St. Cloud State Wins Comeback NSIC Title Over Minnesota State

Press releases courtesy of the NSIC (NCAA Division II):

Full results

Day 1

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  – The 2019 NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships got underway with four event finals taking place on Wednesday night from the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  St. Cloud State leads after day one with 134 team points and holds a 23 point lead over the defending champs of Minnesota State (111). Three NSIC records were set in the four finals that took place on day one.

The top three finalists in each individual event and top two finalists in each relay event will be recognized as NSIC All-Conference during the meet.

In the 200 individual medley it was Northern State’s Hannah Kastigar winning in a time of 1:59.57. Her time set a new NSIC record, surpassing her own record of 2:01.07 set back in 2017.  Finishing second was MSU’s Lily Borgenheimer with a time of 2:03.55 while Lizzy Spaans of Sioux Falls was third in a time of 2:06.51.

St. Cloud State’s Chelsea Gehrke won the 50 freestyle in a time of 22.93, breaking the NSIC record previously held by Cheyenne Rove of Minnesota State (23.05 in 2017). Sioux Falls’ Cassandra Wright was second at 23.12 while Jen Thompson of St. Cloud State was third with a time of 23.13.

The University of Mary took two of the top three times in the 1000m freestyle.  Victoria Murillo won the event in a time of 10:17.20.  Augustana’s Taylor Beagle was second in a time of 10:21.55 while UMary’s Andrea Lee was third with a time of 10:21.77.

In the 200-medley relay both Minnesota State and St. Cloud State earned All-NSIC honors for finishing first and second. MSU won the event with an NSIC record time of 1:43.33 while SCSU came in with a time of 1:43.38. MSU’s team consisted of Brooke Miles, Lily Borgenheimer, Katie Streiff and Maggie Knier.  The SCSU team was comprised of Marena Kouba, Alexis Burroughs, Annie Hart and Jen Thompson. MSU set a new NSIC record in the event as it broke the 2017 MSU record of 1:43.35.

The NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday, Feb. 16. Seven NSIC teams will compete over four days for the NSIC Championship.

Thursday’s trial sessions will begin at 10 a.m. with the finals set for 6 p.m. Thursday will have the 200 freestyle relay, the 400 IM, the 100 butterfly, the 200 freestyle, the one-meter diving competition and the 400 medley relay.

The top three finalists in each individual event and top two finalists in each relay event will be recognized as NSIC All-Conference during the meet. A Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, Freshman of Year, Swim Coach of the Year and Dive Coach of the Year will also be voted on by the coaches during the event. Finally, at the conclusion of the meet, the swimmer with the most points will be named the NSIC Swimmer of the Meet and the diver with the most points will be named NSIC Diver of the Meet.

For more information on the NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships, including daily schedules, ticket prices and links to results, visit the championship website at www.NorthernSun.org/NSICSD.

Women – Team Rankings – Day 1

Day 2

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2019 NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships continued with six event finals taking place on Thursday night from the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The defending NSIC Champions of Minnesota State moved into the lead as the Mavericks surpassed day one leader St. Cloud State. MSU now has 450 points while SCSU is right behind with 445 points after the second of four days of competition. Records were set in the 400 yard IM and the 400 yard Medley Relay.

Northern State’s Hannah Kastigar picked up here second victory of the championship as she won the 400 yard IM in an NCAA “A” cut time of 4:14.96, well under the NCAA standard of 4:17.69.  That also broke her NSIC record of 4:18.00 set back in 2017.  This marks her second win and second NSIC record set of the championship. Finishing in second place was Minnesota State’s Lily Borgenheimer (4:27.81 – NCAA “B”) and Kelsey Gilbert of Augustana was third (4:30.77).

Sioux Falls won the 400 yard Medley Relay in a time of 3:45.23.  Cassandra Wright, Chantal Kasch, Ella Johnson and Giulia Marcon were on the winning team that set the NSIC record, breaking the 2017 record of 3:47.62 of MSU.  Minnesota State was second with a time of 3:48.11 (Brooke Miles, Lily Borgenheimer, Katie Streiff and Maggie Knier).

Sioux Falls Ella Johnson won the 100 yard Butterfly with her time of 55.02 while UMary’s Abbey Zajdzinski was second with a time of 55.17.  Chelsea Gehrke of St. Cloud State was third with a time of 55.45. All three times were under the NCAA “B” cut time of 56.04.

UMary’s Victoria Murillo won the 200 yard Freestyle in a NCAA “B” cut time of 1:50.90 while St. Cloud State’s Christina Ware was second at 1:52.14.  Sioux Falls’ Giulia Marcon was third with a time of 1:52.47. All three finished under the NCAA “B” cut time of 1:53.55.

The St. Cloud State team of Jen Thompson, Chelsea Gehrke, Leann Mengelkoch and Alexis Burroughs won the 200 yard Freestyle Relay in a time of 1:34.09. That is under the NCAA provisional time of 1:34.42. Sioux Falls was second with a time of 1:34.48. That team was comprised of Jenna Krahn, Lizzy Spaans, Leah Eagleton, and Giulia Marcon.

St. Cloud State’s Britin Thomsen won the 1m diving championship with her score of 420.15.  Teammates Rebekah Stone (3.99.35) and Alyssa Doherty (3.96.35) finished second and third.

The NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday, Feb. 16. Seven NSIC teams will compete over four days for the NSIC Championship. Friday’s trial sessions will begin at 10 a.m. with the finals set for 6 p.m. Friday will have the 500 freestyle, the 100 backstroke, the 100 breaststroke, the 200 butterfly, and the 800 freestyle relay.

The top three finalists in each individual event and top two finalists in each relay event will be recognized as NSIC All-Conference during the meet. A Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, Freshman of Year, Swim Coach of the Year and Dive Coach of the Year will also be voted on by the coaches during the event. Finally, at the conclusion of the meet, the swimmer with the most points will be named the NSIC Swimmer of the Meet and the diver with the most points will be named NSIC Diver of the Meet.

For more information on the NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships, including daily schedules, ticket prices and links to results, visit the championship website at www.NorthernSun.org/NSICSD.

Team Scores – Day 2

Day 3

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Minnesota State extended its lead at the 2019 NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships after day three as five more event finals took place on Friday night from the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Minnesota State, the defending NSIC Champions, have 634 points and hold a 14.5 point lead over St. Cloud State (619.5) with one day of competition remaining.  Three more records were set on day three, as eight records have fell at this year’s championship.

Sioux Falls’ Cassandra Wright set the NSIC record in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 53.80 to surpass the 2017 time of Erin Sullivan (MSUM – 54.24).  St. Cloud State’s Annie Hart was second at 56.51 while teammate Marena Kouba was third with a time of 56.51.

In the 100 yard breaststroke Lily Borgenheimer set a new NSIC record with a time of 1:02.07 while Sioux Falls Chantal Kasch was second with a time of 1:04.02.  Taylor Beynon of MSUM was third at 1:04.13.

In the 200 yard butterfly Hannah Kastigar set her third record of the championship as she won the event in a time of 1:58.50, breaking her own record from 2017 by under half a second.  Sioux Falls’ Ella Johnson was second at 2:00.08 and UMary’s Abbey Zajdzinski was third with a time of 2:06.33.

In the 500 freestyle it was UMary’s Victoria Murillo winning with a time of 4:58.91 while Augustana took the next two spots with Taylor Beagle clocking a time of 5:01.99 and Emma Miller finishing at 5:03.27.

In the 800 yard freestyle it was the Augustana team of Emma Miller, Taylor Beagle, Kelsey Gilbert and Destini Oehlertz winning with a time of 7:37.99.  The Minnesota State team of Lily Borgenheimer, Kayla Rinderknecht, Emelia Selky and Kelly Leonard was second with a time of 7:38.73

The NSIC Swimming & Diving Championships continue through Saturday, Feb. 16. Seven NSIC teams will compete over four days for the NSIC Championship.  Saturday’s trial sessions will begin at 10 a.m. with the finals set for 6 p.m. Finals will include the 1650 Freestyle, the 100 Individual Medley, the 100 Freestyle, the 200 Backstroke, the 200 Breaststroke, Three-Meter Diving and the 400 Freestyle Relay.

The top three finalists in each individual event and top two finalists in each relay event will be recognized as NSIC All-Conference during the meet. A Swimmer of the Year, Diver of the Year, Freshman of Year, Swim Coach of the Year and Dive Coach of the Year will also be voted on by the coaches during the event. Finally, at the conclusion of the meet, the swimmer with the most points will be named the NSIC Swimmer of the Meet and the diver with the most points will be named NSIC Diver of the Meet.

Team Scores – Day 3

Day 4

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  – St. Cloud State won its fourth NSIC Swimming & Diving Championship in the last five years as the Huskies amassed 950.5 points to knock off defending NSIC Championships of Minnesota State (902.5).  SCSU’s Britin Thomsen was voted NSIC Diver of the Year for the third straight season and also earned NSIC Diver of the Meet honors.  SCSU’s Kayla Deters was voted NSIC Diving Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Thomsen swept the diving events as she took home the 3-meter event on Saturday with a score of 438.65.

Five more records fell on the final day of competition, bringing the total to 13 total record breaking performances at this years championship.

The University of Mary’s Allan McCallum was voted by his peers as the NSIC Swimming Coach of the Year.  Northern State’s Hanna Kastigar was voted the NSIC Swimmer of the Year, while Sioux Falls’ Cassie Wright earned NSIC Swimmer of the Meet.  University of Mary’s Victoria Murillo was voted by the league coaches as the NSIC Freshmen of the Year.

Augustana’s Taylor Beagle set the NSIC record in the 1650 yard freestyle with a time of 17:02.46, breaking her own record of 17:08.16 from last season. Cassie Wright won the 100 yard IM in a record time of 56.80 breaking the 2017 record of Taylor Bass (58.44 – MSU).

Sioux Falls Cassandra Wright set the record in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.75m, breaking the 2017 record of Erin Sullivan (MSUM – 2:00.09).  Minnesota State’s Lily Borgenheimer broke her own record by over five seconds in the 200 yard breaststroke with a time of 2:12.78.  The final record breaking performance of the championship came in the 400 yard freestyle relay as St. Cloud State’s team of Jen Thompson, Chelsea Gehrke, Christina Ware and Alexis Burroughs won in a time of 3:23.58 edging the 2017 record of MSU of 3:24.99. The top three finalists in each individual event and top two finalists in each relay event were recognized as All-NSIC performers.

The NCAA will announce the field for the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, Feb 27.  The NCAA Championships, which are held in Indianapolis at the IU Natatorium on March 13-16.

Team Scores – Final