Northern Arizona University Women's Swimming

Johns has produced championship caliber teams together year in and year out in addition to developing a program that is equally exceptional in the classroom as it is in the pool. He has navigated NAU from the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference to its first all-Division I affiliation in the National Independent Conference (NIC) in 1998-99, followed by the programs move to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) prior to the 2004-05 season. In 18 years against exclusively Division I competition at the conference level, Johns has led NAU to four conference championships, including WAC titles each of the last three years, nine second-place finishes and four third-place efforts. Furthermore, the Lumberjacks have captured 54 individual and relay conference titles, 125 school records (a high of 11 set at the 2009 WAC meet), nine conference records and 45 NCAA qualifying marks under Johns tutelage. Johns has always been a proponent of the "total" program one that also succeeds in the classroom and his Jacks continue to achieve academic greatness. Since the fall of 1996, his student-athletes have posted cumulative grade-point averages of 3.00 and higher in 38 of 40 academic semesters. The Lumberjacks are consistently among the best programs the league in placing student-athletes on the WAC All-Academic lists with 21 earning the honor last year. NAU has been recognized 13 times as an Academic All-America Team by the Collegiate Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) including last year's squad which posted a 3.44 grade point average in the spring. As NAUs longest-tenured current head coach, Johns teams success has been unrivaled and the program was rewarded with the brand new Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The ATC, which Johns played a key role in the design process, officially opened its doors in February 2016 and is NAU swimming & divings new home following its 32-year stay in the Wall Aquatic Center. The opening of the ATC was just one of many highlights of the 2015-16 season which featured NAUs third consecutive WAC Championship. The three-peat was achieved in near record fashion as Johns squad ripped their way through the conference competition besting runner-up New Mexico State by 319.5 points. NAU posted 807.5 points during the four-day championships and recorded the fifth largest margin of victory in WAC history. NAU claimed seven event victories, setting a new high water mark for the program since joining the WAC. The Lumberjacks dominant performance earned Johns his third straight WAC Coach of the Year honor and fourth overall. Proving to be more than just a distance-oriented team, Johns saw his 200 freestyle relay team of junior Hayley Edmond, sophomores Roni Houck and Alina Staffeldt and freshman Ila Hughes set a new school record on their way to winning the event for the first time since 1997 prior to NAU joining the WAC. Staffeldt also broke the school record in winning the 200 butterfly, while senior Kendall Brown won both the 500 and 1650 freestyles among the many highlights. As has become customary, all 21 of NAUs scoring athletes scored points in at least two of their three individual events and the Jacks were the only team to place an athlete in the championship heat in every event for the second straight year. The performance followed NAUs successful title defense in 2014-15. Just as NAU continues to prove, the Lumberjacks are one team and depth was key as all 20 of NAUs scoring athletes earned a scoring spot in at least one individual event. The Jacks claimed two individual gold medals with junior diver Chelsea Jackson winning the 3-meter event and freshman Alina Staffeldt NAUs Female Newcomer of the Year breaking the school record en route to placing first in the 100 butterfly. Staffeldt and sophomore Urte Kazakeviciute notched NCAA B standard times as NAU finished with 666 points, 127 more than New Mexico State, to bring the hardware back to Flagstaff for the second consecutive year. A total of 16 student-athletes combined for 39 All-WAC honors at the 2015 WAC Championships. In the classroom, three student-athletes Jackson, Staffeldt and sophomore diver Alexa Geiger received CSCAA Scholar All-American honors while the team received two Scholar All-America Team distinctions from CSCAA during the year. After a near miss the year prior, Johns led the Lumberjacks to a banner year in 2013-14 as NAU clinched its first WAC Championship in school history. Despite winning just two individual gold medals - senior Jordan Burnes in the 200 breaststroke and sophomore Kendall Brown in the 1650 freestyle - the Lumberjacks