Women's Swimming | 9/29/2021 12:43:00 PM

Dixie State swimming's 2021-22 season gets off the blocks this weekend as the Trailblazers travel to Grand Junction to compete at Colorado Mesa Intermountain Shootout. The two-day meet will be held Friday and Saturday at the El Pomar Natatorium on the CMU campus.

DSU will compete against fellow D-Is BYU, Air Force, Colorado State and Northern Colorado, along with former RMAC foes CMU, Adams State and CSU-Pueblo.    
 
DSU COACHING STAFF: Dan Kesler begins his first season as head coach of the Dixie State women's swimming program. Coach Kesler comes to St. George after two years as associate head men's and women's swimming coach at Florida State. While at FSU, he worked with the middle distance and stroke groups, and helped lead both Seminole programs to fifth-place finishes at the ACC Championships last spring.
            Prior to his time in Tallahassee, he had a seven-year stint as an assistant coach at Arizona State (2012-19), where he worked with the distance and middle distance groups while serving as the recruiting coordinator. Kesler spent his final four years working under FSU alum Bob Bowman – who is best known for coaching the most decorated Olympian of all-time, Michael Phelps.
            Kesler began his collegiate coaching career at Division II Wingate University, at which he served five years as the top assistant men's and women's swimming coach overseeing the mid-distance and distance swimmers. Kesler also served on the NCAA D-II top-25 poll selection committee for the 2011-2012 season. While at Wingate, he helped lead the men's team to five-straight Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship titles, and to several top-six finishes at the NCAA Division II national championship meets.
Following a stellar high school career, Kesler swam collegiately at North Carolina State from 2000-03, where he served as team captain as a junior and was an ACC finalist in the distance events.
            A native of Westminster, Md., Kesler was also a 2000 Olympic Trials qualifier while representing Green Terror (MD) Aquatic Club.
            Coach Kesler is joined poolside by first-year student assistant coach and former DSU All-American swimmer Hannah (Hansen) Allen.

2020-21 QUICK SEASON RECAP: Dixie State made its NCAA Division I debut during the 2020-21 campaign, during which the Trailblazers posted one dual meet victory and placed seventh at the Western Athletic Conference Championships last February. The Trailblazers also had 17 swimmers named to the 2021 Academic all-WAC team.

THE 2021-22 ROSTER: Dixie State returns 16 swimmers from last season's squad that collected three medals and placed seventh at its first WAC championship meet. Two of DSU's three medalists are back for 2021-22, including sophomore Skyler Lyon, who placed third in the WAC 100-yard breaststroke final, and fellow sophomore Kathryn Carter, who raced to a runner-up finish in the 200 breast with a school-record breaking time of 2:16.40.
            DSU also returns eight upperclassmen in seniors Rebekah Anderson (free/fly/back/relays), Gracie Kroll (back/relays), and Alaina Otterstrom (fly/IM), along with juniors Nicole Christensen (distance/free/IM), Kyrie Nicolds (free/fly/breast), Chloe Partsch (free/fly), Drew Roper (back/free) and Ellyse Russell (free/sprints).
            Six other sophomores join Carter and Lyon returning for this season, including Gabbie Adams (free/back/IM), Akalia Bostock (free/fly/IM), Danyael Cuison (fly/free/breast), Madelyne Moulton (free/breast/IM), Jessica Schab (free), and Quinci Thomas (free/back/relays). DSU also welcomes in seven new freshmen who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State was originally scheduled to host fellow WAC member California Baptist and BYU in a two-day, three-team meet on Oct. 8-9, at the HPC Pool. However that meet has now been canceled. DSU will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 23, when the Trailblazers travel north to Provo to swim in a dual meet at BYU.