A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Janine Owens Huffer came to UND in the fall of 1983 and was a two-year letterwinner in swimming between 1984 and 1986.
While at UND Owens Huffer swam the events 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 200 individual medley and 200 medley relay. She was the team captain her senior year.
Owens Huffer was named the NCC Female Athlete of the Year (Stan Marshall Award) in 1986, UND Female Athlete of the Year (Grace Rhonemus Award) in 1986, MVP in 1986, All-American 10 times, NCC At-Large Academic Team in 1985 and 1986, and College Swim Coaches of America All-Academic Team in 1985 and 1986.
Owens Huffer was an 11-time All-American and two-time honorable mention All-American at UND.
Owens Huffer was a member of the NCAA champion 200 free relay team that still holds UND's school-record time of 1:35.58. The mark was also an NCAA record and has stood since 1985.
UND won the NCC team championship in both years she swam for the Sioux and finished fourth and sixth at nationals those years.
Owens Huffer graduated from UND in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. She earned a master's degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991.
After leaving UND, Owens Huffer worked as an operations planning engineer at Wisconsin Power and Light in Madison, Wis., from 1987-93.
Currently Owens Huffer is a homemaker in Green Bay, Wis., where she resides with her husband Thomas, who attended medical school at UND in 1990 for his transitional residency program, and her three children Kate, Erin and Sarah.
She lists her hobbies as swimming, biking, spending time with family, reading, gardening and crafts.
