The highest occasions within the NCAA this season look so much completely different now that the height of invite season has handed. Earlier than the invite season started, we took a take a look at the highest three swimmers in every occasion, and we’re returning to that train now that the mud has settled after invitations.
Spoiler alert—each occasion on the ladies’s aspect received quicker, whether or not it was the identical individual or college enhancing their mark or a brand new swimmer/program taking up.
Notice that as we did in November, we’re solely contemplating yards occasions achieved in an NCAA competitors, so there are not any transformed occasions included and no swims from the 2024 Quick Course World Championships.
| EVENT | Quickest | 2nd Quickest | third Quickest |
| 50 free | Gretchen Walsh (UVA), 20.54 | Camille Spink (TENN), 21.33 | Torri Huske (STAN), 21.38 |
| 100 free | Camille Spink (TENN), 46.61 | Torri Huske (STAN), 46.62 | Anna Moesch (UVA), 46.76 |
| 200 free | Stephanie Balduccini (MICH), 1:41.85 | Minna Abraham (USC), 1:42.01 | Anna Peplowski (IU), 1:42.36 |
| 500 free | Jillian Cox (TEX), 4:30.68 | Bella Sims (FLOR), 4:31.06 | Aurora Roghair (STAN), 4:31.63 |
| 1650 free | Jillian Cox (TEX), 15:34.66 | Aurora Roghair (STAN), 15:36.43 | Abby McCulloh (UGA), 15:46.99 |
| 100 again | Gretchen Walsh (UVA), 49.31 | Claire Curzan (UVA), 49.37 | Mary-Ambre Moluh (CAL), 49.68 |
| 200 again | Claire Curzan (UVA), 1:46.87 | Gretchen Walsh (UVA), 1:48.18 | Bella Sims (FLOR), 1:49.43 |
| 100 breast | Anita Bottazzo (FLOR), 57.49 | McKenzie Siroky (TENN), 58.00 | Skyler Smith (UNC), 58.26 |
| 200 breast | Kaelyn Gridley (DUKE), 2:05.71 | Lucy Bell (STAN), 2:06.32 | Aimee Canny (UVA), 2:06.70 |
| 100 fly | Gretchen Walsh (UVA), 47.35 | Torri Huske (STAN), 49.24 | Claire Curzan (UVA), 49.50 |
| 200 fly | Emma Sticklen (TEX), 1:49.54 | Lillie Nordmann (STAN), 1:53.79 | Emily Brown (TENN), 1:53.91 |
| 200 IM | Emma Sticklen (TEX), 1:52.75 | Josephine Fuller (TENN), 1:52.86 | Torri Huske (STAN), 1:52.89 |
| 400 IM | Caroline Bricker (STAN), 3:59.88 | Bella Sims (FLOR), 4:00.44 | Emma Weyant (FLOR), 4:01.01 |
| 200 free relay | Virginia, 1:24.68 | Texas, 1:25.92 | Louisville, 1:26.18 |
| 400 free relay | Virginia, 3:06.93 | Texas, 3:10.22 | Stanford, 3:10.87 |
| 800 free relay | Florida, 6:56.63 | Georgia, 6:56.92 | Tennessee, 6:56.95 |
| 200 medley relay | Virginia, 1:32.58 | Texas, 1:34.06 | Tennessee, 1:34.35 |
| 400 medley relay | Virginia, 3:25.35 | Florida, 3:26.27 | Texas, 3:27.12 |
Earlier than heading to Budapest for an excellent week at Quick Course Worlds, Gretchen Walsh warmed up on the Tennessee Invitational. Her performances on the meet included a league-best three NCAA-leading swims. She’s the quickest performer this season within the 50 free (20.54), 100 backstroke (49.31), and 100 butterfly (47.35), the latter of which reset her NCAA report.
Virginia by no means swims the 800 freestyle relay till the ACC Championships, however she additionally helped the Cavaliers produce league-leading occasions within the 200 free relay (1:24.68), 400 free relay (3:06.93), 200 medley relay (1:32.58), and 400 medley relay (3:25.35). Claire Curzan is the opposite Virginia swimmer who tops the league in a person occasion, contributing her NCAA report of 1:46.87 within the 200 backstroke. Curzan’s had a robust begin to the season to date and likewise seems within the high three within the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly.
The highest packages got here to play at midseason as Texas, the three-time defending NCAA runner-up, matched Virginia by producing the NCAA’s quickest time in 4 particular person occasions. The Longhorns achieved this with two swimmers, like Virginia, as Emma Sticklen and Jillian Cox prolonged their quick begins this season via the Texas Corridor of Fame Invitational. Heading into midseason, Sticklen had the league’s quickest time within the 200 fly, and Cox the five hundred free. Each improved on their occasions in these occasions whereas including one other—Sticklen swam a 1:49.54 within the 200 fly and picked up the 200 IM with a 1:52.75. Cox outdueled Aurora Roghair on the Corridor of Fame Invite in each the five hundred and 1650 free. She hit 4:30.68 within the 500 free and have become the tenth quickest 1650 freestyler in historical past with a 15:34.66.
Talking of Roghair and the NCAA’s high groups displaying out at midseason, the Stanford ladies have ten entries on this desk. Olympic champion Torri Huske has 4 of these ten, making the listing within the 50 free (third, 21.38), 100 free (2nd, 46.62), 100 fly (2nd, 49.24), and 200 IM (third, 1:52.89). Lillie Nordmann (200 fly), Caroline Bricker (200 IM), and Lucy Bell (200 breast) account for the opposite particular person swims.
Florida has seven whole entries on the listing, led by Bella Sims’ three occasions. Tennessee has seven entries as nicely, whereas Indiana has solely Anna Peplowski’s 200 free, and Louisville has solely the 200 free relay.
Within the pre-invite article, one overwhelming theme was how a lot worth freshmen and transfers had been offering to their new packages. That’s nonetheless the case, although there was some turnover within the high three amongst these swimmers. For instance, Leah Shackley, Erika Pelaez, and Miranda Grana had been huge presences on the pre-invite desk however have now fallen out of the highest three in all their occasions. In the meantime, Anita Bottazzo and McKenzie Siroky have asserted themselves within the 100 breaststroke, whereas Anna Moesch has moved close to the highest of the desk within the 100 freestyle.
Mary-Ambre Moluh reached new heights on the Minnesota Invitational, swimming a Cal program report within the 100 backstroke (49.68) that makes her the fourth-fastest freshman in historical past and places her third within the league this season behind Walsh and Curzan.
This isn’t to say these swimmer who fell out of the highest three aren’t persevering with to offer power to their packages—they’re. It’s simply the league has caught as much as their early season pace.
There have been no occasions the place the highest time stayed the identical because it was earlier than invitations. The occasions the place the identical swimmer or college improved their league-leading time had been the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, and 200 medley relay.
Cox and Sticklen took over within the 1650 freestyle and 200 butterfly. Different swimmers who moved to the highest of the league in an occasion had been Stephanie Balduccini within the 200 freestyle, Walsh within the 100 backstroke, Curzan within the 200 backstroke, Bottazzo within the 100 breaststroke, Kaelyn Gridley within the 200 breaststroke, and Bricker within the 400 IM. Virginia flexed its relay dominance by taking up the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays, whereas Florida moved to the highest of the desk within the 800 freestyle relay.
