COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Seven members of the San Diego State swimming and diving team were named to the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA)'s All-American team for the 2019-2020 season, the association announced Wednesday.
Due to the cancellation of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, the CSCAA Board adjusted the selection criteria for each division as the honor is usually reserved for the top eight finalists at the national championship, who receive first-team recognition, and consolation finalists, who are named Honorable Mention All-Americans. The changes were intended to not penalize any student-athlete who had not had the opportunity to compete for a spot on the All-American team in the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic. All relays achieving 'A" Standards, individuals selected to the NCAA Championships and divers entered in uncontested events from the Zone Diving Qualification meets were named All-Americans by the CSCAA this season.
The Aztecs saw six swimmers and a diver earn all-American honors based on their achievements throughout the 2019-20 campaign: junior Elli Ferrin (200 medley relay), sophomore Sammy Geyer (100 breaststroke), sophomore Ximena Lechuga Gonzalez (1-meter, 3-meter), senior Morganne McKennan (100 breaststroke), senior Alma Thormalm (200 medley relay), junior Klara Thormalm (100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 medley relay) and senior Courtney Vincent (100 butterfly, 200 medley relay).
The quartet of Ferrin, K. Thormalm, Vincent, and A. Thormalm each collected all-American honors for their efforts as a part of the Aztecs' 200 medley relay team, swimming a NCAA 'A' cut time at the 2020 MW Championships. The squad's gold-medal performance at the conference championship not only recorded a new conference championship and overall Mountain West record but set the program record with a time of 1:36.30.
Individually, Geyer, McKennan and Klara Thormalm were honored for their 100 breaststroke performances throughout the season, as each swimmer collected an NCAA 'B' cut time in 2019-20 and secured invites to the 2020 NCAA Championships (canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic). The trio swept the podium in the event at the Mountain West Conference Championships and Geyer's bronze-medal finish of 59.56 in the preliminary heats moved her to third all-time in SDSU's record book. Thormalm and McKennan, who previously set marks that ranked them first and second in the SDSU record books in the 100 breast, saw performances at the conference title chase that also qualified as 'B' cut marks. Additionally, Thormalm broke McKennan's previously-set Mountain West Conference Championship record of 59.50 with her first-place swim of 59.36 at the 2020 championships.
The 2020 Mountain West Swimmer of the Year and 2020 Mountain West Championships Swimmer of the Meet Klara Thormalm also earned an All-American nod for her 200 breaststroke efforts as the junior set the new program, Mountain West Conference and MW championship meet record at the 2020 championships with her first-place time of 2:08.30 (a NCAA 'B' cut time).
Vincent was individually awarded for her prowess in the 100 butterfly as the senior's season was highlighted by her preliminary heat time of 51.60 at the conference championships. The performance broke her own program record set earlier in the year and earned her an invite to the NCAA Championships with a 'B' cut effort.
Lechuga Gonzalez was the lone Aztec diver who earned All-American honors as the sophomore qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships in both the 1 and 3-meter with her seventh and fourth-place efforts, respectively, at the Zone E Diving Championships. The Tijuana, Mexico native holds all three program records on the springboard (1-meter, 3-meter, platform) with performances from the 2019-2020 season and was the only MW diver to qualify for the national championships on both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive.