Swim_and_Dive_Team_Photo

Riley Tapley Season 2023-24

PositionBACK, FLY, IM
Height5-6
ClassGraduate Student
HometownSuperior, Colo.

SDSU TOP-10 MARKS
200 Medley Relay (5th)
100 Back: 53.71 (6th)
200 Back: 1:56.10 (6th)

400 Medley Relay: (7th, 9th)

HONORS
2024 All-Mountain West (100 Back, 200 Back)
2023 All-Mountain West (100 Back, 200 Back)
2022 All-Mountain West (100 Back, 200 Back, 400 MR)
2021 All-Mountain West (100 Fly, 100 Back, 200 Back, 400 MR)

Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Mountain West All-Academic Selection (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23)

SDSU Scholar-Athlete (Spring 2020, Fall 2020)
SDSU Malik Award Winner (Spring 2020)

Link: Season & Career Bests

2022-23 SEASON (As a Senior):
Enjoyed another highly productive year, earning all-Mountain West honors in the 100 and 200 backstroke to help the Aztecs secure their second conference championship with a record 1,638 points … Earned a bronze medal at the MW meet in the 100 back with a career-fast and NCAA “B” cut time of 53.71, which ranks fifth on the school’s all-time list (2-17-23) … Posted additional season-fast swims in the 200 back (1:58.10) and the 100 fly (55.04) at the league championships, finishing fourth and 14th, respectively (2-17-23) … Also swam the butterfly segment of the second SDSU 200 medley relay team that logged the seventh-best time of the event at 1:40.89, which was deemed an exhibition (2-15-23) … Won the 100 back (55.45) and led off the Aztecs’ fourth 200 medley relay team that recorded the second-best time (1:45.47) in a home dual-meet victory vs. Pepperdine (1-13-23) … Also emerged triumphant in the 100 back (56.09) and swam the butterfly segment of the second SDSU 200 medley relay team that finished second (1:44.40) in a double dual sweep of Cal State East Bay and Incarnate Word (1-5-23) … Replicated the feat for the Aztecs’ second 200 medley relay team that placed second in another home win over the University of San Diego just before the holiday break (12-19-22) … Logged a pair of top-10 individual placements at the highly competitive SMU Invitational, finishing third in the 100 back (54.90) and sixth in the 200 back (1:59.65) to help the Scarlet and Black capture the team title (11-17/19-22) … Also led off SDSU’s “B” entry in the 400 medley (3:41.470) and 200 medley relay teams (1:41.28) that placed third and fifth, respectively, and took sixth in the “B” finals of the 200 individual medley (2:04.83) … Swam the backstroke segment of the Aztecs’ victorious 400 medley relay (3:49.75) in a dual-meet triumph over Utah Tech, adding a fourth-place swim of 1:09.57 in the 100 breaststroke and a fifth-place effort of 57.97 in the 100 fly (11-5-22) … Contributed to SDSU’s combined 6-0 record vs. Grand Canyon, LMU and Seattle at the GCU Quad Meet after winning the 100 back (55.96) and placing third in the 200 back (2:03.45) … Also led off the Aztecs’ second-place 400 medley relay “B” team (3:48.82) and finished sixth in the 50 free with a career-fast 24.61 clocking (10-21/22-22) … Helped the Scarlet and Black to a second-place team standing at the Fresno State Chick-Fil-A Invitational after finishing seventh in the 200 back (2:03.28) and swimming the third leg of SDSU 400 free relay “B” team (3:30.93) that also ended up in the seventh spot (10-7/8-22) … Finished third in the individual standings at the season-opening pentathlon meet vs. USD with a combined time of 4:58.16, including a career-fast 1:09.54 in the 100 breast (9-9-22) … Ended the year with a pair of victories in the 50 meter back (31.46) and 200 meter free (2:19.75) during a long course meet vs. San Diego (4-20-23) … Garnered Mountain West all-academic accolades for the fourth straight season along with conference scholar-athlete distinction.

2021-22 SEASON (As a Junior): Competed in 10 meets… Enjoyed her finest season as an Aztec… Produced seven career-bests, including a victory and B-cut in the 200 Back at the Phill Hansel Invitational… Also at the Phill Hansel Invitational, set career-bests in the 100 Fly (54.19) and 200 IM (2:02.56), which resulted in fifth and sixth place finishes, respectively…. Her 100 Back time of 54.07 in the leadoff of the 400 Medley Relay at the Phill Hansel Invitational was a career-best… At the USD Pentathlon, recorded career-best times in the 100 Free (7th place in 54.37) and 100 Breaststroke (11th place in 1:10.40)… Her 24.91 in the 50 Free vs. Cal Poly, was good for fifth place and was also a collegiate best… Swam leadoff in the winning 200 Medley Relay team at the Phill Hansel Invitational.

2020-21SEASON (As a Sophomore): Tallied three top-four finishes at the 2021 MW Championships, highlighted by third-place finishes with career-best swims in the 100 and 200 back … Her 100 back swim of 54.57 at the league championships ranks as the ninth-fastest in SDSU history, while her 200 back swim of 1:57.48 at the MW Champs is the fourth-fastest ever swam by an Aztec … At the same meet, placed fourth in the 100 fly with a collegiate-best time of 54.81 … Also aided the Aztecs’ 400 medley relay squad to all-MW honors … Captured three first-place performances at the Aztecs’ dual meet with Cal Poly, earning top finishes in the 100 and 200 back and 100 fly … Kicked off the season with four top-two efforts at the Fresno State Invite, including a gold-medal swim in the 100 fly. 

2019-20 SEASON (As a Freshman): Totaled three top-15 finishes at the 2020 MW Championships, highlighted by an 11th-place effort in the 100 back (third in the B finals) … Finished second in the same event in the Aztecs’ regular-season finale vs. USD … Saw success at the 2019 Mizzou Invitational, placing 12th in the 200 back, 16th in the 200 IM with a career-best swim of 2:03.28 and 15th in the 400 IM with a collegiate-best time of 4:28.91 … Started season with two top-five finishes in the Scarlet and Black’s double-dual meet with Pepperdine and Boise State. 
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Competed for Fairview High School where she earned four varsity letters under Coach Bob Smartt … Was an All-American in the 100 butterfly and set school records in the 100 back, 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle... Has recorded a top-10 time in state championships in the 100 back in four consecutive years… Posted a sixth-place finish at the CHSAA Championships in the 100 fly in 2018…  Led team to a state championships in 2016 and 2019 and state runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018… Was a three-time Scholastic All-American (2017-19)… Top times in high school: 100 back (55.55), 100 fly (55.23), 200 back (1:57.61), 200 fly (2:03.96), 200 IM (2:05.69) and 400 IM (4:22.66).

CLUB: Competed for the Jeffco Hurricanes under coach Brett Stoyell where she set team records in the 100 and 200 back and 200 fly. 
 
PERSONAL: 
Daughter of Marlo and Alan Tapley… Her grandfather was a Division I swimmer … She enjoys going to the beach and waterskiing… Lists Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller as her favorite athlete… Majoring in kinesiology pre-physical therapy with hopes of becoming a physical therapist or physician’s assistant.