SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A total of 31 Summit League swimming and diving student-athletes, 16 men and 15 women, have been selected to the 2021-22 Academic All-League Team as voted on by Faculty Athletic Representatives and Athletic Communications Directors from the league's member institutions.
For 19 of the 31 honorees, it was their first time earning the swimming and diving academic all-league award. South Dakota’s Jake Leichner and Jacob Won along with and Eastern Illinois’ Joel Talley earned their third straight academic all-league honor on the men's side, while USD’s Isabel Fairbanks earned her third straight all-league accolade on the women’s side.
Riley Babson and Darragh Mahns of Denver, Forrest Baumgartner of Eastern Illinois, Zachary Kopp of South Dakota and Max White of South Dakota State earned their second academic all-league honor on the men's side. On the women’s side, Erika Remington of DU, Leah Drengenberg of USD and Grace Witherspoon of SDSU earned their second academic all-league award.
To be eligible for the Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team's competitions.
Nominations are made by athletic communications directors from the league's six institutions that compete in swimming and diving, and voting is conducted by both the athletic communications directors and facility athletic representatives (FARs). Each team is made up of the 15 student-athletes receiving the most votes with all ties standing.
2021-22 Men’s Swimming & Diving Academic All-League Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Aidan Gantenbein |
South Dakota |
Jr. |
Valley Center, Kan. |
3.95 |
Kinesiology, Sport & Recreation |
| Will Goldman |
St. Thomas |
Jr. |
Arden Hills, Minn. |
4.00 |
Exercise Science |
| Jake Leichner*** |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
3.54 |
Operational Analytics |
| Darragh Mahns** |
Denver |
Sr. |
Missoula, Mont. |
3.62 |
Computer Science |
| Caleb Harthoorn |
South Dakota State |
Jr. |
Norfolk, Neb. |
3.92 |
Biology |
| Forrest Baumgartner** |
Eastern Illinois |
Sr. |
Culver, Ind. |
3.57 |
Biochemistry |
| Max White** |
South Dakota State |
Jr. |
Kokomo, Ind. |
4.00 |
Ecology/Environmental Science |
| Zachary Bayler |
Denver |
So. |
Silver Spring, Md. |
3.94 |
Electrical Engineering and French |
| Naested Smit |
South Dakota State |
Jr. |
Lusaka, Zambia |
4.00 |
Aviation |
| Damon Venner |
South Dakota State |
Sr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D. |
3.50 |
Mathematics |
| Zachary Kopp** |
South Dakota |
Jr. |
Otsego, Minn. |
3.67 |
Kinesiology |
| Joel Talley*** |
Eastern Illinois |
Sr. |
Troy, Mo. |
3.83 |
Biochemistry |
| Riley Babson** |
Denver |
Jr. |
Vail, Ariz. |
3.52 |
Biology and Math |
| Jacob Won*** |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Katy, Texas |
3.92 |
Economics |
| Quenton Steffen |
South Dakota State |
Sr. |
Eagan, Minn. |
3.53 |
Biochemistry/Pre-Medicine |
| Tyler Hackman |
St. Thomas |
Jr. |
Sioux Falls, S.D. |
3.90 |
Neuroscience |
*Career Academic All-League honors
2021-22 Women’s Swimming & Diving Academic All-League Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Sianne Downes |
South Dakota State |
So. |
Edenvale, South Africa |
3.85 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Anna Astrup |
St. Thomas |
Sr. |
Fargo, N.D. |
3.88 |
Actuarial Science and Statistics |
| Elisabeth Timmer |
South Dakota State |
Jr. |
Savaneta, Aruba |
3.51 |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Phoebe Croston |
Eastern Illinois |
So. |
Highlands Ranch, Colo. |
4.00 |
Pre-Physical Therapy |
| Isabel Fairbanks*** |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Highland, Mich. |
3.97 |
Health Sciences |
| Stella Fairbanks |
South Dakota |
So. |
Highland, Mich. |
3.93 |
Health Sciences |
| Erika Remington** |
Denver |
Jr. |
Cedarburg, Wis. |
4.00 |
Biology and Spanish |
| Kristen Quigley |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Guelph, Ontario |
3.75 |
Neuroscience |
| Leah Drengenberg** |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Dixon, Ill. |
3.71 |
Medical Biology |
| Naomi Bingham |
South Dakota |
Sr. |
Mukilteo, Wash. |
4.00 |
Biology/Conservation and Diversity |
| Natalie Cannell |
South Dakota State |
So. |
Olathe, Kan. |
4.00 |
Business Economics |
| Aysia Leckie |
Denver |
Gr. |
Georgetown, Ontario |
3.65 |
Finance |
| Zora Opalka |
Denver |
R-Sr. |
Bainbridge Island, Wash. |
3.76 |
Marketing |
| Kayla Middaugh |
South Dakota |
So. |
Shawnee, Kan. |
4.00 |
Nursing |
| Grace Witherspoon** |
South Dakota State |
Jr. |
Eden Prairie, Minn. |
3.82 |
Nursing |
*Career Academic All-League honors
#SummitSD
