FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Possibly deeper? Possibly better? Even after consecutive Western Athletic Conference championships, could the 2015-16 Northern Arizona swimming and diving team be the best yet to come? Only time will tell, but this year's Lumberjacks return 21 letterwinners and add in eight decorated newcomers for their pursuit of a three-peat.
Unlike last year when the Lumberjacks needed to replace a graduating senior class of nine, NAU only loses three seniors from last season's WAC repeat squad. The team's traditional strengths still remain, but with the influx of its last two freshman classes, NAU's previous "weaknesses," are becoming stronger with each passing day of training.
"Last year's freshmen provided a lot of quality depth to our program and I still think we have a great balance of newcomers and veteran leadership," said head coach Andy Johns. "Only having lost three seniors, and they will be missed, we still have strengths in the distance-oriented events, but we're getting better in the shorter freestyle events. That will help our relays, plus we've added depth on the diving side of things. We're evolving into a new team, but the basic strengths are still there."
Of the 21 returning letterwinners, eight are seniors including diver Chelsea Jackson, the defending WAC Champion on 3-meter, and swimmer Kendall Brown, a two-time conference champion in the mile. The team's juniors are led by two-time NCAA Zone Diving participant Alexa Geiger. The sophomores are headlined by the reigning WAC 100 butterfly gold medalist, Alina Staffeldt. The list goes on and on, and because of that, the Lumberjacks could be an even more dangerous team than they have been in the past when the conference championships come around at the end of February.
While successfully defending their WAC Championship, again, is always the goal, NAU has its sights even higher. With Jackson and Staffeldt coming so close to qualifying for the NCAA Championships last season, the team's bar has been set to take the next step this season.
"We have a few girls who have a better shot at making NCAAs than we've had as a program over the last few years," Johns said. "That is exciting, challenging and motivating and it keeps us from being complacent. It provides a focus for us as we move towards that direction."
All in all, the Lumberjacks hope that 2015-16 is another banner year and with the way the roster lines up this season, that is certainly a possibility with even higher achievements within reach.
FREESTYLE
"Our sprint group continues to get better. Last year with Roni Houck and Alina Staffeldt coming in, that was huge for us. This year, Ila Hughes, Hayley Edmond, Logan Neal and Andrea Schmidt will all add to the sprint freestyle group that has become a real strength for us. As we move up in the distance, we start talking about Claire Hammond, Trinity Frazee, Kimmy Richter and even further in distance is Eva Pold and Kendall Brown, our top returner in the 500 and the mile. At the end of the year, the freestyle is going to be really strong for us." – Andy Johns
The vast and diverse freestyle group is indeed that, vast and diverse. Mixed with veterans and youngsters, the Lumberjacks have a wide group of freestyle swimmers and are turning into a well-rounded unit. Unlike in past years where NAU might have been viewed as a one-trick pony in the distance freestyle events, the Lumberjacks' recent additions have elevated their sprint group to new heights.
Brown is a two-time WAC champion in the mile and will once again be one of the favorites in the event in her final season. Last season, she finished third in the event and aims to the return to the top of the conference this year. Brown, the owner of the program's third-fastest mile time of 16:31.73, will not have her usual counterparts in the mile this year though with the departures of Caitlin Wright last year and Emma Lowther the year prior, but senior Eva Pold (15th) and sophomore Kimmy Richter (10th) could make their way into the mile after posting solid championship performances in the 500 free last year.
Sophomore Claire Hammond was a solid contributor in the 200 and 500 free last year, placing sixth as a freshman at the conference championships in the 200 and 11th in the 500. She was far from the only first-year Lumberjack to contribute mightily last season as sophomores Roni Houck and Staffeldt also left their impression.
Houck's lowest finish was 12th in the 200 free at the WAC Championships, still good enough to score valuable points, but her biggest impact came in the 50 and 100 sprint events. Houck earned the bronze medal in the 50 free, already climbing into the top five all-time performances in the event with a time of 23.59. Houck also finished fourth in the 100 free, posting the fourth fastest time in school history (51.33). While Staffeldt was dominating in the butterfly as a freshman, she also placed 10th in the 50 free and anchored the team's 400 medley relay team.
Houck and Staffeldt's emergence put NAU on the map in the sprint events and the Lumberjacks will only get better with sprint freestyle newcomers in junior Hayley Edmond and freshmen Ila Hughes, Logan Neal and Andrea Schmidt. Edmond brings international experience as a member of the New Zealand national team, while Hughes, Neal and Schmidt own a number of state titles, state records and school records between them during outstanding prep careers.
