{"id":371757,"date":"2019-06-01T09:46:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T16:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=371757"},"modified":"2019-06-01T09:46:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-01T16:46:00","slug":"maryland-state-200-free-champion-molly-benson-verbally-commits-to-villanova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/maryland-state-200-free-champion-molly-benson-verbally-commits-to-villanova\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland State 200 Free Champion Molly Benson Verbally Commits to Villanova"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW COMMIT:\u00a0<\/strong>Kensington, Md. native and current high school junior\u00a0Molly Benson\u00a0<\/strong>has verbally committed to Villanova University and will join Audrey Pastorek<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as a member of the class of 2024.<\/p>\n

Benson, who owns the Winter Juniors standard in the 200 fly, does her club swimming with Rockville Montgomery Swim Club and most recently recorded a trio of best times at NCSAs. She earned four bronze medals at the RMSC Holiday Invitational in December and finaled in the 200m fly at NCSAs this past summer.<\/p>\n

Also competing for Walter Johnson High School, Benson is a six-time Maryland 3A\/4A State Championship finalist.\u00a0She won the 200 free and was the 500 free runner-up as a junior after finishing second and third, respectively, in those events during her sophomore season. She also owns the Maryland state record as a member of the 4×50 free relay.<\/p>\n

She told\u00a0Swimming World:<\/em><\/p>\n

“I chose to swim and study at Villanova University because of how the team is one big family and supports each other, because of the women\u2019s winning performance in the Big East every year due to strong coaching and because of Villanova\u2019s great academic reputation. I love the campus and I felt at home and comfortable there every time I visited. I can\u2019t wait to improve my swimming and further my studies at Villanova in 2020!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her best times include:<\/p>\n