Texas sophomore Kelly Pash has chosen the 200 free for day three of the 2021 NCAA Championships, dropping the 400 IM.
NCAA WOMEN’S PRE-CUT PSYCH SHEETS
Pash has had a great year, including putting down a lifetime best 1:42.70 in the 200 free while leading off Texas’s 800 free relay at the 2021 Big 12 Championships. Pash broke 1:44 for the first time in December (1:43.61) before coming down to her current best at Big 12s.
Pash’s 1:42.70 is tied with Riley Gaines of Kentucky for #2 in the nation and on the psych sheets. At Big 12s, Pash raced the 400 IM individually alongside her usual 200 IM/200 fly, going 4:04.93 to finish runner-up behind teammate Evie Pfeifer (4:04.61). Pash would’ve been the 8-seed for 2021 NCAAs if she stuck with the 400 IM instead of the 200 free. Meanwhile, Pfeifer is going to race the 400 IM, where she’s the 5-seed.
Last season, Pash was 4:07.71 in the 400 IM and 1:44.41 in the 200 free, and went with the 200 free on the post-selection psychs, where she was seeded 20th. In 2020, she was also invited in the 200 fly, where her 1:54.14 had her seeded 13th.
This time around, Pash has set herself up to make a run at NCAA titles in the 200 free and 200 fly. In addition to her T-2-seed in the 200 free, Pash is seeded fourth in the 200 fly (1:52.69) and eighth in the 200 IM (1:55.13). In the 200 fly, her freshman teammate Olivia Bray is the top seed (1:52.03).
Pash will be solid at NCAAs. #hookem