to dive in a larger field heading into the Summit Championships,” said diving coach Eric Sprague. “The group responded well and we have a lot of positives to take from the weekend.”
