Sophomore Ginger Kiefer has been the best performer for the Idaho Vandals Swimming and Diving team, finishing atop the leaderboard in most events and making history. Kiefer was also awarded as the 2025 Western Athletic Conference’s Swimmer of the Year for her performance this season.
“To me, it reflects a lot of the hard work I’ve put in this season,” Kiefer said. “It felt really good and meant a lot to me.”
This season, Kiefer broke five University of Idaho records, including her own in one event. The events were in different strokes and distances, demonstrating Kiefer’s range as a swimmer. Earlier this season, she swam a record of 1:58.84 in the 200-yard individual medley. Then, at a later meet, she topped that, coming in at 1:58.35.
She also set records in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:13.43 and the 200-yard backstroke at 1:55.07. She also beat the previous record in the 100-yard IM and set a new one at 0:57.27. Finally, Kiefer set school records in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:53.41 and a time of 10:09.17 in the 1,000-yard freestyle.
Kiefer said she could not choose a favorite event.
“Focusing on what I like about each event helps me succeed at doing every single one of them,” Kiefer said. “I love them all so much for different reasons.”
Kiefer said she goes into each race with the goal of trying her hardest.
“My training prepares me really well. I do a lot of longer distance and endurance stuff. It translates itself into all of my races and just being able to race really hard in all of them,” Kiefer said.
Kiefer’s swimming background spans across generations. Her great-grandfather Adolph was an Olympic swimmer and, in the 1936 Berlin Games, became the first man in the world to complete the 100-yard backstroke in less than a minute.
Kiefer’s great-grandfather does have some influence in her love of swimming, but she says a lot of the credit goes to her mother, who is also a swimmer.
“I’ve grown up having a parent that loves the sport that they put me into, and it really rubbed off on me. A lot of my success and passion for the sport comes from her,” Kiefer said.
UI Swim and Dive is officially moving from the WAC conference to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in the 2025-26 season, meaning Kiefer will be the last Vandal to win the WAC Swimmer of the Year title.
Reflecting on the first half of her collegiate career, Kiefer said, “It’s exciting to see how far I’ve come since coming here and I’m really excited to see where else I can go.”
Last October, Kiefer participated in and won the 5K in the MPSF Open Water Championship. This qualified her for the national championship.
To prepare herself for the finals, Kiefer’s main mentality is to have fun. This season, she has focused on being prepared mentally by appreciating her teammates’ help in performing at her best.
In addition to swimming, which she also enjoys doing recreationally, Kiefer likes backpacking and shopping. She doesn’t have a favorite place to do those things, just anywhere she can get the opportunity to do them.
Kiefer is studying operations and supply chain management, which she is similarly passionate about and would like to go into after college. Once again, she is following in her mother’s footsteps.
Kiefer decided to come to UI based on two major factors: how much she liked the coach and how close to home it was for her. Being from Bend, Oregon, home is only 6.5 hours away, and she really liked Head Coach Mark Sowa.
“He was my favorite coach that I talked to out of any single coach,” Kiefer said.
Even as a freshman and back in high school, Kiefer was the best she could be. She set three UI school records last year, finished in the top five at the state championship in high school and was a two-time district winner in the Intermountain Conference.
Kiefer will take part in the Open Water Nationals April 4-6. Her event, the 5K, will be held on the second day of the competition.
“Shout out to my team and coach. They’re a huge piece of why I’ve been so successful here,” Kiefer said.
You can reach Jackson Hamelund at arg-sports@uidaho.edu.