BACKSTROKE
"Sara Lenhoff, Jori Lindquist and Trinity Frazee are our returners who will help across the board from the relays to the 100 to the 200. Brooke Brittain is another solid contributor who as a senior is leading the way. Allison Mann is another year removed from her surgery during her senior year of high school and she's figuring things out. As far as newcomers, Hayley Edmond has shown that she can do some other things aside from freestyle and she's going to give us some options. We've always been good at the conference meet, but we need to be a little better in dual meets and they are a competitive group who is pushing each other." - Johns
The backstroke is an area where the Lumberjacks will rely solely on their returners without a pure backstroke newcomer in the mix. That does not mean that NAU will struggle with the likes of junior Sara Lenhoff returning as the leader of this group coming off a pair of medals at last season's WAC Championships.
Lenhoff holds the second fastest times in both the 100 back (55.55) and 200 back (1:59.26) in school history and she picked up her second and third career medals at the conference meet last season. She improved her finish in the 200 back by two spots, finishing runner-up for her first career silver medal and posted her second consecutive bronze medal finish in the 100 back.
The Lumberjacks' stable of veterans behind Lenhoff is full with seniors Brooke Brittain and Trinity Frazee along with junior Jori Lindquist, all of whom bring a wealth of experience to the table. Lindquist earned her best conference finish last season with a sixth-place finish in the 100 back with a career-best time of 56.91. Frazee enjoyed a breakthrough last season as a junior, scoring for the Lumberjacks at the conference meet for the first time in her career with a 10th-place finish in the 100 back. Meanwhile, her classmate Brittain has had a strong preseason finishing second in the backstroke events at the Pentathlon and Blue vs. Gold meets.
Besting Brittain in both meets has been Edmond, who was the individual winner of this year's Pentathlon. Edmond, who was recruited based on her sprint freestyle prowess could prove to be a key member of the backstroke unit this season after her early season performances.
Sophomore Allison Mann and Hammond also will contribute in the backstroke events during the season.
BREASTSTROKE
"Urte Kazakeviciute leads the way and last year she was our relay breaststroker and our highest finisher in the 100 and 200. Melanie Harris comes back; she's stronger in the 200 than the 100 but she is still strong there. Monica Pruett, like Melanie, is stronger in the 200, and Audrey Mann had a great summer. She had times last year that would've scored at the conference meet. We have a strong breaststroke group with a lot of depth that will be a strength once again." - Johns
Led by senior Monica Pruett, junior Urte Kazakeviciute and sophomore Melanie Harris, the Lumberjacks return three of the top breaststrokers in the 200 breast from last year's conference meet. The trio continued NAU's dominance in the event, one year after sweeping the top three, taking four of the top five spots and half of the top 10. With them back for another year, the Lumberjacks will boast an exceptional breaststroke unit that figures to be even better this season.
Kazakeviciute has four career top five finishes in as many breaststroke events in her first two WAC Championships, highlighted by two silver medals in the 200 breast. In finishing second in the 200 each of her first two seasons, she has posted two NCAA 'B' standard times. She also finished fourth in the 100 breast last season, and has the second fastest time in program history in the 200 (2:14.99) and third fastest time in the 100 (1:02.90) through two seasons.
Harris was impressive in her first season, recording a pair of top eight finishes in the two breaststrokes providing a strong capper to her freshman campaign. Pruett finished eighth in the 200 breast, as she has steadily improved on her finishes each year rising from 11th to 10th to eighth.
Although sophomore Audrey Mann competed as a non-scorer at last year's WAC meet, her times in the 100 and 200 breast would have been fast enough to score points for the 'Jacks. This season, she is already off to a fast start placing third in the Pentathlon, looking poised to take her skills to a higher level. Senior Cassie Ronai also has three years of experience under her to add to the mix at the breaststroke.
While NAU is a little deeper in the 200 breast, the Lumberjacks might receive a shot in the 100 breast with the addition of freshman Sarah Takach, who holds her high school record in the event.
BUTTERFLY
"With Alina Staffeldt, we're going to try to find that second she needs (in the 100 fly) to make NCAAs and we think her 200 fly can be a whole lot better also. With the departure of Alexis Juergens, Andrea Schmidt and Amanda Sumrow are two quality butterfliers who come in and can fill the void. Eva Pold, Kimmy Richter and Kendall Brown can all swim the 200 fly. We're deep in the butterfly events, especially in dual meets, and we feel good about what we can do and move people around." - Johns
Winning a gold medal at your first conference championships is one thing. Breaking the school record, not once but twice only adds to the allure. However you sum it up, Staffeldt had an incredible first season at NAU last year as the Lumberjacks' butterfly group starts with her.
Staffeldt, NAU Athletics' Female Newcomer of the Year, enjoyed a record breaking freshman year in the 100 fly, winning the WAC title in the process. She broke the previous five-year school record of 54.67 in the preliminaries with a time of 54.34, only to best it in the finals to claim the gold with a time of 53.86. The time was an NCAA 'B' standard. Staffeldt also placed third in the 200 fly, recording the second fastest time in school history at 2:00.75, in a dominant WAC debut.
