INDIANAPOLIS —
Cassie Wright earns All-American honors in the 100 backstroke and
Ella Johnson received All-American honorable mention in the 200 butterfly as the University of Sioux Falls Swimming Team's impressive showing continued at the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships.
Through three days of competition, USF has accumulated 56 points and stands 15th in team points, which is the highest placement by an NSIC school as Northern State is 17th with 54 points and St. Cloud State 22nd with 31 points. USF has already scored more points than a year ago and have four-time All-American
Cassie Wright swimming the 200 backstroke on Saturday which is the final day of the championships.
"I am amazed at how much these young ladies continue to race," said USF first-year head coach
Chris Hamstra. "Ella and Cassie did not have season best times, but they raced hard and were able to score enough points for USF to climb to 15th place after day three," added Hamstra, who directed USF to a third place finish at the NSIC Championships for the second straight year.
Wright, who individual All-American honors in both the 100 and 200 backstroke a year ago, added another All-American honor as she took seventh in the 100 backstroke 'A' final with a clocking of 54.47.
In the 100 backstroke finals, Wright started off in the first 50-meter length of the race in the eighth spot with a split of 26.63. Wright then stormed back with a 27.84 split, which was the fourth fastest second split of the 'A' finals. Wright's 54.47 clocking earned her a seventh place result and gained USF 12 points as a team. Wright now has four career All-American honors, including three as an individual and as a member of the 400 medley relay (7th). She also has a pair of honorable All-American honors on the 200 medley relay (12th) and 200 free relays (15th).
Johnson, who qualified for the 'B' finals with an 11th place preliminary run of 2:02.02, took 11th in the finals with an improved time of 2:01.59 and received All-American honorable mention honors. Johnson opened with a split of 27.18, which put her third in the 'B' finals heat and 11th overall. At the midpoint in the race, Johnson clocked a 57.79 (30.61 split) where she maintained her position in third. With one length to go, Johnson found herself fifth in the 'B' final with a 1:29.45 posting. She then passed two other swimmers as she recorded a 32.14 final split which gave her an overall finish of 2:01.59.
With Johnson and Wright's performances USF has had two All-American and three honorable mention All American performances in seven events contested.
It has Hamstra feeling proud of his team. "We have really stepped up at nationals. Our student-athletes continues to impress me and I think others here," he said.
On Saturday (March 16), USF will conclude the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships as Wright will compete in the 200 backstroke with the prelim rounds beginning at 10 a.m. Wright is ranked 11th in the 200 backstroke after posting a 1:59.75 clip at the NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships, which set a meet record. A year ago Wright was second in the 200 back at nationals with a 1:57.59 clocking as she earned her second All-American honor after being seeded 26th entering the 2018 nationals.
