Florida Gators clinch their first NCAA 800-yard Freestyle relay title since 1989

Florida Gators recently clinched the 800-yard freestyle relay NCAA title after a long wait since 1989. Gator’s swimming team opened Day 1 of the Women’s Division 1 NCAA Championships with a stunning win that also witnessed them setting a new school record and pool record timing.

No. 2 Florida Gators also bettered their previous timing from the 2014 NCAA Championships where Gators clocked 6:53.84s and secured a second-place finish behind California Golden Bears. Shannon Vreeland, Amber McDermott, Jordan Mattern, and Brittany MacLean were the swimmers representing the Gators in 2014.

At the recent NCAA Championships, UGF swimmers Bella Sims, Isabel Ivey, Emma Weyant, and Micayla Cronk made commendable efforts to clock a timing of 6:48.59.

Bells Sims led the first leg and provided her team with a great anchor by swimming in 1:41.03. Isabel Ivey then swam the fastest 2nd leg at 1:41.64 to pass the lead to team member Emma Weyant at 1:42.90 in the third leg. The race's final leg was swum by Micayla Cronk, who clocked 1:43.02.

The winning team left behind Tennessee and Stanford University who finished at 6.50:82 and 6:51.17, respectively.

Florida Gators’ swimmers will next compete on day 2 of the NCAA Championships in the prelims of 500-yard free, 200-yard IM, and the 50-yard free in the morning, with the finale of these events taking place in the evening.

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Florida Gators finished top-three in 200 medley relay after 10 years

No.2 Florida Gators delivered another great swim in the 200 medley relay at the NCAA Championships, chalking up a top-three finish in the event for the first time since 2014.

Swimmers Aris Runnels, Molly Mayne, Olivia Peoples, and Micayla Cronk received their first All-America honors at the championship in Athens for their commendable performance. They grabbed the third-place finish in the race by swimming 1:34.30.

Their competitors, the University of Virginia and the Ohio State University bagged the gold and silver medals with their respective timings of 1:31.58 and 1:33.09.

The Gators had also achieved third place in 2014 with a timing of 1:35.42. That year, the team was led by Sinead Russell, Hilda Lúthersdóttir, Ellese Zalewski, and Natalie Hinds.

After Day 1 of the NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships 2024, the Gators stand at the top with 72 points, followed by Virginia’s 70 and Tennessee's 62.

The ongoing championships are crucial for college swimmers as they can be a potential pathway to the Olympic teams.