turned a 19-point lead heading into the final day into a 743-642 final margin over Idaho on the final day to bring back the conference title to Flagstaff. Twenty athletes scored points for the Lumberjacks showcasing the team's full depth while Burnes broke both of her school records in the breaststroke events. Burnes, Brown and freshman Urte Kazakeviciute combined to record four NCAA 'B' standard times. For the second consecutive year, the Lumberjacks finished the 2013-14 season in the top-25 of the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major poll. As exceptional as they were in the pool, Johns' team was equally stellar in the classroom posted the seventh-best GPA in the nation among swimming & diving programs during the Spring 2014 semester. The Lumberjacks earned a pair of CSCAA All-American team awards during the academic year and they led all WAC winter sports with 19 All-Academic selections. In all, NAU placed 22 of its student-athletes on the conference all-academic list. Three Lumberjacks earned CSCAA Scholar All-American honors and seniors Andrea Derflinger, Emma Lowther and Stirling Smith all were recipients of the prestigious NAU Gold Axe Award. Smith was also named NAU's Female Senior Student-Athlete of the Year award which marked the second straight year that the program produced the top female student-athlete at NAU. After initially settling into the Western Athletic Conference, Johns' Lumberjacks established themselves as title contenders recording four runner-up finishes over a six-year span capped by a narrow seven-point loss to San Jose State at the 2013 conference meet before finally hoisting the trophy in 2014. Despite falling just short of the programs first WAC Championship, freshman Ellie Morrissey was named the WAC Freshman of the Year at the conclusion of the meet with Nikki Huffman receiving her second WAC Diving Coach of the Year award. NAU also won its first WAC medley relay title in the 400 medley relay, shattering the previous school record by nearly two seconds in the process. Between the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons, NAU totaled 11 individual titles, including five each in 2012 and 2013, 22 NCAA B standard times, including a program-record 11 in 2012, and 24 new school records, with a high of 10 in 2013. In that span, seven student-athletes combined for 10 All-American honors with Fi Connell, Emma Lowther and Jordan Burnes each earning a pair of honors. While the program was reaching new heights within the conference, Johns led NAU to its first dual meet victory over Arizona State as well as fellow Pac-12 foe Washington State. The Lumberjacks also produced some of the top female student-athletes at NAU as Kristy Ardavanis (2012-13) and Rachel Palmer (2011-12) received the universitys Female Athlete of the Year award. Meanwhile, Ellie Morrissey (2012-13) and Caitlin Wright (2011-12) were voted as NAUs Female Newcomers of the Year. The Jacks also reached a high-water ranking of a tie for sixth in the final CollegeSwimming.com 2013 Mid-Major Poll while tying for the sixth-best team GPA among all NCAA Division I womens swimming & diving programs in 2013, marking NAUs second consecutive top 10 academic GPA ranking nationally. In 2012-13, a pair of Lumberjacks received distinguished academic honors as Fi Connell was named NAUs Female Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Palmer was voted to the Capital One Academic All-District 8 Womens At-Large First Team. Johns led NAU to a pair of second place finishes at the WAC Championships prior to a fifth place finish in 2010. The Lumberjacks earned the runner-up title among nine teams in 2008-09 and finished second among eight teams during the 2007-08 season. At the 2009 WAC Championships, the Lumberjacks earned 43 All-WAC Awards and set 11 school records, marking the most records set at the WAC meet in the five years NAU had been a member. That number still holds as the most records ever set at a conference meet in Johns' tenure. The 43 All-WAC Awards are also the most to date. During NAU's first three seasons as an affiliate member of the WAC, Johns helped improve the Lumberjacks' fifth-place finish in their inaugural season in 2004-05 to a pair of third-place finishes. He was named WAC Coach of the Year in NAU's rookie season and was pivotal in coaching Alexis Buckley to the 2006 NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. Buckley swam in both the 1,650 and 500 freestyle and became the first female swimmer at NAU to represent the Lumberjacks in 12 years. Prior to joining the WAC, NAU finished second at the National Independent Conference (NIC) Championships in 2003-04 and Johns was named the