Gretchen Walsh Goes Out With a Bang at NCAA Championships

Women’s College Performance of the Year: Gretchen Walsh Goes Out With a Bang

One remaining time, Gretchen Walsh is the clear alternative for the yr’s superior efficiency amongst faculty swimmers. The University of Virginia star concluded her run in NCAA competitors this March as she led the Cavaliers to a fifth consecutive nationwide crown. For the second consecutive yr, Walsh received all three of her particular person races to complete her profession with six such titles. Walsh additionally helped Virginia win a whopping 16 nationwide titles on relays.

Her finale season noticed Walsh change into the third-fastest swimmer ever within the 200 freestyle, an occasion she hardly races, and Virginia established the quickest instances ever in each medley relays together with the 800 free relay. Individually, Walsh matched or exceeded her greatest instances in all three of her important occasions on the NCAA Championships. After lacking her nationwide document within the 50 free by 0.12, she got here again to tie the mark of 20.37 main off Virginia’s 200 free relay. On the ultimate day, Walsh clipped her personal document within the 100 free whereas profitable by greater than a second.

But the highest total effort got here within the 100 fly as Walsh established a mark positive to final for generations. She grew to become the primary swimmer ever beneath 47, going out in 21.61 and coming again within the wall in 25.36 for a remaining time of 46.97. That swim marked the third time Walsh had set American, U.S. Open and NCAA information in simply that faculty season; she had beforehand gone 47.21 in prelims and 47.35 on the midseason Tennessee Invitational.

“I was definitely over the moon. I wanted to swim it the same way I did this morning and hope my body would let me go faster, and it did,” Walsh mentioned. “I have been thinking about 46 all season long and to finally say I was capable of doing it is pretty darn cool. I am very proud.”

Upon touching the wall, Walsh knew she had received the race comfortably over longtime rival Torri Huske, however the scoreboard inside King County Aquatic Center had gone out, leaving Walsh and everybody in attendance at midnight as to her time. Walsh shrugged and laughed earlier than celebrating when the board lastly revealed the historic nature of her swim.

Walsh completed her faculty profession with historical past’s top-eight performances within the 100 fly. She redefined the bounds of what was potential throughout her remaining two years. The all-time document within the occasion was 48.89 when Walsh first arrived at UVA. In March 2023, former teammate Kate Douglass swam a time of 48.43, which already appeared like an enormous leap. Not for Walsh, as she would shortly decrease that mark throughout her junior season, topping out at 47.42 on the NCAA Championships. But even that was not insurmountable, with one other half-second to return in 2025.

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Honorable Mention

While Walsh was the clear alternative for the highest spot amongst feminine faculty swimmers this yr, we should additionally word a number of different standouts. One was Claire Curzan, a teammate of Walsh’s at Virginia who achieved the quickest time ever within the 200 again on the NCAA Championships, going 1:46.82 to carry off Bella Sims. In the 200 fly, Texas’ Emma Sticklen achieved an NCAA document of 1:49.11 to beat out Alex Walsh, Gretchen’s older sister, for a 3rd consecutive nationwide title. Finally, Huske achieved her first particular person NCAA title with a formidable time of 1:49.67 within the 200 IM, turning into the third-fastest swimmer ever within the course of.