Zach Anderson

The SDSU women’s swimming and diving team had several strong finishes at the Minnesota Challenge on Feb. 7. SDSU’s Christina Gerometta and Mallory Onisk both earned first-place finishes, while Katie Budahl set school records with two second-place finishes.

Gerometta won the 1,650-yard freestyle in a time of 18 minutes, 10.51 seconds for the Jackrabbits. Her teammate Kayleigh Boucher earned a second place finish in 18:29.30.

Onisk won the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:07.16 to lead the Jacks, as they took the top three spots. Lynn Wegner took second in 2:15.49, and Rachel Musser took third in 2:15.60.

In the 100 butterfly, Onisk placed eighth with a time of 58.80.

Budahl earned second place for the Jacks in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:05.68 and in the 200 breaststroke, earned another second-place finish in 2:18.82. Her 200 breaststroke time was over three seconds faster than her previous school record.

“Katie was very excited to return to the U of M to swim against her former teammates,” SDSU head coach Brad Erickson said. “She fared very well, with a season-best school record 100 breaststroke, but more impressive to me was her season-best, lifetime-best 200 breaststroke swim. Those swims set her up very nicely for the championships at Oakland.”

Five Jackrabbits showed strong performances in the 200 backstroke, as they all placed in the top 12. Jessica Ferley led the Jacks with a fifth-place finish in 2:12.02, Cassie Kozar got sixth in 2:12.21, followed by Ashley Valdez in seventh with a time of 2:12.44, Ellen Archer in 11th in 2:15.40 and Kali Temperley in 12th with a time of 2:15.85.

In the diving events, Sasha Porter placed third for the Jacks in the one-meter competition with a score of 223.35. She added an eighth-place score of 199.75 in the three-meter event. Breanna Torkelson scored a pair of sixth-place finishes in both events, scoring 212.75 in the one-meter and 212.85 in the three-meter.

The Jackrabbits will finish off the season Feb. 19 to 21 at the Summit League Championships in Rochester, Mich.

The women have a good shot at being very successful at the Summit League Championships, said the team’s coach.

“Just like the men’s team, if we place as many as possible into finals, we will be successful. The women also have a legitimate shot for a second-place finish at this meet,” Erickson said.