Staffeldt's companion in the butterfly events, Alexis Juergens, is gone but the Lumberjacks are well-stocked in the 200 fly with Brown, Pold and Richter. Richter placed eighth in the 200 fly at the WAC Championships, and Pold was five spots behind in 13th. Brown, who swam in the 200 as an exhibition swimmer, has performed well during her career in the event with the third-best time (2:02.00) in school history.
NAU's two incoming butterfliers, Schmidt and freshman Amanda Sumrow will be counted to help replace Juergens' contributions. Schmidt enters as the Montana state record holder in the 200 fly and Sumrow broke her high school record in the 100 fly.
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
"Kendall Brown, Monica Pruett and Melanie Harris went 2-3-4 in the 400 IM last year, and Monica was our only 200 IMer at the conference meet. Melanie is a good 200 IMer and Audrey Mann can swim some IM. Amanda Sumrow is the newcomer that really adds to that group a lot, but we're finding Hayley Edmond can swim some IM. We have some options, but definitely Monica, Kendall and Eva Pold – our seniors – lead this group." - Johns
Pruett's career-best performance in the 200 IM at last year's WAC Championships sparked the Lumberjacks as she placed eighth shattering her previous best time by almost three seconds. Pruett followed that up with a third-place finish in the 400 IM, recording the program's fourth fastest 400 IM time in the process of 4:22.63.
She was the just one of three Lumberjacks who shined brightly in the 400, as NAU completed a 2-3-4 finish in the event led by Brown, the school's record 400 IM record holder at 4:17.46. Brown, who has never finished lower than third in the 400 IM in her career, picked up the silver medal with Pruett right behind for her first career medal finish. Harris placed fourth during NAU's day three surge that extended the Lumberjacks' lead on the scoreboard heading into the final day of the meet.
Pold's performance in the 400 IM was not lost as she scored points in the 14th overall spot. She, along with Brown and Pruett, have been dependable performers in the 400 IM over the course of their careers.
The Mann twins – Allison and Audrey – can also swim the IM, with Audrey possibly primed to make a big impact in the individual medley following her Pentathlon performance. Edmond's Pentathlon win suggests that she has the all-around skills to be an option in the IM at this year's conference meet as well.
A pair of freshmen – Sumrow and Takach – has individual medley backgrounds as well in high school with Sumrow accomplishing the feat of winning the 200 IM title twice at the CIF Championships in California.
DIVING
"We had a great year last year and the fact that we have everyone returning along with two solid freshman additions, we're excited. Everyone is better than they were a year ago. Chelsea Jackson looks stronger than she did a year ago, as does Alexa Geiger who had solid training in the summer. Carlye Townsend has had an issue with an injury, but she's been doing well considering and Emma Simmonds and Alyssa Loeffelman have been through the program a year and have confidence. Raquel Gonzales and Christina Torrente have already made an impact on the team with the way they work hard, and it's a great group who fits together really well." - Diving Coach Nikki Huffman
While the NAU swimmers garner a lot of the attention, the Lumberjacks arguably have the WAC's best and deepest group of divers at their disposal. After starting the WAC Championships with placing all four of their scoring divers in the top eight of the 1-meter springboard, NAU's divers continued to showcase their talents with nine top eight finishes in total. This year, all five of the divers return without a single departure and when adding in two freshmen, the unit is as deep and talented as ever.
Jackson looks to finish her career at the NCAA Championships for the first time after capturing her first career WAC gold medal last season. She is the defending 3-meter champion while also placing second on 1-meter and fourth on platform bringing her career all-conference total to eight. She also qualified for the NCAA Zone E Meet for the third consecutive year, advancing to the finals on both 1-meter and 3-meter in her search for a bid to the national championships.
Senior Carlye Townsend and junior Alexa Geiger continue to perform well, providing exceptional results behind Jackson with the pair combining for five top eight finishes at the conference championships last season. Geiger, like Jackson, made a return appearance to the NCAA Zone meet after garnering two bronze medals on the springboards. Townsend placed sixth on 1-meter and eighth on platform, scoring points for NAU in two events and could be poised for a run at her first career zone appearance.
Sophomores Emma Simmonds and Alyssa Loeffelman had great first years with Simmonds placing eighth on 1-meter and winning the consolation final and finishing ninth overall on platform at the WAC Championships. Meanwhile, Loeffelman was a non-scorer but that did not stop her from posting 1-meter and 3-meter scores in the preliminaries that would have earned her scoring spots in the finals including a top eight finish herself on 3-meter.
NAU's two incoming divers are freshmen Raquel Gonzales and Christina Torrente and both have made quite the first impression. The two, Gonzales on 1-meter and Torrente on 3-meter, each placed third in an event at the Blue vs. Gold intrasquad meet besting several of the team's returners, proving they plan to be in the mix at the end of the season. Gonzales comes to NAU with impressive experience on the platform tower, while Torrente was a state runner-up in Washington on 1-meter.
