Hope College swimmer Greta Gidley wins NCAA championship in 200 IM

After ending nationwide runner up twice within the 200-yard particular person medley, Hope College fifth-year Greta Gidley knew she solely had another shot.

One shot to achieve her aim of going sub-2 minutes, and successful the nationwide championship, Hope’s first swimming title in 1 / 4 century.

Gidley used a powerful center portion of her race to win the NCAA Division III championship within the 200 IM in 1:59.20 on Wednesday, March 18, in Indianapolis.

“Honestly, winning that race has been a goal of mine for the past four years and to be able to go out in my last one ever, go a best time, and win was the greatest feeling ever,” Gidley stated. “Most importantly I think, I did it my way.”

More: Hope title hunters Wasiniak, Gidley, Baldwin lead swim staff to NCAAs

Gidley started her collegiate profession on the University of Michigan earlier than transferring to Hope to start out contemporary.

“Four years ago, I had quit swimming and was looking for somewhere to transfer to in hopes of finding a new place to call home. I was anxious and scared, but God redeemed my story and ended up giving me a life better than anything I could’ve ever imagined,” Gidley stated. “Hope is the greatest place on earth, and I could go on for days about how much this place has changed my life. Truly I’m just so grateful to Hope swim and dive and the entire Hope community for supporting and loving me these past four years.”

Gidley was fourth after the butterfly and backstroke (57.74), then surged to first within the breaststroke leg (32.64) and closed with a freestyle break up of 28.82 to win the race by two seconds.

“The work had been done. Not just the training, but she has been in a good head space with a healthy perspective. She knows what she is capable of and she went out loving the sport and having a blast with it,” Hope coach Jake Taber stated. “Good things happen when that is in place. She went for it and it was fantastic. The last woman to win a national title was a captain my freshman year. That is an elite group. She believed that she could, but even that she would. You knew the will was there.”

Emory’s Sammi Theile and Kenyon’s Kelsey Van Eldik tied for second place with swims of two:01.25.

Hope’s Laurel Wasiniak completed eleventh within the 50 freestyle (23.14).

Wasiniak teamed with Makenzie Baldwin (West Ottawa), Madi Remenschneider (West Ottawa) and Emme D’Errico to complete eleventh within the 400 medley relay (3:46.32).

Hope males’s swimmer Josh Bordovsky claimed second-team All-American honors and lowered his college and MIAA document within the 200-yard particular person medley. He went 1:47.88 throughout prelims and 1:49.10 in finals.

Bordovsky went 1:47.88 throughout the morning prelims,

Contact sports activities editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, previously recognized as  Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.