Freshmen Shine in The Water

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You don't always expect freshman to be in the spotlight in most sports, but that is not the case for the South Dakota State swimming and diving team. The newest recruiting class has made a huge impact to the team and surprised everyone, including head coach Doug Humphrey.

"Often times freshmen come in with a 'check it out' mentality and let the returners dictate the shape of the team," Humphrey said. "But this freshmen class came in with a mission to make this team better and they have not disappointed."

The freshmen class has definitely opened some eyes as they are breaking records and climbing into the top-10 at SDSU.

In the first home meet against Midland and Iowa Central, the freshmen won 11 total events. Three freshmen received top honors at the USD Tri-Duals, while several others placed in the top-20 at the Mizzou Invite.

Humphrey hopes the freshmen will continue to get better and better each and everyday.

"The whole season is about being better than you were yesterday," Humphrey said. "Once you are successful, you look to work hard to keep getting better. That continues until your career ends."

Freshmen Cody Watkins comes to SDSU from Alaska where he has been swimming almost his whole life.

"Being a freshman is a little nerve racking at first," Watkins said. "But I've been swimming for a while so it becomes natural once you get rid of the nerves."

Watkins has started off the season strong breaking into the top-10 in several events and hopes to continue to improve throughout the season.

"I wasn't expecting to drop time this early in the season, but the couple months of training we've had so far has made it possible," Watkins said. "At the mid-season taper's I already dropped a couple seconds off my time and hope to continue to do that."

Freshman Rori Conners thinks being a collegiate student-athlete is easier than being a student-athlete in high school.

"I had about eight hours of class a day Monday through Friday," Conners said. "Then I had to get three or four workouts in during the day as well, so I think having the ability to make my schedule has been a lot easier to get school and workouts in."

Kristen Davis, a freshman from Durban, South Africa, thinks the coaches are all so supportive of school and want to see them succeed in and out of the pool.

"It's hard, but its fun and it keeps you busy," Davis said. "The coaches are very understanding. They give us a lot of opportunities to strive in school and give us a lot of study time."

Being an international student it can be scary, but Davis credits the coaching staff and her teammates for making her feel at home.

"They've helped a lot," Davis said. "I trust Doug and all the coaches. I look up to Dan (Jacobson) because he is always so focused and he works hard. Also, I look up to Jade (Goosen) just because she's from my hometown and has helped me out getting comfortable here."

Sometimes the upperclassmen can get nervous that the new class may take your spot on a relay or events in a meet, but not with these upperclassmen.

 "The upperclassmen's acceptance is crucial," Humphrey said. "They quickly realized the success of the team does not rest on one class but all working together."

Austin Pham is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and had nothing but good things to say about the upperclassmen from his recruiting visit to now.

"When I came on my recruiting trip last year, I saw the camaraderie of the team and brotherhood that they all had," Pham said. "I had a chance to walk-on at another school, but wanted to make an impact right away. I saw how the upperclassmen were really supportive of the younger classmen, so ultimately that made me want to come here."

Mitchell Raihle, is a sophomore diver who transferred from North Dakota after they dismantled the team.

"It was really tough hearing that news especially in March where almost every other team has already filled their rosters," Raihle said. "I almost stayed at UND just to go to school, but I kept on looking and found SDSU and I'm glad I came here."

Raihle broke the platform and 3-meter diving record in his first couple of meets at SDSU.

"I'm really impressed by how well I performed in those meets and hopefully continue to improve my dives throughout the season," Raihle said. "The one meet (Midland/Iowa Central) there weren't any other divers other than us, so we were just out there having fun and motivating each other every dive."

Going into her first season as diving coach, Elyse Brouillette didn't know what to expect since she came in so late.

"I really was not expecting Mitch, Joey and Parker to be such a strong force for the team," Brouillette said. "Together they push each other to a higher level of competition, not just at meets but at practice as well. With all three reaching zone qualifying scores, it has been a fantastic start to the season."

Humphrey said one of the best parts about coaching freshmen is molding them into collegiate athletes.

"There is so much growth during your freshmen year," Humphrey said. "If you can get your athletes believing in themselves, the team and the coach, the sky is the limit."

The freshman look to continue to strive this spring with a couple of big meets coming up including hosting South Dakota and The Summit League Championships.

The Jacks start the spring season following a tough winter training here in Brookings with a meet at St. Cloud State on Saturday.