SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) – South Dakota sophomore Jake Leichner won the 100 IM and Maddie Lavin set a school record on the final day of the Summit League swimming and diving championships presented by the U.S. Air Force Special Warfare.
The Coyote men and women each finished as Summit League runners-up, the men’s team for the third straight year with a school-record 706.5 points and the women’s team for the second consecutive season, with 656 points.
Leichner claimed the Coyotes first-ever Summit League title by an individual swimmer when he swam 50.77 to nose out teammate Elbert Chuang (51.72) in the final of the 100 IM on Saturday at the Midco Aquatic Center.
Leichner’s time was just shy of his school-record 50.67 while Chuang’s time was a personal best that moved the sophomore into third on the Coyote top 10 list.
Leichner earned individual all-conference honors for the second time in his career while Chuang earned his second all-league honor of this year’s meet.
Lavin, meanwhile, blazed to a 2:02.91 clocking, becoming the first Coyote female to break 2:03 in the 200 butterfly. The hometown product broke the old school record of 2:03.27 set in 2017 by Morgan Holt. Lavin finished third in the race to earn her first career individual all-conference honor in the pool.
Also earning all-conference honors on Saturday were junior Haley Pederson and sophomore Isabel Fairbanks.
Pederson placed second in the three-meter diving competition with a season-best of 291.35 points, an NCAA Zone Qualifying mark. She earned all-conference honors in both diving events for the second consecutive season.
Fairbanks finished third in the 100 IM with a time of 58.19.
Both the men’s and women’s 400 free relay teams earned all-conference honors as the men’s quartet of Zachary Kopp, Charlie Bean, Cooper Fuchs, and Leichner swam 3:01.16 for second. The women’s foursome of Meghan Atwell, Ashley Storm, Emily Johnson, and Jordyn Schnell placed third in 3:28.76.
A trio of Coyotes earned top-eight finishes in the 200 back as senior Sabrina Sabadeanu was fourth in 2:02.89, sophomore Lucie Anderson fifth with a personal best of 2:03.67 and sophomore Kristen Quigley, seventh in 2:04.74.
Maria Mattaini, a freshman, swam a personal best 17:23.32 to finish fourth in the 1650 free while sophomore Leah Drengenberg was fifth in a personal best 17:30.00. Mattani moved into third on the all-time list while Drengenberg moved up to fourth.
Cassie Ketterling posted a seventh-place finish in the 100 IM (59.26) while Naomi Bingham had a personal best 244.95 in the three-meter diving competition to finish fifth and move into 10th on the all-time list. Also on the three-meter board, Sydney Fulton was eighth with 222.95.
Schnell, a sophomore, swam a personal best 51.85 to finish sixth in the 100 free and move up to fifth all-time while freshman Emily Johnson also swam a personal best of 52.21 to place eighth and move into 8th on the all-time list.
Malaina Fragnito, a freshman, posted a personal best of 2:24.06 in the 200 breaststroke to move into eighth on the all-time list.
On the men’s side, freshman Mack Sathre finished fourth in the 100 IM in 52.26 after setting a personal best of 51.81 in the morning prelims.
Mark Vanderzee was sixth in the 1650 free (16:21.60), Brady Torborg seventh in the 200 back (1:53.99), Zachary Kopp seventh in the 10 free (45.38), while Jacob Won was fifth (1:52.14) and Griffin Wolner eighth (1:53.18) in the 200 fly.
(this report was contributed by Jason Cowley Sports Information Assistant University of South Dakota)
