The 400 medley relay team of Runnels, Kucheran, Peoples and Cronk etch name in Gators history
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Florida Gators women’s swimming and diving team shined on day three of the 2023 Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, setting a school record in the 400 medley relay and racking up seven All-American honors. Florida is in seventh with 146 points headed into the final day of championship competition tomorrow.
The 400 medley relay team of Aris Runnels, Nina Kucheran, Olivia Peoples and Micayla Cronk set the school record with a 3:28.36, the first time in school history a team went under 3:29.00. At last month’s SEC Championships, the same four set the second-fastest swim in school history at 3:29.98, shaving over a second and a half off that time tonight.
Florida posted two of the top-four and three of the top 11 finishes in the 400 IM, with Emma Weyant and Mabel Zavaros going three-four in the A-final. Weyant’s 4:03.50 shaved off over two seconds from her prelim time, while Zavaros clocked a career-best 4:04.08 for back-to-back All-American honors in the event, dating back to her sixth-place finish last year. At her first career NCAA Championships, Zoe Dixon earned honorable mention All-American honors, taking home 11th place with a 4:06.92.
Olivia Peoples recorded her first-career All-American honors, finishing 16th in the 100 fly at 52.04 to be named honorable mention All-American.
Ekaterina Nikonova notched her third All-American honors of the week, going 1:44.05 in the 200 free for 13th place after competing in the B-final. The Novosibirsk, Russia native is now a six-time All-American as a sophomore.
Aris Runnels earned her first-career individual All-American honor in the 100 back with a time of 51.76 to finish 13th in the country.
400 IM Prelims
Emma Weyant (4:05.61) and Mabel Zavaros (4:05.72) went four-five in the prelims to qualify for the A-final. Zavaros shaved nearly two seconds off her seeded time to make the top final of the night. Freshman Zoe Dixon will battle in the B-final after clocking a 4:08.14, finishing 13th.
Kathleen Golding finished 26th with a 4:12.09, while Anna Auld (4:14.30) and Amanda Ray (4:15.41) finished in 34th and 35th.
100 Fly Prelims
In one of the most stacked fields, Olivia Peoples prevailed to the B-final, touching the wall in 51.62 to advance to the B-final and earn points for the Gators.
200 Free Prelims
Ekaterina Nikonova used a career-best 200 free time of 1:43.93 to finish 10th in the morning session, qualifying for the B-final.
Micayla Cronk finished 28th after swimming a 1:45.75, while Talia Bates’ 1:46.43 put her 42nd. Tylor Mathieu came in 44th after recording a 1:46.64, while Katie Mack finished 47th, registering a 1:46.98.
100 Breast Prelims
Nina Kucheran just missed a chance to swim in the evening session, finishing 17th overall with a swim of 59.30, just off her program record of 59.12.
100 Back Prelims
Swimming in the final heat, Aris Runnels posted a 51.57, shaving .40 seconds off her seeded time to advance to the B-final.
3-Meter Prelims
Maha Amer put together four straight dives with scores of 50 or more to start off the prelims, but fell down the leaderboard on her final two attempts against a stacked leaderboard to finish 25th at 285.95. Amer will compete in the platform tomorrow.
All-American Tracker
All Americans
800 Free Relay: Nikonova, Bates, Mathieu, Cronk
500 Free: Emma Weyant
200 Free Relay: Nikonova, Bates, Mack, Cronk
400 IM: Emma Weyant, Mabel Zavaros
400 Medley Relay: Runnels, Kucheran, Peoples, Cronk (School Record)
Honorable Mention All-Americans
1-Meter: Maha Amer – Honorable Mention All-American
500 Free: Mabel Zavaros, Tylor Mathieu – Honorable Mention All-American
400 IM: Zoe Dixon
100 Fly: Olivia Peoples
200 Free: Ekaterina Nikonova
100 Back: Aris Runnels
Standings – Top 10
1. Virginia – 374.5
2. Texas – 272.5
3. Stanford – 239
4. Lousiville – 191.5
5. NC State – 190
6. Ohio State – 170
7. Florida – 146
8. Tennessee – 135
9. North Carolina – 125
10. Indiana – 121
Saturday – Prelims at 10 a.m. | Finals at 6 p.m.
200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
Platform Diving
1650 Free*
400 Free Relay
*The first heat of the 1650 free will begin at approximately 3:45 p.m. and the last heat will begin at 6 p.m.
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