Sims Crowned 500 Freestyle National Champion; Five Gators Tally All-American Honors
Freshman Bella Sims captured her first, Florida’s sixth NCAA Title in the 500-yard freestyle.
Thursday Results<chrome-extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=file:///Users/abigailwisecup/Downloads/Thursday%20Finals%20Results.pdf>
Athens, Ga. – The Florida Women’s Swimming & Diving team continued to raise the bar on day two of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. Bella Sims claimed her first National Title in the 500 Freestyle, being one of five Gators to earn individual All-American honors on Thursday night inside Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Bella Sims and Emma Weyant went one-two in the 500-yard freestyle to score 37 points for Florida in the first finals event of the night. Sims broke Florida’s 16-year title drought in the event, swimming a 4:32.47 to reset her school record from SEC Championships (4:32.53) in February. After finishing first in the morning prelims, Weyant’s 4:33.70 earned her a spot right next to her fellow Gator on the podium in second. The Junior from Sarasota, FL claimed her third All-American honor and second No. 2 finish in the event.
Competing in her first NCAA Championship as a Gator, Isabel Ivey set a personal best in the 200 IM after going 1:51.96 for second place. The Gainesville native recorded her best NCAA finish in the event, while also resetting the second-best program time that she recorded at SEC Championships. Zoe Dixon secured a spot in the Championship final for the first time in her collegiate career after an outstanding prelim time of 1:53.73. Additionally, the time marks third best in UF history as well as a new personal best.
In her NCAA championship debut, Camyla Monroy secured her first All-American honor after recording three 50+ scores to tally a 281.10 in the 1-Meter Championship Final. The freshman, who won silver in the event at SEC Championships, finished in seventh to secure 12 more points for Florida in the opening day of diving events. She will return to springboard action tomorrow on the 3-Meter.
Sims, Ivey, Oliva Peoples, and Micayla Cronk closed out day two finals with a top-10 finish in the 200 Free Relay. The SEC Champions swam a 1:27.23 to secure tenth place overall. Sims led off with a 21.94, while Ivey went 21.33 in the second leg. Olivia Peoples’ 22.25 and Micayla Cronk’s 21.71 rounded out the relay and help secure 14 team points.
Prelim Notables:
Eight Gators made their 2024 NCAA Championship debut, as JoJo Ramey dropped 0.45 seconds off her seed time in the first heat of 500 free to go 4:46.02 during morning prelims, while Anna Auld and Caroline Pennington swam in the event as well. Aris Runnels, Lainy Kruger, Julia Podkoscielny, Molly Mayne and Catie Choate competed in the 200 IM prelims and Micayla Cronk went 22.20 in the 50 free to finish 37th Thursday morning.
Hear From Winning Gator Bella Sims
On winning the 500y freestyle…
“I didn’t expect too much going into this, but being able to trust my training plays a big role into this. Just knowing that my teammates are able to push me in practice and push me to the best of my abilities makes everything so much better.”
On her teammate Emma Weyant…
“Emma and I practice every day, and I’m not going to lie, if we are not in the same group together, I kind of get upset. I love her so much, and I’m glad that I have her as a teammate to push me.”
Up Next
Championship action speeds up tomorrow with seven events taking place. The 400 IM opens Friday morning prelims, with the 100 Butterfly, 200 Free, 100 Breaststroke and 100 Backstroke taking place after. Diving will move to the 3-Meter springboard to conclude prelim action before heading into the final session. The 400 Medley Relay will close out day three of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships.
TOP 10 STANDINGS
1. Virginia – 210.5
2. Florida – 163
3. Texas – 141
4. Stanford – 105
5. Tennessee – 104
6. Louisville – 99
7. USC – 94
8. Indiana – 87
9. Michigan – 80.5
10. Georgia – 75
All-American Tracker
200 Medley Relay: Aris Runnels, Molly Mayne, Olivia Peoples, Micayla Cronk
800 Free Relay: Bella Sims, Isabel Ivey, Emma Weyant, Micayla Cronk
500 Free: Bella Sims and Emma Weyant
200 IM: Isabel Ivey and Zoe Dixon
1-Meter Diving: Camyla Monroy
Championship Coverage
Live NCAA Streaming<https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2024/03/17> | @GatorsSwimDV<https://twitter.com/GatorsSwimDv> | LiveResults<https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Women-2024/> | Florida Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/3/18/NCAA_Womens_Championships_Notes.pdf>
* The complete lists of all swimmers (athletes by institution, official psych sheet, relays and alternates) competing in the championships is available at usaswimming.org/ncaa.<https://www.usaswimming.org/times/otherorganizations/ncaa-division-i>
* A total of 322 participants (281 swimmers and 41 divers) will compete in the championships. Swimmers qualified for the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered.
