INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Purdue women’s swimmers completed their showing at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships Friday in Indianapolis.
“The World Championship Trials was a great experience for our swimmers,” head coach John Klinge said. “This was their first competition at the national level for all of them, and they all competed well.”
Ariel Martin
Junior Ariel Martin took to the water Thursday to swim the 50-meter freestyle. Purdue’s school-record holder in the 50-yard freestyle, which is the distance contested in the NCAA, touched the wall in 26.81 seconds. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native, who finished sixth in the event at the Big Ten Championships, broke the previous school record twice at the conference championship meet.
Sophomore Kristen Gilson was the final Purdue swimmer to appear at the national championship meet. She joined the rest of the 200-meter backstroke field Friday morning. The Plano, Texas, native stopped the clock in 2:22.95. Gilson, who holds Purdue’s freshman record in the 400-yard IM, ranks second on Purdue’s all-time performance list in the 200-yard backstroke.
Kristen Gilson
The meet, held at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI, also served as the qualifier for the World Championships. The top-two finishers in each event qualified to represent the USA at the FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy, July 17-Aug. 2.
NBC is scheduled to show tape-delayed footage of the meet Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m.