NIC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year. NAU had seven individual conference champions, tying the team record for the most champions in a single conference meet. The Lumberjacks also set 10 school records, and earned two other honors in addition to Johns', as assistant coach Nikki Huffman earned her fourth Diving Coach of the Year honor and then-sophomore Blair Buder was named the Female Diver of the Year. Johns came to NAU in 1996 from Clemson, where he trained the sprinters, including one NCAA All-American. Prior to that, he spent three years as head coach at Northeast Missouri State (now Truman State). During his tenure, his teams set 45 school records and five athletes posted their first national qualifying times. Johns is well-respected in the swimming research community, having presented at the American College of Sports Medicine national meeting twice, first about the effects of warm-up in 1991 and tapering in 1992. Johns is published in many sports medicine journals, including the International Journal of Sports Medicine and Medicine and Science in Sport in Exercise. He was awarded a research fellowship from the Institute of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina in 1990. As a collegian at East Carolina, Johns helped his team to the Colonial Athletic Association title in 1989. Prior to ECU, he was a junior-college All-American, earning the honor eight times in two years at Broward (Fla.) Community College. Outside of his time as a coach, Johns has performed with the Flagstaff Light Opera Company, including the musicals Oliver and The Secret Garden, and is currently a member of The Flagstaff Master Chorale whom he sang with at Carnegie Hall in March 2012. Johns received his bachelor's degree in physical education from ECU in 1989 and followed that with a master's in exercise physiology in 1991. Johns is married to his wife, Misha, and has two daughters, Ali and Maddie.

Huffman begins her 21st year at the helm of the Northern Arizona diving program, a squad that she has consistently led to the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. A four-time National Independent Conference (NIC) Diving Coach of the Year and three-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year, Huffman now takes her team into their 13th year of WAC competition, a league which boasts some of the top divers in the country. Over the last 20 years, NAU has not had less than two divers who have competed at the NCAA Zone Championships under Huffmans leadership. In all, Huffman has coached 29 different divers to the zone diving meet on the women's side, a number that is double the amount who represented NAU prior to Huffman's arrival. With Huffmans guidance, NAU has routinely proven to be equal competitors with those from the Pac-12, Mountain West and Big West on the regional stage. While success on the boards has been prominent in describing Huffman, her charges have also been superior in the classroom. The divers have helped the Lumberjacks be named an Academic All-America Team by the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) numerous times - an honor given to a team with a grade-point average of 3.00 and higher. She has coached two NAU Golden Eagle Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Courtney McKenzie, 2002-03; Chelsea Jackson, 2015-16), two CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees (McKenzie, 2003 First Team; Lana Christensen, 2011 Second Team) and four different student-athletes to CSCAA Honorable Mention Academic All-America honors (Anna Deem, 2003; Alexa Geiger, 2014, 2015; Jackson, 2013, 2014, 2015; McKenzie, 2003). What has quickly become an annual tradition, the Lumberjack divers made the biggest splash at the WAC Championships earning Huffman the honor of WAC Diving Coach of the Year last season. Huffmans divers played a critical role in NAU capturing its third consecutive conference championship and were led by junior Alexa Geiger, who was awarded the WACs Diver of the Year award. Geiger took home the hardware after winning gold on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards, while freshman Raquel Gonzales placed in the top eight in all three diving events. The Jacks put their stamp on the meet from the first individual event placing all six of their divers in scoring positions and never let up. For the second consecutive year, four divers combined for nine all-conference honors, and the momentum was carried over into the NCAA Zone E Championships where all six divers qualified matching the most in school history. Senior Chelsea Jackson, a five-time WAC Diver of the Week awardee during the season, narrowly missed her bid to the NCAA