Iowa State Swimming And Diving Announces Signing Class

AMES, Iowa – Head swimming coach Duane Sorenson announced his fall 2018 recruiting class on Friday. The class includes five swimmers and a diver from four states across the Midwest.

Elizabeth Richardson swam at Burke High School in Omaha, Neb. for coach Patrick DiBlase and for Greater Omaha Aquatics under Tom Beck. Richardson is a standout student at Burke as the senior class president and a member of the National Honor Society. She is ranked as the second-best recruit from the state of Nebraska by College Swimming and was named the Metro Conference Outstanding Female Swimmer during her senior season, thanks to an Omaha Metro Championship in the 100 back and 200 IM. Academically, Richardson is a three-year academic letterwinner while maintaining her standing in the top-10% of her class.

"Elizabeth is a very good backstroker that has improved tremendously over the last year," head coach Duane Sorenson said. "She will come in and be one of our top backstrokers and also be a pretty good IMer."

Trinity Gilbert swam for Indian Trail High School and coach Billy Gilbert and for the Pleasant Prairie Patriots in in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. She is an All-State performer in the 200 IM, with a pair of honorable mentions as well. At the club level, she is a two-time state champion and holds eight pool records. Outside of the pool, Gilbert has recorded over 50 hours of community service and has a 3.8 GPA.

"Trinity can go many different directions," Sorenson said. "She can swim freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. She'll add a lot of versatility and bring a lot of competitiveness to our team. I think she has a very bright future with us."

Sophia Goushchina is from Lake Zurich, Ill. swimming for Lake Zurich high school and coach Jill Kragseth. At the club level, Goushchina swam for Kevin Zakrzewski of the Patriot Aquatic club. She was a second-place finisher in the 100 backstroke at the IHSA state meet, and added a top-10 finish in the 100 free. She was named a USA Swimming Scholastic All-American in 2018.

"Sophia a versatile 100 and 200 freestyler and backstroker," Sorenson said. "She'll come in with some of top times. With her versatility, she'll be able to help us out where needed."

Emily Heymans is out of Apple Valley, Minnesota. She swam at Eastview High School for coach Mark Tollefson and with the Riptide Swim Club and coach Mike Parratto. Heymans earned team MVP honors in two years, along with a state finals appearance and a pair of Speedo Sectional championships. In the classroom, she has earned four Gold Athletic-Academic awards.

"Emily is a very good IMer and breaststroker," Sorenson said. "She's going to add a tremendous amount of depth to our breaststroke crew."

Madison Rundell is from Plymouth, Minnesota, swimming for coach Lauren Mauel at Wayzata High School and Jeff Rodriguez at the Edina Swim Club. She swam in the top-16 in the 500 free and 200 free relay, earning All-State honors in the 500 free. She is a member of the National Honor Society and earned the highest honor roll honors at her high school.

"Madison has tremendous potential in the distance freestyler," Sorenson commented. "The longer the race, the better the race for her. She's going to fill in spots that we are graduating and have had some injuries at."

The Cyclones lone diver of the class is from right here in Ames. Jayna Misra was coached by Amy Pyle at Ames High School and by diving coach Jeff Warrick, who manages the Iowa Twisters. Misra is a two-time state champion, holding the state record on the one-meter board and going undefeated in her senior year of competition. She earned All-American recognition in 2017 while qualifying for the Junior National Diving competition. She has also earned a spot on the Global Youth Institute at World Food Prize.

"We are very excited Jayna has chosen to be a Cyclone," diving coach Jeff Warrick said. "She is going to have an immediate positive impact on our team, and I really look forward to working with her over the next four years."

"Overall, I think this class is going to be really strong," Sorenson noted. "They're going to give us a lot of versatility and they're all great students and great people."

FALL 2018 CLASS

Trinity Gilbert

Sophia Goushchina

Emily Heymans

Jayna Misra

Madison Rundell

Elizabeth Richardson