DALTON POST-RACE INTERVIEW
Shenandoah, Texas, March 19, 2015 – After setting the national record in the prelims, Washington University in St. Louis junior Reed Dalton bettered that time to win the national championship in the men's 100 butterfly in 46.97 seconds, highlighting eight All-America finishes and four school records for WashU on the second day of the 2015 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships Thursday at the CISD Natatorium.
Dalton broke the previous 100 butterfly national record with a time of 47.10 seconds in the prelims Thursday morning, which was 0.9 of a second faster than his own school record and the fastest prelim time by the same amount. He took .13 of a second off that national-record time in the finals Thursday night to win the event by .59 of a second over the runner-up.
Dalton became the fifth individual in school history to win a national championship, joining Michael Slavik (2006, 50 free), Eric Triebe (2006, 200 free), Alex Beyer (2009 & 2010, 400 IM) and sophomore Michael Lagieski (2014, 100 breaststroke). It marks his third straight All-America finish in the 100 butterfly, after placing fourth each of the past two years at the national championships.
Senior Matt Nutter, Lagieski, Dalton and sophomore Justin Morrell teamed up to break their own school record in the men's 400-medley relay prelims with a time of 3:16.44. The team then improved that time to 3:16.37 in the championship final, placing fifth overall for All-America honors.
Junior Kristalyn McAfee broke her own school record in the women's 200 freestyle prelims with a time of 1:49.21. She placed fifth in the championship final with a time of 1:49.60 to finish as an All-American in the event for the third year in a row after placing fourth in 2013 and sixth in 2014. Sophomore MariMac Collins finished 26th in the event with a prelim time of 1:52.69.
Junior Amanda Stadermann broke the school record in the first prelim heat of the women's 100 butterfly, only to have freshman Niamh O'Grady better the time two heats later. O'Grady advanced to the championship final with a time of 55.55, before placing seventh in 55.91. Stadermann finished 21st overall in 56.88.
The women's 200-free relay team of junior Katie Anderson, Collins, sophomore Claire Savage, and senior Sara Taege picked up All-America honorable mention accolades by finishing 11th in a time of 1:35.08. Anderson, Savage, O'Grady and McAfee also teamed up to earn All-America honorable mention honors in the 400-medley relay, finishing 14th in a time of 3:52.15.
The men's 200-free relay also raced to All-America honorable mention honors Thursday night. Nutter, Dalton, freshman Ross Brown and Morrell clocked a time of 1:22.07 to finish 10th in the event.
Taege added All-America honorable mention honors by finishing 14th in the 400 IM in a time of 4:28.26. It was Taege's third All-America finish in the event of her career after placing seventh in 2012 and sixth in 2014. Freshman Nicole Zanolli just missed advancing to the consolation final of the 400 IM, clocking a season-best 4:30.88 to finish 19th overall.
Senior Zane Turpin and sophomore Andrew Ellison also competed for the WashU men Thursday. Turpin finished 22nd in the 400 IM with a season-best time of 4:03.85. Ellison swam a career-best time of 1:42.22 to place 43rd in the 200 free.
Through two days of the four-day meet, the WashU men have compiled 76 points to sit in 10th place in the team standings. The WashU women are 11th in the team standings with 54 points.
WashU will have four individuals and two relays in action Friday. Stadermann will compete in the women's 200 butterfly, while Dalton (200 butterfly), Morrell (100 backstroke) and Lagieski (100 breaststroke) will each compete for the WashU men. In addition, both the men's and women's 800-free relays will be in action. Prelims begin at 10 a.m., with finals starting at 6 p.m.
