SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Head coach Lindsie Micko announced Tuesday that Augustana swimming has signed three swimmers for the 2019-20 season. The swimmers signed include Ruth Huffman, Lydia Smith and Cailey Scott.

"We are super excited to add these three young ladies to our class of 2023," Micko said. "They will join our fall signees for a total of eight incoming freshmen. As we look forward to our 4th year of the program, all of these young ladies bring great characteristics that will make them wonderful Augustana student-athletes."

Lydia Smith is a native of Fargo, N.D. where she attended Fargo North High School. For the Vikings she will swim middle distance.

For the Spartans, Smith was voted the Team MVP and the EDC Senior Athlete of the Year in 2018-19. She was a team captain, four-time letter winner and starter for the Spartans.

Her senior year she had times of 2:03 in the 200 Free, 2:26 in the 200 IM, 1:07 in the 100 Fly, 5:35 in the 500 Free, 1:07 in the 100 Back and 1:22 in the 100 Breast.

"I am excited to have our first North Dakotan join our program," Micko said. "Lydia will help bolster our middle distance freestyle events."

Smith plans to major in Elementary Education with minors in Special Education and/or French and/or Visual Arts.

Ruth Huffman is a Fate, Texas native. Huffman attended Heritage Christian Academy in Rockwall, Texas where she was a four-year letter winner. For the Eagles, Huffman was a decorated swimmer and will be a versatile swimmer for the Vikings.

While attending Heritage Christian Academy, Huffman was a state champion in the 100 Fly and the 500 Free her junior and senior season. She was a two-time First Team All-State in the 100 Fly and the 500 Free and was a four-time First Team All-Region.

"Ruth is going to be a huge asset to our program," Micko said. "She brings a lot of versatility and should help us in the middle distance and distance freestyle, fly and IM events as well as be an immediate impact in our relay events."

Huffman plans to major in Education/English Major. After graduation, Huffman hopes to become a high school English teacher and swim coach.


Cailey Scott is a local swimmer from Mitchell, S.D. Scott attended Mitchell High School where she was a freestyle and backstroke swimmer for the Kernels. She was a four-year letter winner for Mitchell as well as a three-year captain.

Scott was a four-time champion in the 1000 freestyle, 1650 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke at the South Dakota Short Course State Championship her senior year. She was a Speedo Sectionals qualifier (Arizona) and was the recipient of the MAC Award.

She was a state champion in the 800 freestyle her junior year, a state champion in the 1650 freestyle her sophomore year and was a state champion in the 1650 freestyle, 1000 freestyle and 500 freestyle her freshman year of high school.

"Cailey is our first swimmer with an alumni parent," Micko said. "She has had a great senior year and I'm excited to see her continue to develop in our program. Cailey will swim freestyle, fly and backstroke."

At Augustana, Scott plans to major in Biology/Pre-Medicine with a minor in Psychology. Along with swimming, she will also be playing the piano on scholarship. After graduation, Scott plans on attending medical school and becoming a doctor.