The Utah women will have a new addition to their distance crew next season, as Sara McClendon has given her verbal commitment to join the Utes. McClendon is a native of Texas, where she attends Mansfield High School and competes with the Mansfield Swim Club.
McClendon was a 2-time championship finalist at last season’s Texas 6A State Championships, placing 7th in the 200 free and 8th in the 500 free. She also has a 4th place finish from the 2015 state meet on her resume.
In the 2016 long course season, McClendon was a qualifier for the long course Speedo Junior Nationals. There, she placed in the top 24 of the 800 meter free and 1500 meter free.
McClendon’s Top Times:
| Event | Best time |
| 200 free | 1:50.51 |
| 500 free | 4:53.35 |
| 1650 free | 16:53.18 |
When she arrives at Utah, McClendon should have an immediate scoring impact for the Utes at the Pac-12 Championships. With her best time in the 1650 free, she would’ve scored with a 17th place finish at last season’s Pac-12 meet.
At Utah, McClendon will team up with Kat Wickham, Jordan Anderson, and Isabella Kearns, who were all scoring distance freestylers at the Pac-12 meet last season. She’ll also help make up for the graduation loss of Maddie Velez, a Pac-12 scorer in the mile.
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