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High school junior Jane Koch has verbally committed to swim at the University of South Carolina beginning in the fall of 2023. Koch is a Columbia, South Carolina native, who trains with Palmetto Aquatics and Dreher High School, which is located just two miles from her future college campus.
At the most recent South Carolina High School State Championship meet, Koch finished 3rd in the 50 free and 4th in the 100 free in Class 4A, which is the middle of the state’s three public high school classifications by enrollment.
Koch’s best sprint times came in 2020. At that year’s State Championship meet as a sophomore, she was the state champion in the 50 free in a time of 24.13 and finished 5th in the 100 free in 54.14.
Earlier that year, during her freshman season of high school at just 14 years old, she swam a best time of 53.76 in the 100 free that is still her best time two years later.
Best Times in Yards:
50 free – 24.13
100 free – 53.76
200 free – 1:59.80
100 fly – 57.72
Koch is very much a project pickup for the Gamecocks – and she’s already showing some potential in the long course season, matching her personal best in the 50 meter free two weeks ago. Her time there was 28.47. She also swam a best time in the 100-meter fly of 1:05.62, a new best time by over a second.
Her commitment is still part of an important narrative for the Gamecocks. Last season, only 8 out of 43 athletes on the women’s swimming & diving roster came from South Carolina. While Jeff Poppell, who is entering his second year leading the Gamecocks, has turned to international signings to rebuild, he is also making a push in-state. Besides Koch, South Carolina has also added one of the state’s top juniors, Delaney Franklin, in the class of 2023.
Poppell is still reaching wide for this class, including to the states of Alabama, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but he is also rebuilding relationships within the state. There is some good, young talent coming through the pipeline in the state, including rising junior Hayden Penny, where those relationships could pay off for the Gamecocks.
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