In what is expected to be a common theme this week in Indianapolis, with over half of the NCAA Division II Records on the chopping block, Queens University’s Patricia Castro has broken the National Record in the 200 yard IM in the day’s first event.
The sophomore swam a 1:58.91, which broke the 1:59.21 done by West Chester’s Katharina Fischer done at this meet last year. She led the field by two seconds in the morning, though she won’t be the only swimmer with eyes on re-breaking that mark in finals.
Comparative splits:
- Fischer, 2014 – 26.45/30.06/33.89/28.81 = 1:59.21
- Castro, 2015 – 25.77/30.33/35.00/27.81 = 1:58.91
While Castro doesn’t have nearly the speed on breaststroke as Fischer did last year, she’s a much better freestyler at the end of her race. The swim for Castro is not a huge surprise, as she’s a 2012 Olympian for her native Spain and has been a 2:16.5 in the 200 IM in long course. Expect her to crush the 200 free record later in the meet (she’s been 1:58.1 in long course in that race).
Fischer was listed as just a sophomore last year, but is no longer listed on West Chester’s roster.
