Augustana U Swimmer Bryn Greenwaldt Will Compete in 2 NCAA Championships in the Same Weekend

The NCAA didn’t create the concept of the Division II athletics festival for track & field, swimming & diving, and wrestling because of Bryn Greenwaldt. But Bryn Greenwaldt is perhaps uniquely-equipped to take advantage of the concept, with all three championships being hosted in the same city on the same weekend.

Greenwaldt of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will compete in not one, but two NCAA Championship meets next weekend. At the swimming & diving championships at the IU Natatorium, she will compete as the #2 seed in the 50 free and 100 back and the #21 seed in the 100 free.

But on Saturday, she will also compete about 5 miles to the north at the Indiana State Fairgrounds at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships, where she is qualified as the 16th seed out of 18 competitors with a jump of 1.73m (5 feet, 8 inches).

The 100 free is on Saturday, which is the same day as the women’s high jump. High jump is scheduled to begin at 3:55 Eastern Time, which puts it squarely in between prelims and finals of the swim meet.

Augustana is also qualified to swim four relays, including the 400 free relay on Saturday.

That could wind up being a very busy day for Greenwaldt.

“I’m going to attempt to do both,” Greenwaldt told SwimSwam, “but it might get a little choppy.”

After swimming in prelims of the 100 free, Greenwaldt says she will bring her swimming gear to the high jump competition, with warmups beginning about two hours before the 3:55 kickoff.

“Assuming I jump through until the end (which would be the hope), I will have a cut off time where I am going to have to run back to swimming, Greenwaldt told SwimSwam. “The 100 free finals should be starting around 6:15, so I would either change at the track and book it to the pool or if I have enough time just change at the pool to ensure I will make my race.”

Greenwaldt competed in track & field in each of the last two seasons as well. She was the indoor NSIC conference champion last season with a jump of 1.74m, and she competed at the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships that are held annually in May.

The addition of the indoor championships this season will create a new challenge for Greenwaldt.

“Mentally I haven’t really processed it yet,” Greenwaldt said of the unique double. “This has been years in the making, with my track coach, Greg Binstock, sitting me down my freshman year and telling me that this is what we are ultimately working for.

“At that point, I thought he was crazy, and almost laughed it off.

“Last year was a huge step, though. We gained another coach, Bree Makepeace, who, along with coach Greg (Binstock), helped me jump high enough to make outdoor nationals. Hitting that when I wasn’t even thinking that was a possibility really jump-started this goal again for me.”

Greenwaldt says that both programs work together to make the schedule match. In the past, she participated in swim practice from September through March and does a weekly high jump practice before transitioning her full focus to outdoor track after the swimming season ended.

This year, though, she says she switched to jumping twice a week, which she said “got pretty overwhelming” but “ultimately was a fun challenge.”

“I have a lot of swimming I’m hoping to do before I get to Saturday, and I do better when I think one day at a time, so I have yet to fully process it, but I am just excited at this point. I love jumping, I’m gonna love the running around, I love a challenge, and I’m ready for this in every way.”

A junior by eligibility, last year Greenwaldt was also named a CSC Academic All-American with a 3.85 GPA while majoring in accounting. She was a 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier, the first in program history, and has eight NCAA All-America honors in swimming and diving. That includes runner-up finishes in both the 50 and 100 free at last year’s NCAA Division II Championship meet.

Greenwaldt By The Numbers

• 50 free PB – 22.09
• 100 free PB – 49.57
• 100 back PB – 52.58
• 200 back PB – 1:59.93
• 8x NSIC individual Swimming Champion
• 2024 NCAA runner-up, 50 & 100 freestyle
• 2024 NSIC indoor champion – high jump