SIOUX FALLS—The University of Sioux Falls Swimming Team (4-2) will conclude their home schedule as they face Iowa Lakes Community College (2-2) on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Midco Aquatic Center in nonconference action. This matchup will be the Cougar's last dual meet of the season.
 
The Cougars, directed by head coach Chris Hamstra, will face the Lakers for the first time program history.
 
USF, which has opened with four wins in six duals, began their 2018-19 season by dominating U-Mary, 164-112 at the Midco Aquatic Center in Sioux Falls. At that meet, USF won 13-of-16 events and set two school records. USF then traveled to the NSIC preseason favorite Minnesota State and fell, 161-136, but won the swimming portion of the meet. USF defeated MSU Moorhead, 179-111, and traveled to rival Augustana and rolled to a 163-98 decision in a dominating performance. USF also swam to an impressive third-place finish at Rochester Invite and dropped a home dual to NCAA DI Nebraska Omaha, 169.5-124.5, on Dec. 18. Most recently the Cougars won 9-of-11 events as they cruised to a 126-76 victory at Northern State.
 
Last time out – USF recorded win at NSU
Sophomore All-American Cassie Wright claimed three total victories during the meet which included swimming the opening leg of the first place 200-yard medley relay team along with Chantal Kasch, Ella Johnson and Leah Eagleton. Wright also took the top time in the 50 free (24.52) edging out teammate Tori Bailey who finished just behind Wright with a time of 26.50. Wright dominated the 200 back (2:05.43), where she defeated NSU's Ashley Dunn (2:22.22) by almost 17 seconds.
 
Freshman Jenna Krahn also recorded three overall first place finishes as she swam the third leg of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team with teammates Elizabeth Spaans, Nina Groene and Giulia Marcon. Krahn took the top overall time in the 200 free (1:59.66) where she finished ahead of Johnson (2:01.42) and Groene (2:02.40), and recorded the top time in the 100 free with a time of 55.09.
 
Aside from anchoring the first-place 400 relay, Marcon also recorded the top finish in the 1000 free with a time of 10:56.35. USF sophomore Alex Sanchez-Clark claimed the second overall finish with a time of 11:03.33 and was followed by teammate Evelyn Van De Mark with a third place finish (11:11.73).
 
Spaans claimed the top overall time in the 500 free with a time of 5:18.05 where she defeated MSU swimmer Maida Walters (5:34.03) by almost 16 seconds. Spaans also gained a second place finish in the 200 IM after clocking a time of 2:14.14 behind NSU swimmer Hannah Kastigar, who clocked a NCAA 'B' cut time of 2:05.29.
 
Wright, Kasch, Marcon and Johnson have had strong seasons
Already this season, sophomore All-American Wright has captured the school record in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.33), the 200 back (2:05.70) by more than nine seconds, and the 200 IM (2:08.45). Wright set the 200 IM school record against U-Mary after posting a time of 2:11.08, but quickly passed that time in the meet against MSU. At the Rochester Invite, Wright finished first in the 100 back with a B cut time of 54.77 in which she beat the second place finisher by over two seconds. She also captured the 200 back title with another B cut time of 2:02.30. Most recently against NSU, Wright claimed two individual victories in the 50 free (24.52), and the 200 back 2:05.43) where she defeated the second place finisher by almost 17 seconds.
 
Wright, who has won 15 individual events in six duals, ranks first in NSIC in the 100 breaststroke, first in the 200 individual medley and second in the 200 backstroke.
 
Following her impressive showing at the dual meet with Augustana where she won three individual events and anchored a winning relay squad event, Wright of Christchurch, New Zealand, earned her third NSIC Swimmer of the Week honor. It was her second NSIC weekly honor this season. As a program, USF program has four total NSIC Swimmer of the Week honors (Ingelin Lima, Nov. 21, 2017; Wright, Feb. 6, 2018; Wright, Oct. 26 2018) in three years in the league.
 
 
Kasch, who has recorded seven individual titles this year, opened the year with a strong effort against U-Mary. She won the 200 breaststroke (2:24.06), which lowered her own school record. Kasch has also posted second place finishes in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.55) against U-Mary, and won both the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.47 and the 200 breaststroke in 2:27.72 against MSU. Kasch was a three-event winner against MSUM as she also captured two individual events of her own in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.77) and 200 breaststroke (2:25.85). Against Augustana, Kasch finished with the top time in the 200 breaststroke (2:26.56) as she defeated the second place finisher by over four seconds and grabbed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.57).
 
At the Rochester invite, Kasch set a school record in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.37 for a fifth place finish. The next day, Kasch set another school record in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:23.44, which was good for a fifth place finish in that event. Against NSU, Kasch recorded an individual first place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:26.63 where she defeated the second place finisher, NSU swimmer Shayna Asuncion (2:41.08), by almost 14 seconds.  
 
Marcon, who has recorded seven individual wins this year, has had an outstanding start to the season. Among her wins were the individual titles in the 200 free (1:57.84) and the 500 free (5:20.89) against MSUM.
 
Freshman Ella Johnson, who has accumulated 11 individual victories this season, opened the season by capturing the 100 butterfly (58.51), and the 200 butterfly (2:08.68) against MSUM. Johnson also played a crucial role in both relays as she swam the first leg of the 400 free relay. She picked up two individual wins against MSU with a 2:08.32 clocking in the 200 butterfly for a pool record. She also won the 100 butterfly in 58.26. Johnson had a pair of wins against U-Mary in the 200 butterfly (2:08.62) and the 100 butterfly (58.95), as well as two wins against Augustana in the 200 butterfly (2:08.14) and the 100 butterfly (58.14). At the Rochester Invite, Johnson posted a new school record in the 200 fly with a time of 2:06.04 as she finished with the top overall time in that event. Most recently Johnson was victorious in the 100 butterfly in 57.92 and the 200 butterfly in 2:07.43.