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Gretchen Walsh has done some amazing things in the water with her sister Alex Walsh over the years at high school championships and national meets.
They added one more, being together for an NCAA championship relay for the first time.
But it is what Gretchen and Kate Douglass are doing that has helped Virginia dominate the NCAA Championships.
Douglass broke the NCAA and American record in the 50 freestyle twice on Thursday, but even more stunning was that both she and Gretchen Walsh went sub-21 in the finals to go 1-2. They are the fastest and third-fastest, respectively, in the history of the event.
“Tonight, the ultimate goal was to go 1-2 with Gretchen. I was confident we were both going to go under 21 and that was pretty awesome,” Douglass said.
It wasn’t something they have just been thinking about today, but all season since they began training together for the first time.
“Me and Kate are amazing training partners. We really help each other a lot in practice. Every single day we are doing some pretty cool stuff,” Gretchen Walsh said. “This morning, when she went a 20-point, I was like, ‘I can go a 20-point, too.’ When I saw my time I was thrilled. Seeing Kate lower that record is really cool. It is so cool what we are doing together. I really wanted to go 1-2 with her, and I am really glad we did that.”
The monumental momentum was something that started in prelims when the Cavaliers put eight in the finals. In the finals, Alex Walsh broke the NCAA and American record in the 200 IM (1:50.08). Douglass went an American record 20.87 in the 50, then did even better in the finals at 20.84 and Gretchen Walsh went 20.95.
“After this prelims session we were pretty excited. It was a pretty dominant prelims session with eight final swims. We came in tonight wanting to continue that momentum. Emma (Weyant) started that off in the first race of the night and we kept it going. It was a really exciting night,” Douglass said. “After ACCs, I was pretty excited to swim the 50 here. Going 21.0 was exciting and I thought I might be able to go under that mark. That was awesome to see that record go down because that was a goal of mine since the start of the season.”
A goal of the Walsh sisters was to win some relays together. That train started with the 200 freestyle relay in a near-NCAA record dominating performance to close the incredible night for the Cavaliers.
“We are feeling pretty confident. We had a really good night last night and wanted to keep it rolling. We knew we wanted to score as many points as possible. Our team prides itself on getting stronger as the meet goes, so we feel like we are in a really good position,” Alex Walsh said.
It was the first NCAA title Alex, a sophomore, and Gretchen, a freshman, have shared. The moment was not lost on them.
“It is really wholesome and amazing what we are doing,” Gretchen Walsh said. “I don’t think many people get to say they are on national champion relays with their sister very often. It is really special to be on this relay with her … and I am ready to do a few more.”
