Kopp Family Legacy Paves Way to Gold

Zachary Kopp was pulling some University of South Dakota history along with him at the Summit League Swimming and Diving Championships this past weekend in Fargo, N.D.

This was not the kind of history that bogs a fellow down, either. This was the fast kind. 

The sophomore swimmer posted a dominating effort in the Coyotes’ first-ever men’s Summit League team title with wins in the 50-meter freestyle and the 200 freestyle. He was also a part of victories in three different Coyote relays on the way to earning the men’s swimmer of the meet honors.

USD coach Jason Mahowald was named coach of the year for the Coyotes’ title-winning effort which will go down as one of the most memorable in his 16-year tenure as the leader of the program.

The book on the Coyotes in 2020-21 was they supported their teammates to a degree that has made both the men’s and women’s programs distinctive within the conference. Evidence of that was in Kopp’s voice during a recent interview. 

It had been approximately 48 hours since the last race and the sophomore was still having trouble cranking his voice up to an audible level.

“The closer we got to the end, the more we realized we might have a chance to win this,” Kopp said. “So we kept our noses to the grindstone...When we touched on that last relay, that’s when it finally hit everyone. It was like ‘Hey, we just did it.’”

Kopp, a native of Otsego, Minn., who competed at nearby Elk River High School, is one of three Kopp’s to swim for the Coyotes. His brother Nick began his career at UW-Green Bay but then transferred to USD the same year brother Ben, now a senior, was entering school as a freshman.

“Zach’s the greatest,” Mahowald said. “He’s just a good person. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and he sees the big picture, something that is rare for someone his age. And the Kopp’s are a terrific family.”

Having coached three of them, Mahowald has an inside view of how it all works for this bunch. In this case, it’s been a beneficial affiliation for both parties. 

“They’re just fun to be around,” Mahowald said. “I hear about some of the things they did growing up and it’s sort of a cautionary tale with me and my three sons at home. They’ve given me some insight into what I’ll be up against.”

Two years after Ben began his college career, Zachary, who was a nine-time state place-winner in Minnesota, joined the family and the team at the same time with one big decision.

“When I committed, my mom and dad and I got up at about 3 a.m. or so and made it to Ben’s morning practice at USD,” Kopp said. “Ben saw us and it was ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ and then I unzipped my jacket and you could see I’m wearing a Coyote shirt. Both our faces lit up.”

The Kopp family’s start in swimming began with their father qualifying for the Minnesota state high school meet as a member of the Burnsville, Minn., team.  Another older brother, Alex, had “completed level-5 Red Cross swim lessons for the eighth time,” according to Zach, and the instructor suggested he go out for the swim team. 

It has been part of the family legacy ever since. Their mom, Melora, is their most vocal cheerleader. The others have done their part in that capacity as well.

“We had so much fun swimming in high school,” Zachary said. “We figured we’d come here and do it again. And that’s what we did.”

Ben played a big role in encouraging Zachary to choose USD when it was his turn. His selling points had to do with the atmosphere of togetherness that college swimming under Mahowald had created in Vermillion. 

“You have to be a little crazy to begin to just swim and stare at a black line for 20 hours a week,” Zachary said, laughing. “But it’s a close-knit family through-and-through. Everyone looks out for everyone. It’s not like that everywhere. Here, everyone truly cares.”

Zach was talking about both the Kopp’s and the Coyotes, in a sense. 

Nowhere was that distinctive environment more clearly present than in Fargo with the momentum established on the first day and then maintained throughout. 

“My wife was watching the live stream and she said I wasn’t jumping up and down as much on the third day,” Mahowald said. “I told her I was exhausted. When you get excited and worked up for every single one of those races, it takes a lot out of you. The kids have the easy part. They only have a few races they have to get up for.”

Mahowald, clearly, was making light of his fatigue but it was indeed a special weekend. 

“It was something to watch everyone come together – the women supporting the men’s team and vice versa,” he said. “It was awesome for everyone involved.”

It was awesome enough so that even those who were underwhelmed by their own performances were leaving Fargo knowing they’d been part of something they’d remember a long time.

“Jacob Won didn’t get a single lifetime best at the meet but he said it was the most fun he’d ever had at a swim meet in his entire life,” Mahowald said. “I think that kind of sums it up how the team felt about the whole experience.”

Technically, it was Ben, the senior, who got the rest of the Kopp family involved in the Coyote program. He was the one, in addition to Mahowald, who sold the place to an older and younger brother.

“He realized it was an up-and-coming team,” Zachary said. “And he knew the team chemistry was incredible. It was a fun place to be. Looking back on that now, it was the foundation for what we were able to accomplish this last weekend.”