* ESPN+ will provide live digital coverage for preliminary and finals sessions Wednesday through Saturday.
* Tape-delayed coverage of the women’s championships will be on ESPNU at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesday, March 27.
Thursday’s Complete Results
Results from Thursday’s Finals and Prelims can be found below as well as Friday and Saturday’s schedule can be found below.
Thursday, March 21
Prelims Results – Top 16 advance to Finals
Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle
1.Emma Weyant – 4:34.32 (+0.07 seed time)
3.Bella Sims – 4:35.01 (+2.48 seed time)
47.Caroline Pennington – 4:44.59 (+1.41 seed time)
53.JoJo Ramey – 4:46.02 (-0.45 seed time)
57.Anna Auld – 4:46.22 (+3.41 seed time)
Women’s 200 Yard IM
7. Isabel Ivey – 1:53.63 (+1.13 seed time)
8. Zoe Dixon – 1:53.73 (-0.31 seed time) – 3rd
41. Aris Runnels – 1:57.87 (+1.02 seed time)
50. Lainy Kruger – 1:58.63 (+2.04 seed time)
60. Julia Podkoscielny – 1:59.75 (+0.25 seed time)
61. Molly Mayne – 2:00.12 (+2.29 seed time)
65. Catie Choate – 2:01.70 (+2.14 seed time)
Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle
37. Micayla Cronk – 20.20 (+0.35 seed time)
Women’s 1-Meter Diving
Camyla Monroy | 4th Place
* Round 1 – 53.30 | 3rd Place
* Round 2 – 47.15 / 100.45 | 3rd Place
* Round 3 – 43.20 / 143.65 | 7th Place
* Round 4 – 45.00 / 188.65 | 10th Place
* Round 5 – 54.60 / 243.25 | 4th Place
* Round 6 – 54.00 / 297.25 | 4th Place
Carina Lumia | 43rd Place
* Round 1 – 41.25 | 23rd Place
* Round 2 – 37.95 / 79.20 | 39th Place
* Round 3 – 39.60 / 118.80 | 38th place
* Round 4 – 35.10 / 153.90 | 40th Place
* Round 5 – 32.50 / 186.40 | 45th Place
* Round 6 – 46.80 / 232.20 | 43rd Place
Thursday, March 21
Finals Results
Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle
1. Bella Sims – 4:32.47
2. Emma Weyant – 4:33.70
Women’s 200 Yard IM
2. Isabel Ivey – 1:51.96
8. Zoe Dixon – 1:54.27
Women’s 1-Meter Diving
Camyla Monroy | 7th Place
* Round 1 – 54.60 | 3rd place
* Round 2 – 48.30 / 102.90 | 6th Place
* Round 3 – 36.00 / 138.90 | 7th Place
* Round 4 – 37.50 / 176.40 | 8th place
* Round 5 – 50.70 / 227.10 | 8th Place
* Round 6 – 54.00 / 281.10 | 7th Place
Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay
Bella Sims (21.94), Isabel Ivey (21.33) Olivia Peoples (22.25) Micayla Cronk (21.71) – 1:27.23
2024 NCAA DI women’s swimming and diving championships schedule
Friday, March 22
* Trials: 400-yard individual medley, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 100-yard butterfly, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 200-yard freestyle, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 100-yard breaststroke, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 100-yard backstroke, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 3-meter diving, 10 a.m. ET
* Finals: 400-yard individual medley, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 100-yard butterfly, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 200-yard freestyle, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 100-yard breaststroke, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 100-yard backstroke, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 3-meter diving, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 400-yard medley relay, 6 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 23
* Trials: 1,650-yard freestyle – All but heat of time finals, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 100-yard freestyle, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 200-yard backstroke, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 200-yard breaststroke, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: 200-yard butterfly, 10 a.m. ET
* Trials: Platform diving, 10 a.m. ET
* Finals: 1,650-yard freestyle – Last heat of time finals, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 100-yard freestyle, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 200-yard backstroke, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 200-yard breaststroke, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 200-yard butterfly, 6 p.m. ET
* Final: Platform diving, 6 p.m. ET
* Finals: 400-yard freestyle relay, 6 p.m. ET
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