The South Dakota women will be adding 3 members to its roster next year following a trio of verbal commitments from Hannah Beckwith, Julianne Seppala, and Hannah Lange. With those 3 on the roster next season, the Coyotes will add depth to their distance free, IM, breast, and fly training groups.
Hannah Lange:
Lange is a native of Illionois, where she attends McHenry High School and swims club for the Mundelein Mustangs Swim Club. Last season, she competed in the Illinois Girls Sectional Championships (Vernon Hills). There, she placed 4th in the 200 free and 2nd in the 500 free. She was also a top 10 finisher in the 1000 yard freestyle at the Illinois Senior State Championships.
Lange’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 100 free | 55.02 |
| 200 free | 1:55.96 |
| 500 free | 5:07.46 |
| 1650 free | 17:45.85 |
| 100 breast | 1:10.98 |
| 200 breast | 2:30.37 |
Lange should have an immediate scoring impact for South Dakota at the Summit League Championships. Her times in the 500 and 1650 freestyles are already good enough to have scored last season, and her time in the mile is just a few seconds shy of what it took to make the top 8. If she can shave off a few tenths in the 200 free, she could be a triple event scorer as a freshman.
Hannah Beckwith:
Beckwith competes for the Fox Valley Wave Swim Team during the club season, and will be swimming her senior high school season for Appleton West High School. This summer, she qualified to swim the 100 fly and 200 free at the Wisconsin 13 & Over Long Course State Championships, where she placed in the top 40 of both. Beckwith swims a range of events, so we could see the coaches experiment with her event schedule next season.
Beckwith’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 100 fly | 59.73 |
| 200 fly | 2:16.81 |
| 200 IM | 2:12.71 |
| 400 IM | 4:44.60 |
| 50 free | 25.18 |
Beckwith is within a second of what it took to score at the Summit League Championships in the 100 fly last season. She’s shown good versatility, so the coaching staff may also put her in the 200 fly, sprint freestyles, or IM races. She’s about a second out of scoring range in the 200 IM as well.
Julianne Seppala:
Seppala is a member of the Fastjets club team, and will be competing in her senior season for Centennial High School this year. During her junior season at the 2015 Minnesota Girls Class AA State Championships, she competed in the 100 breast and 200 IM. Her highest finish came in the 100 breast, where she was 17th overall.
Seppala’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 100 breast | 1:09.28 |
| 200 breast | 2:30.61 |
| 200 IM | 2:11.71 |
| 400 IM | 4:45.06 |
Seppala is within a second of scoring range in the 100 breast, so she could have an immediate scoring impact at the Summit League Championships with marginal improvements. She’s also good in the IM races, but the 100 breast and 400 IM fall on the same day. She’ll likely be swimming both breaststrokes and the 200 IM for the Coyotes.