The 200 breaststroke was probably the most up-in-the-air event of the week heading into the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
After prelims, that was even more apparent.
The top seed of the morning was BYU’s Mackenzie Miller, while Washington State’s Emily Lundgren was third. Neither of those teams had ever won a swimming NCAA title in school history.
Meanwhile, Stanford’s Lucy Bell and Duke’s Kaelyn Gridley had strong swims and the top four seeds were just seven tenths of a second apart.
Gridley led at 28.32 after the first 50, but not by much. Bell moved into the lead at the 100 at 59.99 but again it was close with six swimmers turning together.
Bell took control at the 150 with a 1:31.78 to lead by six tenths and won the race in 2:02.48, making her the 10th best performer in history.
“It means so much. This team has been through so much in the past few years. This year so many people getting podium and national championships – it just means a whole lot to be able to contribute to that,” Bell said.
Not bad for someone in their first year swimming the 200 breaststroke.
“I never really swam the 200 breast until this year. It has been a lot of fun to do it and race without as much pressure on my shoulders,” Bell said. “I was more excited just to race. I knew I was strong this morning and I wasn’t as worried about having a second gear. I have always been a back-half swimmer in everything that I do. That second 100, building into each wall (that got it done).”
It was a stamp on a stellar week for Stanford, which started with a title in the 800 free relay and put together a plethora of podium performers.
“We were pumped for this meet. We have had our eyes on NCAAs. We have had so many successes one after the other. The momentum was cumulative,” Bell said.
Miller took second in 2:05.03, just ahead of Indiana’s Brearna Crawford (2:05.66), who made a late surge. Gridley was fourth in 2:05.91, ahead of Tennessee’s Mona McSharry (2:06.08) and Lundgren (2:06.18), who hung with the lead pack until the final 15 yards.
Alabama’s Avery Wiseman won the consolation final in 2:06.71.
Event 18 Women 200 Yard Breaststroke
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NCAA: N 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Meet: M 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
American: A 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
US Open: O 2:01.29 3/18/2023 Kate Douglass, Virginia
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Bell, Lucy JR Stanford 2:06.61 2:04.28 20
r:+0.67 28.56 59.99 (31.43)
1:31.78 (31.79) 2:04.28 (32.50)
2 Miller, Mackenzie JR Brigham Young 2:06.12 2:05.03 17
r:+0.69 28.57 1:00.23 (31.66)
1:32.49 (32.26) 2:05.03 (32.54)
3 Crawford, Brearna SR Indiana 2:07.16 2:05.66 16
r:+0.66 28.34 1:00.45 (32.11)
1:32.88 (32.43) 2:05.66 (32.78)
4 Gridley, Kaelyn JR Duke 2:06.93 2:05.91 15
r:+0.72 28.32 1:00.05 (31.73)
1:32.45 (32.40) 2:05.91 (33.46)
5 McSharry, Mona 5Y Tennessee 2:07.30 2:06.08 14
r:+0.72 28.47 1:00.56 (32.09)
1:33.06 (32.50) 2:06.08 (33.02)
6 Lundgren, Emily JR Washington St. 2:06.83 2:06.18 13
r:+0.71 28.52 1:00.75 (32.23)
1:33.27 (32.52) 2:06.18 (32.91)
7 Canny, Aimee JR Virginia 2:07.20 2:07.41 12
r:+0.74 28.75 1:00.82 (32.07)
1:33.80 (32.98) 2:07.41 (33.61)
8 Herscu, Abigail JR California 2:07.60 2:08.47 11
r:+0.64 29.58 1:02.40 (32.82)
1:35.41 (33.01) 2:08.47 (33.06)
