Zach Anderson

The SDSU men’s swimming and diving team was led by junior Matt Josephson, who turned in a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke at the Minnesota Challenge on Feb. 7. Josephson finished in a time of 1:59.16.

“Matt is a steady performer, and his times this past week indicate such,” said Brad Erickson, SDSU head coach. “Many of our swimmers used this meet to help determine a third event for conference; for example, Matt will swim 100 and 200 backstroke. This meet gave an indication of whether he should swim breaststroke or IM. We were pleased with his times, especially the 200 backstroke.”

SDSU had four other swimmers who recorded top-10 finishes. Jon Wendel earned a seventh-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.33 seconds. Teammate James Motley placed eighth in the 200 butterfly, clocking in at 1:58.08.

In the 100 breaststroke, SDSU’s Chris Holzwarth finished ninth in 1:00.44, while teammate Cade Roberts finished 10th behind him in 1:00.59.

Roberts also finished 13th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:12.73.

In the 100 butterfly, Roberts recorded a 15th-place finish in a time of 53.48 seconds.

The SDSU 200 medley relay team of Wendel, Holzwarth, Jason Garder and Ryan Willett earned an eighth-place finish in 1:39.40.

In the 400 freestyle, the Jackrabbit team of Roberts, Mark Sandager, Motley and Josephson finished ninth in 3:20.45.

Up next for the men’s swimming team is the Summit League Championships in Rochester, Mich., on Feb. 19 to 21.

The men’s team, although young, will compete well at the Summit League Championships, said the team’s coach.

“We became a different team at the semester break,” Erickson said. “Our shift in thinking has somewhat changed from placing higher as a team to placing as many individuals as possible in the finals. If we swim well, we will accomplish that goal.”