INDIANAPOLIS— Cassie Wright received All-American honorable mention honors with her 13th place finish in the 200 backstroke as the University of Sioux Falls Swimming Team concluded a history-making performance and claimed 20th place at the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships which concluded Saturday (March 16).

A year ago in the 2018 NCAA Championships, USF scored 51 points, placing them in the top 25 for the first time as a program (21st) in their second year of competition. USF's 60-point total and 20th place finish this year is the highest in USF's short three-year program history.

The top-20 finish by his team was a very pleasing result for USF Head Swimming Coach Chris Hamstra, whose team had two All-American honors, and four honorable All-American performances at the 2019 championships..

"We are extremely proud of our swimmers! They fought very hard to bring home another top 25 national finish," said Hamstra. "This (NCAA DII Championships) was a tremendous learning experience for our team which now understands what it takes to be successful at the national level. We learned about mental toughness and fortitude and it is my hope that this experience and these lessons will last a lifetime," he said.

On Saturday night, Wright concluded things for the USF Swimming Team with another stellar effort. She posted a 28.46 split during the first length of the race which positioned her fifth in the 'B' final (13th overall) with three lengths to go. At the mid-way point of the contest, Wright clocked a 30.54 split (59.00 overall) and fell back to sixth in the 'B' final. With one length to go, Wright sat in sixth place with an overall time of 1:30.01. As she entered the final stretch, Wright found another gear and posted a 29.76 split, which was the fastest final length split of the 'B' finals. She passed one swimmer on her way to a 1:59.77 and 13th place result. 

Earlier this morning, Wright clocked a 2:00.12 finish, which was the 11th fastest in the preliminary rounds. 

Already during this championship, Wright has earned All-American recognition with her seventh place showing in the 100 backstroke. Wright has also played a major role in the All-American 400 medley relay team, as well as the All-American honorable mention 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay squads. In her two years at USF she has four All American honors including three as an individual.

In yesterday's (March 15) competition, Wright earned All-American honors in the 100 backstroke and Ella Johnson received All-American honorable mention in the 200 butterfly as the other individual All-American or honorable mention honors for USF this week.

On Thursday (March 14) the USF 400 Medley Relay squad became the first relay in school history to earn All-American honors. In addition, USF's 200 freestye relay became the second relay in two nights to earn honorable All-American honors.

On (Wednesday, March 13) the opening day of the championships, USF's 200 medley relay was 12th and also earned honorable mention All-American honors. And, it means that USF's three relays at the championship stood up in a big way. Each earned either All-American (400 medley) or honorable mention All-American (200 medley, 200 free. To finish All-American, a relay had to qualify in the top eight and honorable mention All-American honors goes to relays ranked 9-16. 

"I have to tell you I am extraordinarily proud of this team," said Hamstra. "We have a lot to build on and we can't wait to get to work."