NCAA Report Watch: Which Requirements On Alert This Week in Athens?
Ultimately yr’s NCAA Ladies’s Championships, we noticed the quickest collegiate occasions ever recorded in 5 out of 13 particular person occasions. Kate Douglass was accountable for three of these information, within the 200 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 breaststroke as she accomplished one of many best faculty careers ever. Maggie Mac Neil defeated Gretchen Walsh to seize the document within the 50 freestyle earlier than Walsh rebounded to swim the highest 100 backstroke in historical past.
How about this yr? Which of the information are in jeopardy, and which of these marks are unlikely to be touched? Data in 4 occasions have already gone down this yr, all courtesy of Walsh, however there are different swimmers who might knock off some marks. Then again, generational abilities established information throughout their respective faculty careers that proceed to be effectively out of vary of the present era.
Break Them Once more?
50 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
100 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
Walsh broke all 4 of those information on the ACC Championships, clocking 20.57 within the 50 free, 48.25 within the 100 fly, 48.10 within the 100 again and 45.16 within the 100 free. Can she prime these occasions this week in Athens, Ga.? No motive to imagine she can not, with one exception: when she led off the 400 medley relay on the ACC Championships, she had the time without work from particular person occasions. In that very same place on the nationwide meet, Walsh will likely be coming off a person closing within the 100 fly.
That stated, we can not rule out Katharine Berkoff taking down Walsh’s 100 again document. It’s a protracted shot, however Berkoff is poised to regain the title she beforehand received in 2021 and 2022 with Walsh absent from the person occasion. Berkoff clocked a greatest time of 48.70 on the ACC Championships, a mark that solely Walsh has ever surpassed.
lsh sister had everybody in anticipation every time she stepped to the blocks on the ACC Championships. Walsh ended up breaking 4 particular person information, twice , beating Douglass’ official document and Walsh’s personal unofficial document within the 100 butterfly and nearly changing into the primary swimmer below 48 within the 100 backstroke on a relay leadoff earlier than taking down Manuel’s long-standing 100 free document.
Positively Potential
Emma Sticklen — Picture Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
Chances are high robust that any non-Gretchen Walsh particular person information must wait till the ultimate day, however these two may very well be challenged. Within the 200 breast, Gretchen’s older sister Alex Walsh will attempt to beat Douglass’ mark of two:01.29 set final yr after clocking 2:02.24 on the ACC Championships to develop into the second-fastest performer in historical past. That bounce from the convention meet to the nationwide degree is just not out of the query.
Much more prone to go is the 200 fly collegiate document belonging to Ella Eastin at 1:49.51. Final season, Texas’ Emma Sticklen broke 1:50 for the primary time as she got here from behind to win the title in 1:49.95. That type of drop is inside Sticklen’s vary in her senior marketing campaign, though she would have a troublesome time closing the hole on the American and U.S. Open information of 1:48.33 that Regan Smith set in November.
Very Slight Likelihood
Missy Franklin has owned the quickest time ever within the 200-yard free since 2015, and since then, Mallory Comerford is the one lady to hitch her below the 1:40-barrier. However now we have seen some fast efforts thus far this season. Gretchen Walsh moved to No. 3 all-time along with her 1:40.23 relay leadoff leg on the ACC Championships, whereas Florida’s Bella Sims swam as quick as 1:40.78 in highschool, and she or he went 1:40.90 on the SEC Championships. USC’s Minna Abraham and Florida’s Isabel Ivey have each been 1:41s getting into the NCAA meet.
Walsh is just not entered within the particular person 200 free whereas she might or might not reprise her position main off Virginia’s 800 free relay. Sims will definitely be in place to make a run on the 200 free, however 1:39.10 is likely to be too fast for this yr.
No Likelihood
500 Freestyle
200 IM
400 IM
100 Breaststroke
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
It’s actually exhausting to see any of those six information being touched. The five hundred free and 1650 free information belong to Katie Ledecky, far out of vary of any present faculty athletes. Ditto Lilly King’s 100 breaststroke document. Alex Walsh will chase the person medley information, the 200 IM mark set by Douglass final yr and the 400 IM customary belonging to Eastin since 2018, however the occasions of 1:48.37 and three:54.60, respectively, are far on the market. Lastly, it’s powerful to see anybody cracking 1:48 within the 200 again, with the NCAA document standing at 1:47.24 (Beata Nelson) and the American and U.S. Open marks only a bit faster at 1:47.16 (Smith).
