March 10, 2010
(CANTON, Ohio) – Senior Kate Aherne became a three-time champion in the 200-yard individual medley, setting a new school record with a time of 2:00.56, to highlight Truman’s opening day at the 2010 NCAA Championships.
Aherne (Cary, Ill; Cary-Grove HS) bested everyone in her final heat by nearly 1.5 seconds in the 200 IM finals, setting both NCAA and school records. After 100 yards, Aherne trailed both Alexandra Henley from UC-San Diego and Yuan Qang Li from Drury, but saved her best for last in propelling past both in the breaststroke to take the lead into the final 50-yard stretch.
From there, Aherne closed it out, posting a time of 27.35 in the final 50-yards of freestyle – more than a second faster than any other competitor – to capture her third straight national championship.
Aherne wasn’t done on the night, however, as she took second place and recorded her 22nd career all-American award in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.10. She came in .33 seconds behind Jackie Borkowski from West Chester for first place and was .13 seconds better than Ashland University’s Julie Widmann, who finished third.
Combined, Aherne’s first- and second-place finishes comprised 37 of Truman’s 46 total team points on the night, which puts the ’Dogs in seventh place after day one. Junior Julia Jones (Daphne, Ala.; Daphne HS) picked up her fifth all-American award with a 12th place (10:28.78) finish in the 1000-yard freestyle, while junior Claire Myers (Ellisville, Mo.; Lafayette HS) finished 13th in the 200-yard individual medley and garnered her third all-American accolade, posting a time of 2:07.01 in the first set of finals. Jones received five points for her finish, while Myers was awarded four.
Though the Truman men sent just one swimmer to the national meet, freshman Jerod Simek (O’Fallon, Mo.; Fort Zumwalt West HS) got the Bulldogs on the board with a 15th-place, all-American finish in the 1000-yard freestyle. Coming in with a time of 9:25.38, Simek became the school’s new record holder in the event.
However, with the successes came a pair of heartbreaks for the Bulldog women, as the team came up just short of reaching the 200-yard medley relay final, finishing 17th in the preliminary round with a time of 1:47.14. The team, consisting of senior Kendra Brunkow (Firth, Neb.; Norris-Beatrice HS), junior Tanya Sylvester (Rochester, Minn.; Century HS), sophomore Jessica Jenkot (Orland Park, Ill.; Carl Sandburg HS) and freshman Stacey Wymer (New Lenox, Ill.; Lincoln-Way Central HS) finished just .11 seconds behind C.W. Post for the last spot in the ‘B’ final.
Freshman Allison Harding (West Des Moines, Iowa; Valley HS) also came up one spot short in a bid for all-America honors in the 1000-yard freestyle, coming in 17th with a time of 10:31.32. She touched just .01 seconds behind Delta State’s Hannah Willis for 16th place.
Other swimmers competing, but not reaching the finals of their designated events, included:
- Junior Jessica Jenkot: 50 Freestyle – 49th place (24.60)
- Freshman Stacey Wymer: 200 IM – 29th place (2:09.75)
- Freshman Lexi Houser (New Hope, Pa.; New Hope-Solebury): 200 IM – 38th place (2:10.64)
- Freshman Taylor Birsa (Joliet, Ill.; Joliet West): 200 IM – 46th place (2:11.89)
All 13 Truman swimmers who qualified for nationals will be in the pool on Thursday with preliminaries and finals being held in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the 400-yard individual medley, the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yard freestyle, and the 400-yard medley relay. For more information on each swimmer and events, visit TrumanBulldogs.com and click on the Truman Swimming tab at the top of the home page.
Thursday’s prelims start at 9:30 a.m. (central) with the finals getting underway once again at 5:00 p.m. (central).