Rice Swims to CSCAA Open Water Championship Behind Winner Ella Dyson
Ella Dyson led the way as Rice captured the sixth College Swimming Coaches Association of America Open Water Championship in North Miami, Florida on Sunday.
After being held in Lawrence, Kansas at the start of the fall season for the past five years, the event moved to Florida and December this year. The change in venue and date had little impact on the Owls’ fortunes as Rice has finished no lower than second since the event began in 2016, highlighted by a win in 2019.
Dyson covered the 5K course in Biscayne Bay in 58:08.88 to become the Owls’ first individual champion in the event. The previous best individual finish by an Owl was third by Hanna Huston (2017) and Sarah Nowoski (2018).
Amelia Kane was eighth in 58:29.44 and Shannon Campbell, who was a member of the winning squad in 2019, was ninth in 58:45.08 to give the Owls an aggregate time of 2:55:25, more than three minutes faster than runner-up Northwestern (2:58.35). Elizabeth Myers cracked the top 20, finishing 19th in 1:0011.06.
“The sun was shining on the Rice Owls today,” Rice head coach Seth Huston said. “We were fortunate that Ella, Amelia, and Shannon got out in the lead pack and stayed there. They all competed great and I am very proud of Ella’s race to the finish for gold.”
Villanova was third followed by Miami, Purdue, SMU, Harvard, FIU, UNC Asheville, and Cincinnati in the top ten among the 21 schools competing.
The Open Water Championship was the first of two competitions for the Owls during their winter break training trip to Florida. They will face off against Old Dominion and FAU on Tuesday.
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