Produced by Coleman Hodges.
Reported by Jared Anderson.
1650 FREE – FINALS
- NCAA Record: Leah Smith, Virginia, 15:23.30
- American Record: Katie Ledecky, Nation’s Capital, 15:13.30
- U.S. Open Record: Katie Ledecky, Nation’s Capital, 15:13.30
- Championship Record: Brittany MacLean, Georgia, 15:27.84
Pool Record: Jessica Thielmann, Florida, 15:50.74- 2015 Champion: Leah Smith, Virginia, 15:34.46
Top 3:
- Leah Smith, Virginia – 15:32.72
- Brittany MacLean, Georgia – 15:39.29
- Rose Bi, Michigan – 15:45.26
Virginia’s Leah Smith won her second consecutive NCAA mile title, doubling up on her 500 free win from day 2 with a 15:32.72 in the meet’s longest race.
That’s 7 seconds slower than Smith went in winning the ACC title, but still shattered the pool record and won the national title by almost 7 seconds.
Georgia’s Brittany MacLean finished second overall in 15:39.29 – that caps an outstanding senior campaign for the Bulldog, who was second in the 500 and won the 200 in a major photo finish last night.
Michigan freshman Rose Bi had a great swim, cutting five seconds to go 15:45.26 for third, and NC State showed off its freestyling range with a 4th-place 15:47.20 from Hannah Moore.
Indiana senior Haley Lips was the top swimmer out of the afternoon heats and held on for fifth overall in 15:50.54. The entire top 5 were under the pool record prior to this week’s meet.
Lips kicked off a run of Big Ten swimmers to round out the top 8. Big Ten champ Lindsey Clary, last night’s 400 IM runner-up, was 15:50.66 for sixth, competing for Ohio State. Wisconsin’s Danielle Valley went 16:00.43 for 7th and Minnesota sophomore Brooke Zeiger nabbed an All-America slot in 16:00.64 for 8th. Fellow Big Ten swimmer Gillian Ryan was 9th for Michigan.
