An another showdown of the top sprinters in the country at 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships, Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh put together the second-fastest race in history and dominated a star-studded field to put her stamp on a special meet, leading Virginia to a third consecutive NCAA title.
Walsh was out fast and continued to pull away from a star-studded field to win the 100 free in 45.61, just five hundredths away from breaking the American record set by Simone Manuel in 2017.
“It hasn’t sunk in really because of so many emotions with the national championship (as a team) and everything, but I was really thrilled with that time,” Walsh said. “For me, the 100 free has always been my baby, and it shows all the hard work I put in is paying off. I couldn’t be happier to go that time and win it for my Hoos. It is such a privilege to just be able to be a part of this team. I couldn’t be prouder of this legacy we created.”
Walsh opened with a 21.72 and continued to build her lead and very quickly the race was for second.
Stanford’s Torri Huske closed strong to take that second spot and finish in 46.46.
LSU’s Maggie Mac Neil was just behind in third at 46.58, ahead of Louisville junior Gabi Albiero (46.80) and NC State senior Katharine Berkoff (46.87).
Only Manuel has been faster than Walsh now, while Mac Neil’s previous NCAA championship time (46.02) is now fourth all time.
Walsh said the loaded field added a huge amount of significance to her victory.
“(It means more) totally,” she said. “I was nervous going into it because it really could have been anyone’s race. I took it out because that has always been my race strategy. I wanted to get ahead of the field and I wanted to hold on – and that’s what I did.”
Ohio State junior Katherine Zenick took sixth (47.27), while Louisville’s Chrisiana Regenauer and Hawaii’s Laticia-Leigh Transom tied for seventh at 47.50.
Event 17 Women 100 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
Meet: M 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
American: A 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
US Open: O 45.56 3/18/2017 Simone Manuel, Stanford
Pool: P 46.15 11/23/2019Erika Brown, Tennessee
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Walsh, Gretchen SO Virginia 46.66 45.61P 20
r:+0.74 21.72 45.61 (23.89)
2 Huske, Torri SO Stanford 47.19 46.46 17
r:+0.61 22.27 46.46 (24.19)
3 MacNeil, Maggie 5Y LSU 46.90 46.58 16
r:+0.63 22.30 46.58 (24.28)
4 Albiero, Gabi JR Louisville 46.88 46.80 15
r:+0.61 22.41 46.80 (24.39)
5 Berkoff, Katharine SR NC State 46.91 46.87 14
r:+0.66 22.44 46.87 (24.43)
6 Zenick, Katherine JR Ohio St 47.34 47.27 13
r:+0.64 22.50 47.27 (24.77)
7 Regenauer, Christiana SR Louisville 47.33 47.50 11.5
r:+0.68 22.85 47.50 (24.65)
7 Transom, Laticia-Leig 5Y Hawaii 47.39 47.50 11.5
r:+0.59 22.99 47.50 (24.51)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Fulmer, Amy SR Ohio St 47.62 47.39 9
r:+0.66 22.95 47.39 (24.44)
10 Parker, Maxine JR Virginia 47.42 47.72 7
r:+0.73 22.90 47.72 (24.82)
11 Antoniou, Kalia 5Y Alabama 47.55 47.89 6
r:+0.69 22.82 47.89 (25.07)
12 Paegle, Kristina FR Indiana 47.99 47.99 5
r:+0.68 22.99 47.99 (25.00)
13 Stepanek, Chloe JR TAMU 47.97 48.06 4
r:+0.68 22.94 48.06 (25.12)
14 Canny, Aimee FR Virginia 47.98 48.10 3
r:+0.75 23.18 48.10 (24.92)
15 Countie, Grace SR UNC 47.70 48.14 2
r:+0.71 22.96 48.14 (25.18)
16 Cuomo, Lexi SR Virginia 47.89 48.31 1
r:+0.71 22.93 48.31 (25.38)
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 17
1. Virginia 424.5 2. Texas 298.5
3. Stanford 277 4. Louisville 234
5. NC State 229 6. Ohio St 195
7. Tennessee 178 8. Indiana 164
9. Florida 150 10. UNC 132
11. California 121 12. Alabama 107
13. Wisconsin 100 14. Lsu 95
15. Georgia 86.5 16. Southern California 86
17. Kentucky 44 18. Minnesota 37
19. Miami (Fl) 36 20. Arizona 32
21. Michigan 29 22. Virginia Tech 28
23. Texas A&M 26 24. South Carolina 25
25. Duke 20 26. Auburn 14
27. Northwestern 13 28. Arkansas 12
29. Hawaii 11.5 30. Miami (Ohio) 9
31. Florida St 7 31. Penn 7
31. Purdue 7 34. UCLA 6
35. Akron 5 36. Arizona St 4
37. Georgia Tech 2 37. Utah 2
39. Florida Int'l 1
