FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Simmons College sophomore swimmer Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) finished 11th this evening in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind. to become the first swimmer in school history to earn All-America Honorable Mention honors.

The Sharks sit in 18th place after the first day of competition with six points, while Emory University is in the top spot with 146 points, followed by Keyon College with 118.

Scholand broke her own school record in the event by 0.22 seconds with a time of 4:56.76 to place third in the Consolation Finals and 11th overall after entering the meet as the number 14 seed. She bested her time in the morning's preliminaries by nearly seven tenths of a second.

Scholand trailed four swimmers after the first 250 yards of the race, before making her move in the second half of the event. She swam her third and second-fastest 50-yard splits in the final two laps of the race, respectively, and swam the final 450 yards faster than any swimmer in the heat. The second-year swimmer overtook Scout Wilkins from Kenyon after 300 yards, then surpassed Williams College first year Gwyneth Maloy and New York University junior Grace Wakabayas over the next 50 yards to move into fourth in the consolation final with three laps to go. She caught and passed Kenyon sophomore Gail Anderson to settle into third place of the heat for the final 100 yards of the event.

The Neuroscience and Behavior major returns to the pool on Saturday, March 24 when she competes as the number four seed in the 1650-yard freestyle.

VIDEO: https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule
LIVE STATS: https://www.collegeswimming.com/results/104735/