Molly Gustafson
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Wittenberg freshman swimmer Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) became the Tigers' newest and perhaps most improbable All-American with a seventh-place finish in the 100 breaststroke Friday evening at the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming & Diving Championship Meet.
She touched the wall in 1:04.54, which would have beat her own school record of 1:05.30 had she not already shattered the mark Friday morning in the preliminaries with a time of 1:03.79. Gustafson set the previous record at Kenyon earlier this season on January 29, a swim that beat the prior mark of 1:06.46 set by junior teammate Megan Tassone (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) in 2009.
Gustafson initially qualified for the national meet only as an alternate, but was upgraded to participant two weeks ago and suprised the entire field with her All-America performance.
The award is the Wittenberg womens' 55th All-America or Honorable Mention All-America designation, the last coming in 2009 when Adeline Brym placed eighth in the 200 backstroke on a time of 2:03.96.
Gustafson opened her appearance at the championships with a 54th-place finish in the 50 freestyle, and capped the week in style with a 21st-place finish in the 200 breast on a time of 2:22.70, improving her own school record of 2:25.07, originally set on Day 3 of the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference Championship Meet in Canton, Ohio.
The NCAA championship meet was hosted by the College of Wooster and Beloit College at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee.