{"id":465335,"date":"2021-03-18T16:41:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T23:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=465335"},"modified":"2021-03-18T21:26:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T04:26:22","slug":"alex-walsh-takes-dominant-200-im-win-in-individual-ncaa-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/alex-walsh-takes-dominant-200-im-win-in-individual-ncaa-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Walsh Takes Dominant 200 IM Win in Individual NCAA Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite taking a surprising second place to open the night to Cal in the 200 freestyle relay, Virginia seemed hardly deterred as\u00a0Alex Walsh\u00a0<\/strong>in her first ever individual race at the NCAA championships won the 200 IM in dominant fashion at 1:51.87. Walsh won ahead of a fairly young field with only two seniors as Georgia sophomore\u00a0Zoie Hartman\u00a0<\/strong>(1:53.34), who is making her NCAA debut in her second year of school finished in runner-up with Cal’s\u00a0Alicia Wilson\u00a0<\/strong>(1:54.51) in third place to keep her team in second place in the team standings.<\/p>\n

Walsh seemed to get some pressure early in the race from Cal’s Wilson and Wisconsin freshman\u00a0Phoebe Bacon<\/strong><\/a> as Walsh turned first at the 100 with a 52.3 to Bacon’s 52.6 and Wilson’s 52.9, but much like\u00a0Paige Madden<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in the A-Final before, Walsh nailed the back half with a 32.5 on the third 50, with only Hartman out-splitting her at 32.3 on breaststroke. With that second lead at the 150, Walsh was able to have a victory lap on the last 50 with a 27.02 freestyle split, faster than anyone else in the field.<\/p>\n

“My goal has always been to be 1:51-1:50, that American record,” Alex Walsh said after the race. “I think me and Kate Douglass<\/strong> are both looking at it. Coming to Virginia, I have been doing a lot more endurance-based training and I think that really showed. I am am grateful to being a part of such a great group of women who are pushing every day in practice. I knew I had the capability of splitting faster on by backstroke, so I was like. ‘I am going to send it in the first half and make it as fast as I could possibly make it … with the ability to still come home strong.”<\/p>\n

Bacon ended up fourth at 1:54.55 in her NCAA individual debut as she will factor into the 100 and 200 back later on in the week. Virginia picked up big points with\u00a0Ella Nelson\u00a0<\/strong>in fifth at 1:54.74 with NC State’s\u00a0Julia Poole\u00a0<\/strong>just behind at 1:55.60. Texas’\u00a0Kelly Pash\u00a0<\/strong>(1:55.72) and Ohio State’s\u00a0Kristen Romano\u00a0<\/strong>(1:56.07) also competed in the final.<\/p>\n

This win by Alex Walsh is Virginia’s first ever NCAA title in the 200 IM and the first outside of a freestyle event as she is the first freshman to win an NCAA title in this event since Stanford’s Ella Eastin\u00a0<\/strong>won in 2016. The time is still not a best time for Walsh who was a 1:51.5 earlier this season at ACCs to sit fifth on the all-time list.<\/p>\n