GREENSBORO, N.C. – Another day, another All-American swim for first-year
Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird) as No. 16 Trinity University Swimming & Diving took on day two of the 2023 NCAA III Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
The Tiger rookie opened the day atop the podium in prelims with a new school-record time, 4:21.00, only to take more than two seconds off her record in the finals for a 4:18.50, nearly nine seconds faster than the program's previous record that had held for almost a decade. Burns's effort landed silver in the event, which comes with a first-team All-America honor.
Both relay units collected top-25 times in prelims Thursday morning, both anchored by junior
Emma Hagan (Overland Park, Kan. / Olathe East)—who finished 28
th in the 200 freestyle prelim, 1:52.20, within one second of her school-record time.
The 400 medley relay of Hagan, junior
Caroline Myers (Austin, Texas / Bowie), sophomore
Josie Gillentine (Heath, Texas / Rockwall Heath) and first-year
Julie Schwam (Portland, Ore. / David Douglas) finished 23
rd in the morning session, 3:55.10.
The 200 freestyle relay of Hagan, Myers, and first-years
Juliana Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway) and
Rachel Brown (Flower Mound, Texas / Marcus) kicked off the morning session and finished 24
th, 1:35.88.
Coach Speak
"There are so many ways to describe Neely's 400 IM tonight:
stunning,
historic,
brave, and
impressive all come to mind," Head Coach
Cathleen Pruden elated. "I am so proud of the way she raced and handled herself both in prelims and finals."
Up Next: NCAA III Championships, Day Three
No. 16 Trinity Women's Swimming & Diving will swim in three total events on Friday, with Gillentine starting things off for the Tigers in the 100 breaststroke. Gillentine posted a season-best time of 1:04.37, which is just a second from being in the top 15 in the country this year.
Sophomore
Alexis Radhakrishnan (Lexington, Ky. / Paul Laurence Dunbar) will finish off her part in the NCAA III Championships by competing on the 1-meter board.
The 800 free relay team consisting of first-years
Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent & Gifted) and
Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer), Hagan, and Burns, is 17th nationally with its qualifying time of 7:33.15. The relay will be the final event for the Tigers on Friday.
