Minnesota State head swimming and diving coach Nathan Owens has announced the signing of eight high school recruits in the early signing period.
All signings and transfers are contingent upon admission to MSU and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Eligibility Center.
The eight student-athletes who signed with Minnesota State include Lauren Hake (Faribault, Minn.), Jaycie Klein (Davenport, Iowa), Mallorie Myers (Johnston, Iowa), Rylie Parman (Berlin, Wis.), Megan Schill (Dubuque, Iowa), Kirtsen Siebenga (Cedar Falls, Iowa), Hannah VanDalen (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) and Natalie Vorel (Edmond, Okla.).
"We're losing six current seniors that have made a big contribution to our program and the team's success," Owens said. "Next year, we'll have many areas of need in terms of being competitive in more than 15 events. We're excited to announce the signing of eight outstanding student-athletes to join our Maverick family in the fall of 2016.
"These young women have accomplished some great things throughout their respective high school and club careers. The coaching staff and I are in agreement that each of these ladies has the ability to develop and improve during their college career. Our coaches take great pride in helping athletes reach their potential and look forward to start working with everyone next August."
An All-Big 9 conference honoree, Hake is a six-year letterwinner and is currently competing at Faribault High School. As a junior, she was named Section 1A Diver of the Year after finishing first in the Class A Section 1A section championships. She has qualified for the state championships during each of the four previous seasons, including a sixth-place finish in 2015.
Hake was also the 2013 MSHSL Class A True Team State champion and 2015 MSHSL Class A Section 1A True Team Section diving champion. She holds the Faribault High School 6-Dive and 11-Dive school records. She is also a five-year letterwinner for the track and field team and is a member of the National Honor Society.
"Lauren has a very bright college diving career ahead of her," Owens said. "Thanks to her coaches and her year's of experience, she does a lot of little things very well that are hard to coach and correct, so the foundation is there for her to refine her dives, increase her degree of difficulty, and get some big scores. She's another great addition to our team and we look forward to seeing what she can accomplish at the college level."
A four-time state qualifier for the Muscatine High School diving team, Klein, has shown consistent improvement during her high school career, improving from 18th place as a freshman, to fourth as a senior at the Iowa High School State meet. She has garnered All-State Second Team honors during the last two seasons and was named to the Diving All-State Academic Team. She also participated in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
"Jaycie has clearly improved throughout her high school career and can certainly continue that trend as she begins her college career," Owens said. "She's a talented athlete that seems to possess the motivation and determination needed to have success. We're happy that she's joining our team and know that she'll bring a lot of our diving squad!"
A four-year state qualifier out of Johnston High School, Myers helped her team to a third-place finish at the Iowa High School State meet, to go along with a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke and a ninth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.
"We're very happy to have Mallorie joining our team next year," Owens said. "She will make a great addition to a very competitive group of backstrokers and middle distance freestylers, who are poised to do some special things in the years to come."
A state qualifier out of Oshkosh West High School, Parman has competed in both the Wisconsin Division I Sectional and State championships. Last season she competed in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke at the state championships. Parman has also competed at the YMCA National Championships.
"We are excited to have Rylie on the team next season because she is a versatile swimmer who competes in several events including sprint & middle distance freestyle, breaststroke, and IM events" Owens said. "Having versatile swimmers like Rylie on our team really helps our depth chart and gives us options when writing a line-up. She'll be great for our team."
A four-year letterwinner at Hempstead High School, Schill is a three-time Iowa High School State qualifier and has competed in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard IM events at the state meet. She currently holds her high school record in the 200-yard IM, the 100-yard freestyle, the 50-yard freestyle and is a member of the record holding 200-yard medley relay team. For her efforts, she was named the Mississippi Valley Conference Athlete of the Year.
"Megan is another versatile swimmer that we are excited to have," Owens said. "She'll be able to compete and help out our team in many areas that the team needs help with. We're excited to see what her college career has in store."
A four-year letterwinner, Siebenga has helped lead her team at John F. Kennedy High School to three regional championships during her four seasons. Siebenga is also a four-time state qualifier and helped her squad finish in the top-10 at the Iowa High School State meet in 2015, where she anchored to the 200-yard medley relay team that finished sixth. She has received three all-conference honors in swimming and has also earned three letters as a member of the track and field team. She also owns the school record in the 50-yard freestyle and is a member of the National Honor Society.
"We are all excited for Kirsten become a Maverick next Fall, Owens said. "We feel that Kirsten will be able to contribute to our sprint group and has a bright future in our program. She's an excellent student with a great work ethic that will carry over into her athletic training. She's an outstanding student-athlete, and we are looking forward to working with her next fall."
A four-year letterwinner out of Ashwaubenon High School, VanDalen has competed in the Division I Wisconsin High School State Championships, the Wisconsin Senior State meet and the Speedo Championship series. Last season, VanDalen helped her team qualify for three relay events at the state championships.
"Hannah's from Ashwaubenon, my hometown, and we're excited for her to be a Maverick," Owens explains. "She's had an accomplished high school and club swimming career and will have an outstanding college career. She is such a versatile swimmer and is someone who can help make our team more competitive in many areas. We are happy that she choose to be a Maverick."
A four-year letterwinner out of Edmond Memorial High School, Vorel won the 500-yard freestyle event at the Oklahoma State Championships in 2014, to go along with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. She has received 12 medals at the state meet. Vorel has also competed in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly events and recently finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly and sixth in the 800-yard freestyle events at the Speedo Championship Series.
"We are thrilled that Natalie will be a Maverick next year," Owens said. "She is a dynamic swimmer that will contribute right away. Natalie is an experienced swimmer and competitor from swimming club and high school with all the accolades that come with success. We're looking forward to working with her and seeing what her college career has in store."
The Mavericks return to action on Saturday, Dec. 5, as they take part in the two-day Rochester Invite in Rochester, Minn.
