FARGO, N.D. – Led by a dominating performance in the 400 medley relay, the University of Sioux Falls Swimming Team continued its strong performance at the NSIC Swimming and Diving Championships which concluded day two on Thursday evening. The conference meet includes two more days of competition with Friday prelims starting at 10 am and finals at 5:30 pm at the Hulbert Aquatic Center.

With a first (400 medley) and second place (200 free) finish in the relays and four individual top-five performances, the Cougars sit in third place with 369.5 points at the NSIC Championships. USF is just behind last year's total of 387. USF also has three NCAA "B" cuts after All-American junior Elizabeth Spaans recorded a 56.22 in leading off the winning 400 medley relay. All-American senior Jenna Krahn had her second "B" cut of the meet in the 50 free in leading off the 200 free relay on Thursday.

Leading the 2021 team points race is Minnesota State with 496 points while St. Cloud State is at 424.5. After USF, U-Mary is fourth at 251.5 with Augustana, fifth at 162.5. On the day, USF had two relays earn All-NSIC honors and three individual also pick up All-NSIC honors. In addition, both Elizabeth Spaans (100 back leadoff in 400 medley relay, 56.22) had an NCAA B cut as did Jenna Krahn in lead off leg of the 200 free relay.

"I feel really good about today's effort. Losing the 200 free relay by .007 was a tough break but we bounced back. We had a freshman (Domenica Solano) finished second in the 100 fly with another freshman (Paulina Ruelas) taking third in the 400 IM and sophomore (Valerie Childs) was third and freshman (Ilinde du Plessis) fifth in the 200 free. So, I am really proud of the way this team continues to perform this year and at these championships," said Hamstra.   

In winning the 400 medley relay, the Cougars set a school record by scoring 72 points in an event with a the "A" squad taking first place and the "B" relay taking third.

"Those team had remarkable performances and accomplished a first in school history. And, to be honest, do something that might not happen again," said Hamstra.

In the 400 medley, Spaans opened with her "B" cut of 56.22 in the 100 back; Kasch recorded 1:03.15 in the 100 breast, Childs followed with a  56.99 in the 100 fly and Krahn closed with a 52.64 in the 100 free.

In the 200 free relay, USF finished second in 1:35.37 and lost by just .007 as St. Cloud State clocked a 1:35.30. In finishing second, the Cougars clocked a time nearly 2.5 seconds faster than their seed time of 1:37.99. USF's relay included Krahn, Spaans, Childs and Ursula Demarquet.  USF also received points from its "B" relay, which finished 10^th in 1:40.25 with a time that was over four seconds better than its seed time. The team included freshman Emily Solarski, senior Gigi Bario, freshman Kaylee Tringali and senior Tori Bailey.

Solano was second in the 100 butterfly in 56.55 while Solarski was 10^th in 58.50.

In the 400 IM, freshman Paulina Ruelas finished third by clocking 4:33.94. Kasch was 7th with a 4:38.97. Both Ruelas and Kasch bettered their prelim times.

Childs placed third in the 200 free with a time of 1:53.43 while du Plessis was fifth in 1:53.66. Also in the event, senior Evelyn VanDeMark was 19^th in 1:58.47.

Through two days, USF has had three relays (200 medley, 400 medley and 200 free) earn All-NSIC honors. Six individuals have earned All-NSIC individual honors (top three individuals in each event) including Spaans (200 IM) Krahn (50 free), and Demarquet (50 free), Ruelas (400 IM), Solano (100 fly), Childs (200 free). Including relays and individual events, USF has had a total of 18 student-athletes earn All-NSIC honors. In total, USF has three titles including two individual crowns (Spaans, 100 IM; Krahn, 50 free) and a relay title (400 medley).

Previewing Friday events at the NSIC Championships – (event, name, placing, time in NSIC seed rankings)
Friday – 500 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly, 800 free relay
500 Free – Valerie Childs, 7^th, 5:23.75; Abigail Ford, 8^th, 5:23.77; Evelyn VanDeMark, 10^th, 5:24.70; Paulina Ruelas, 12^th, 5:29.37; Ilinde du Plessis, 13^th, 5:29.36; and KayLee Tringali, 14^th, 5:31.59
100 Back – Elizabeth Spaans, 1^st, 57.77; Domenica Solano, 2^nd, 58.45; Ilinde du Plessis, 5^th, 59.67; Paulina Ruelas, 10^th, 1:00.92; Gio Bario, 11^th, 1:01.21
100 Breast – Chantal Kasch, 1^st, 1:06.73; and Elizabeth Spaans, 7^th, 1:08.51
200 Fly – Valerie Childs, 2^nd, 2:12.53; Makenzy Kennedy, 3^rd, 2:23.28; Paulina Ruelas, 5^th, 2:14.32; Evelyn VanDeMark, 9^th, 2:22.40; and Emily Solarski, 112^th, 2:03.87
800 Free Relay – USF, 1^st, 7:59.45