MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Whitworth College's Samantha Kephart won her first individual national swimming title, claiming the championship of the 100-yard Butterfly on Friday night during the second day of competition at the NCAA Division III swimming and diving championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
Kephart (So., Santa Maria, Calif. - St. Joseph HS) won the evening final with a time of 55.45, setting new Whitworth and Northwest Conference records. She improved on her morning qualifying time of 56.63 by more than one second to pull out the win. Kephart defeated defending champion Marika Ross of Middlebury College, who finished with a time of 55.68. Kephart broke the previous Whitworth and NWC record of 56.23, which she set at last month's conference championship meet. Brittany Gresset (Fr., Seattle, Wash. - Mt. Rainier HS) finished 30th in the preliminary heats of the 100-yard Backstroke on Friday and did not advance to the evening finals. The meet will conclude on Saturday as Kephart competes in the 200-yard Butterfly and Gresset swims in the 100-yard Freestyle. Kephart enters Saturday's heats as the top seed after setting a new NCAA Division III record of 2:01.45 at the NWC Championships in February. |
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