South Dakota State vs Augustana
- October 6, 2023
- Brookings, S.D.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: SDSU Athletics
Gigi Hioki and Zoey Ahrens each won two individual freestyle events to lead the South Dakota State women’s swimming and diving team to a 146-95 victory over Augustana in the Jackrabbits’ season-opening dual Friday at the Marshall Center Pool.
A freshman from Liberty Lake, Washington, Hioki first claimed the 200-yard freestyle in her collegiate debut by clocking a winning time of 1 minute, 56.10 seconds, followed by a victory in 54.50 seconds in the 100 freestyle.
Teammate Gabriella Gnewuch added runner-up finishes for SDSU in both events with respective times of 1:59.38 and 55.38 seconds.
Hioki and Gnewuch closed out the meet by forming one half of the Jackrabbits’ winning 400 freestyle relay, teaming with Kelsey Kocon and Emma Walz for a time of 3:35.00. Walz also swam the anchor leg on SDSU’s victorious 200 medley relay, combining for a time of 1:47.22 with Sianne Downes, Emma Bachelder and Jenna Currier.
Ahrens, a senior from Bettendorf, Iowa, paced the Jackrabbits in the distance events by winning both the 1,000 and 500 freestyle races. She turned in a time of 10:57.96 to win the 1,000, then touched the wall for the final time in 5:21.04 to win the 500.
Another freshman, Poppy Mead, was strong in two grueling events for SDSU, winning the 200 butterfly in 2:12.02 and placing second in the 1,000 freestyle in 11:08.62.
In all, SDSU won event titles in 10 of the 13 events contested. Downes and Kocon also were individual winners for the Jackrabbits with Downes claiming the 200 backstroke (2:05.17) and Kocon leading an SDSU sweep of the top three spots in the 200 individual medley (2:13.60).
Downes placed second in the 200 IM (2:13.91) with Sara Juez taking third in 2:18.01.
Freshman diver Anna Mei Castro closed out the list of Jackrabbit victories by scoring 252.30 points in 3-meter diving. She added a runner-up finish on the 1-meter board with 223.58 points.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close out their weekend homestand by hosting Iowa Central in dual action at 1 p.m. Saturday.
South Dakota State dominated its season-opening swimming and diving dual from start to finish Friday afternoon, cruising past Augustana, 150-79, at the Marshall Center Pool.
The Jackrabbits won all 11 swimming races in their season opener and received two victories each from Eric Anderson, Denilson Cyprianos and Cody Vertin.
Anderson, a junior from Fargo, claimed the sprint freestyle events, winning the 50-yard race in 21.06 seconds and the 100 free in 46.35 seconds. SDSU swept the top three spots in the 50 as Liam Murray placed second (:21.56) and Aiden Carstensen took third (:21.97).
Cyprianos posted a winning time of 9 minutes, 58.48 seconds in the 1,000 freestyle, with the Zimbabwe native coming back in the second half of the meet to turn in a victorious time of 1:54.20 in the 200 backstroke.
A freshman from Brookings, Vertin blew past the rest of the field in both of his individual races. He claimed the 200 individual in 1:53.60, six seconds faster than teammate Bryan Wong, then closed out his first collegiate competition by posting a time of 2:05.79 in the 200 breaststroke that moved him into the SDSU all-time top 10 and was nearly 13 seconds faster than his nearest competitor.
Vertin also teamed with Rafael Negri, Austin Smith and Murray to open the meet with a victory in the 200 medley relay.
Other individual winners for the Jackrabbits included Sam Johnson in the 200 freestyle (1:44.70), Braxton McGrath in the 200 butterfly (1:57.40) and Jack Ellison in the 500 freestyle (4:48.67). Johnson led a Jackrabbit sweep of the podium spots in the 200 free as Smith was second in 1:45.82 and Ellison took third in 1;47.62.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit victory was a victory in the 400 freestyle relay as the quartet of Cyprianos, Anderson, Negri and Johnson clocked a winning time of 3:08.67.
Augustana’s lone victories came in the diving events as David Binsfeld finished atop the leaderboard with respective scores of 220.73 and 260.78 points in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions. Reece Reid was SDSU’s lone competitor in diving, with his top finish a runner-up effort on the 3-meter board with 231.38 points.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits wrap up their opening weekend of competition by hosting Iowa Central in dual action at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Courtesy: Augustana Athletics
BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Augustana swimming & diving teams competed on the road for the first time in 2023-24 but ultimately fell short in duals with South Dakota State.
Final Score for Women
South Dakota State 146, Augustana 95
Final Score for Men
South Dakota State 150, Augustana 79
In the Fast Lane
- Bryn Greenwaldt claimed victory in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 23.96.
- Nesrine Jelliti earned the victory in the 200-breaststroke in a time of 2:26.74.
- Gaja Valant earned a personal-best time of 5:33.66 in the women’s 500-free while finishing third.
- Will Kotaiik earned a runner-up placing in the men’s 500-free in a time 5:07.08.
Off the Boards
- David Binsfeld swept the men’s diving portion including a new school record at 3 meters
- Binsfeld tallied 260.78 points off the 3-meter board to top the previous school record by 22 points.
- He claimed first place at 1 meter with 220.73 points while Caden Kavanagh placed second with 216.15 points.
- Avery Lommel reset the school record at 3 meters for the women with 231.6 points while placing second.
- Kate Robbins won the 1-meter dive with 226.95 points.
Up Next
The Vikings make the trip to St. Paul, Minnesota, to face another NCAA Division I foe in St. Thomas. The dual gets underway at 11 a.m. A live stream is available on the Summit League Network for subscription fee.
