ORLANDO, FLA. -- The South Dakota Men's Swimming and Diving Team, buoyed by a pair of All-American performances, sits in sixth-place with 53 points at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships, which opened on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla. The Coyote Women's Team is 15th with eight points after the first day of competition. The USD men's 200 Medley Relay finished third with a clocking of 1:32.07, which was .01 off the school record of 1:32.06 set in 2004. The squad, which earned All-American honors for the second straight year, included
Tim Byers of Billings, Mont.;
Dirk Craft of Palmer, Alaska;
Tyler Scheer of Lincoln, Neb.; and
John Murman of Lincoln, Neb. Craft picked up his second All-American honor at the championships with a seventh-place finish in the 50 Free. Craft clocked a 20.81 in the 50 Free A Final. He had a 20.74 clocking in the prelims, which is the fourth-best clocking in school history. Murman earned honorable mention All-American honors after finishing ninth overall and first in the 50 Free B Final. After a 20.89 clocking in the prelims, Murman recorded a 20.76 in the B Final, which is the sixth-best 50 Free clocking in school history. The Coyotes Women's 200 Medley Relay was 13th in the finals with a time of 149:67. The squad had clocked a 1:49.11 in the prelims, which was the 10th-best time heading into the finals. The squad, which earned honorable mention All-American honors, included Megan Gorden of Grand Rapids, Minn.; Rolfe;
Brae Olson of Hutchinson, Minn.; and Donley. Also on Wednesday,
Audrey Donley of Arvada, Colo., was 22nd in the 1,000 Free in 10:49.64.
Leita Rolfe of Newcastle, Wyo., was 19th in the 200 IM prelims in 2:10.21. In team points, Drury leads the men's team competition with 173 points. After Drury, the top-10 includes: North Dakota, second, 112.50; Cal-Bakersfield, third, 107; West Chester, fourth, 72.50; UC-San Diego, fifth, 72; South Dakota, sixth, 53; Tampa, seventh, 42; Clarion, eighth, 41; Missouri-Rolla, ninth, 38.50; and Southern Connecticut State, 10th, 32 points. Drury also leads the women's team competition with 143 points. Following Drury, the top-10 in team points is as follows: Truman State, second, 116; UC-San Diego, third, 104; Tampa, fourth, 74; Indianapolis, fifth, 50; Cal-Bakersfield, sixth, 49; West Chester, sixth, 49; North Dakota, eighth, 42; Nebraska-Omaha, ninth, 36; Ouachita Baptist, 10th, 25; and USD, 15th, eight points.