Championships by placing 10th at the Zone Meet while Geiger was two spots back in 12th. At the 2015 WAC Championships, Huffmans divers were the class of the competition, making their mark on the first day. All four of NAUs scoring divers - juniors Chelsea Jackson and Carlye Townsend, sophomore Alexa Geiger and freshman Emma Simmonds - all placed in the top eight on 1-meter. After making a statement in the first diving event as a team, the Lumberjacks got their first gold medal of the championship when Jackson claimed the 3-meter title. In all, the Huffmans four divers accounted for nine all-conference honors, with Jackson and Geiger diving in the championship final in all three events. Huffman also mentored freshman Alyssa Loeffelman to an impressive WAC Championship performance. Although she dove as a non-scorer, Loeffelmans preliminary scores on both springboards would have been good enough to score points in the finals. Jackson and Geiger proceeded to dive at the NCAA Zone E Meet where Jackson placed 15th on 1-meter and 18th on 3-meter. Both Jackson and Geiger earned WAC Diver of the Week honors during the season, combining for three awards from the conference office. Huffman's divers were an integral part of NAU's first-ever WAC Championship team in 2013-14 as all four of her divers scored points for the Lumberjacks at the conference meet. Sophomore Chelsea Jackson led the way as she placed third on all three boards to earn three All-WAC first team honors. Huffman also coached senior Jane Wakefield, sophomore Carlye Townsend and freshman Alexa Geiger to breakout performances at the WAC Championships. In her final conference meet, Wakefield scored on 1-meter and platform while Towsend earned a pair of All-WAC second team honors. Meanwhile, Geiger made a sensational debut on the conference stage placing in the top-seven on all three boards. All together, Huffman's divers totaled eight all-conference honors. Jackson, Geiger and senior Gwen Smithberg represented NAU at the NCAA Zone E Meet highlighted by Jackson's 15th place finish on 3-meter. That trio also combined to win four WAC Diver of the Week awards during the regular season. Prior to NAU's championship run, Huffman earned WAC Diving Coach of the Year in 2012-13 on the heels of senior Kristy Ardavanis' gold medal on 1-meter which marked the program's first WAC diving championship since 2008 and first on 1-meter since 2004. Junior Gwen Smithberg also claimed victory on platform in the same meet. Ardavanis, a 10-time WAC Diver of the Week honoree in her final two seasons, would up being voted NAU's Female Athlete of the Year and finished as an alternate for the national championship meet following a sixth-place finish on 1-meter at NCAA Zones. Huffman coached six divers to the NCAA Zone Regional Championships, the most in school history until it was matched during the 2015-16 season, in 2010-11. She earned her first WAC Diving Coach of the Year awardin 2007-08 after senior Natalie Hughes became NAUs first-ever gold-medal winner in diving in the WAC (3-meter) and was named the WAC Diver of the Year. In the eight years prior to joining the WAC, the Lumberjacks dominated conference competition in the NIC. NAU won 11 individual conference diving titles in eight years in the NIC women's competition under Huffman's guidance, and earned four conference diver-of-the-year awards (including back-to-back honors by Kate Morgan in 2002 and 2003, and Blair Buder in 2004). Huffman was named the Women's Diving Coach of the Year four times (1997, 2002, 2003, 2004). Prior to NAU, Huffman spent two years at Clemson, where she was voted the 1996 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Diving Coach of the Year. With the Tigers, Huffman coached both men's and women's diving teams to winning seasons, with the women's team being ranked in the top-25 of the national coaches' poll in 1996. She had one ACC champion each year and took five divers to the zone meet in 1996. Huffman began her coaching career at her alma mater, Oakland University. She coached six All-Americans and three Division II national champions, being named Division II National Men's Diving Coach of the Year in 1994. At Oakland, she coached Dario D'Fazio, who represented Venezuela in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. As an athlete, Huffman was a seven-time All-America and two-time national champion during her career at Oakland, where she returned every time the NIC Championships were held at the Rochester, Mich., school. A 1991 graduate of Oakland, the former Nikki Kelsey was married in the summer of 2001. She gave birth to a daughter, Kayla, in the summer of 2003, and to a son, Darren, in the spring of 2005.