Swimming
Swimming Yote Notes - Season Review
03.08.2010
LAST WEEK: at NAIA National Championships, St. Charles, Mo. (Men 17th-place, Women 20th-place)
COMING UP: Season Complete
BOTH TEAMS FINISH IN TOP-20 AT NATIONALS: Both The College of Idaho swim teams finished among the Top-20 at the 2010 NAIA National Championships in St. Charles, Mo. The Coyote men, which had two scoring relay teams, finished 17th, while the Lady Yotes, who scored in the 200-free relay, finished 20th. For The C of I men, it marks the fifth-straight year that they have finished in the Top-20, while the Lady Yotes logged their first Top-20 finish since 2008. It is the third time in program history that both team have achieved the feat in the same season (2007, 2008).
OUTSTANDING RUN AT NATIONALS: Despite not having an individual score points at the meet, there were multiple outstanding swims by Coyotes in Missouri. Leading the way was true freshman Lucas Hill (Pendleton, Ore. / Pendleton HS), who finished in the Top-30 in each of his events. Hill shattered a pair of school records along the way, taking 11-seconds off the 500-free mark with his 29th-place finish (4:54.86), while taking 26-seconds off his own record with a 22nd-place finish in the 1,650-free (17:14.07). He also placed second in the 400-IM (4:30.43), recording the second-fastest time in program history. Also swimming well was both Nick Young (Nampa, Idaho / Skyview HS) and Kemp Smith (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS), who each set personal bests in the grueling 1,650-free, with Young taking 25th with a time of 17:32.35 – the second-fastest mark in school history, and Smith taking 27th (17:50.41), the fourth-fastest time by a Coyote. Casey Walker (Portland, Ore. / Skyview HS) had a disappointing meet, not surpassing any of his seasonal-bests, but still managed a 26th-place finish in the 200-backstroke (2:04.12). The top finish by a Lady Yote was by Chrissie Younggren (La Grande, Ore. / La Grande HS), who took 25th in the 400-IM (5:09.27).
CHAMPIONS: Savannah College of Art and Design of Georgia won the women's championship, with Fresno Pacific claiming the men's title.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: The Lady Yotes had three student-athletes named to the Daktronics/NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete Team – senior Ashlee Byrnes (Vancouver, Wash. / Columbia River HS), and juniors Amanda Smith (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) and Hayley Talboy (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS). A total of 56 men's and women's swimmers were honored with the award.
RECORD BOOK: During the 2009-10 season, a total of eight men's and four women's school records fell by the wayside. Casey Walker notched five records – 200-free, 100-breaststroke, 200-breaststroke, 200-backstroke, 400-IM, with Lucas Hill setting three – 500-free, 1,000-free, and 1,650-free. For the Lady Yotes, Chrissie Younggren established records in the 100-backstroke, 200-backstroke, and 400-IM, with Annie Younggren (La Grande, Ore. / La Grande HS) setting a new record in the 200-free. Overall, 33 new entries in the men's Top-5 all-time list and 29 new entries in the women's Top-5 all-time list occurred during the year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on The C of I swim program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/swim.asp.
Recent Headlines:
03.06.2010
Men 17th, Women 20th at NAIA Championships
03.05.2010
Coyote swim teams in Top-20 at NAIA Meet
03.04.2010
Men's Swim Team DQ'ed in Medley Relay
03.01.2010
Swimming Yote Notes - Edition 10