Smith, who plans to specialize in backstroke and freestyle sprint distances, is the latest in a steady stream of MHS swimmers to choose USD.
Emerson Smith found it easy to decide where to continue her swimming career, despite having several options.
On August 1, the senior from Mitchell High School announced her commitment to the University of South Dakota through an Instagram post. Then, on November 13, she officially signed her national letter of intent during National Signing Day celebrations at MHS. Smith intends to major in medical biology and minor in Spanish.
“I feel like it was always USD,” Smith said of her decision. “I visited other schools, but nothing really compared to USD. … I loved their team dynamic, and I got along with the coaches right away. I also liked the size of the college and the distance from home, plus USD has really nice facilities and people.”
Smith, who plans to specialize in backstroke and freestyle sprint distances, is the latest in a steady stream of MHS swimmers to choose USD. That lineage includes current Coyote Lauren Anderson, a sophomore on USD’s 2024-25 swim and dive roster.
“I think it’s kind of funny and a little ironic that so many of us have chosen to go to USD, but I’ll already know some of the swimmers, so that helps,” Smith said. “I’m just very excited to see what it’s like. Obviously, South Dakota doesn’t have high school swimming, so I feel like college will be a better team environment, so I’m interested to see how that will be.”
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