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Christa Wilson from Dishforth, Great Britain has announced her commitment to join Grand Canyon University beginning this fall of 2021.
“Grand Canyon will provide the best facilities, training programme and team dynamics for me over the next four years, allowing me to swim and study to the highest possible standards.”
Wilson competes for Borough of Stockton Swim Scheme (BOSSS) and specializes in butterfly and IM. She qualified for the 2021 British Olympic Trials, but did not compete. At the 2019 British Summer Championships, she finished 5th in the 16 year old women’s 200 butterfly in a best time of 2:17.85. She also finished 8th in the 16 year old 100 butterfly in a time of 1:03.64. She has not competed in a meet since the Edinburgh International Meet in March 2020. There she was just off of her lifetime bests long course. She swam a 1:03.89 in the 100 butterfly, 2:18.38 in the 200 butterfly, 2:26.74 in the 200 IM, and 5:11.71 in the 400 IM.
Wilson attended and graduated this year from Ripon Grammar School in Ripon, England. Her best long course times are:
- 100 butterfly: 1:03.27 (converts to 55.73 SCY)
- 200 butterfly: 2:17.85 (converts to 2:01.66 SCY)
- 200 IM: 2:24.95 (converts to 2:07.79 SCY)
- 400 IM: 5:08.64 (converts to 4:32.28 SCY)
Grand Canyon University is a private university located in Phoenix, Arizona. The swimming and diving programs are members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Wilson will not be the only member of the women’s team who comes from the United Kingdom. Rising senior Robyn Edwards is from Truro, United Kingdom.
At the 2021 WAC Conference Meet, the Grand Canyon women’s team finished 3rd out of 8 teams. Rising senior Emily Muteti won the conference title in the 100 butterfly in a time of 53.90. No members of the team competed in the 200 butterfly. Based on Wilson’s converted best times, she has the potential to score in multiple events for Grand Canyon. Her best converted 200 butterfly would have made her the runner up at this year’s conference meet as well as 6th in the 100 butterfly, 11th in the 200 IM, and 13th in the 400 IM.
Wilson also has the potential to make an impact on the all-time top-10 times for the Grand Canyon women. Her converted best time in the 200 butterfly would rank her 3rd all-time, and her 100 butterfly would be sixth. Her 400 IM would also make the top-10 all-time list coming in at 9th.
The Grand Canyon swimming roster typically is home to many international swimmers. During the 2020-2021 season, the women’s team had a total roster of 14 swimmers. 6 of those were international swimmers. Both numbers were smaller than they usually are, which may be due to COVID-19 restrictions and the fear of quarantine or the inability to enter a swimmer’s home country. To show a better sample size, the 2019-2020 roster featured 22 swimmers, 13 of which were international women.
Wilson will suit up this fall as a member of the incoming class of 2025. She joins Alba Fernandez, Laura Kelberg, and Fruzsi Macsok. All are international recruits who will join Grand Canyon this fall.
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