Rice University
NCAA Championships
Massengale Finishes 13th In The Nation In 500-Yard Freestyle
3/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 20, 2008
Rice senior swimmer Brittany Massengale earned All-America honors by finishing 13th in the nation in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2008 NCAA Championships Thursday evening at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Massengale posted a time of 4:43.48 in the event finals to place 13th in the country. The senior from Alma, Ark., is the first Owl to score at the NCAA Championships since Mandy Mularz finished seventh in the nation in the 50-yard freestyle in 2003.
Earlier in the day in the event's preliminary races, Massengale shattered her own school record in the 500-free with a time of 4:42.13. She earned the top seed in the consolation finals and was less than two-tenths of a second from qualifying for the championship final.
University of Georgia freshman Kelsey Ditto won the 500's consolation final with a time of 4:40.02. University of Florida senior Caroline Burckle won the 2008 national championship in the event with an NCAA record time of 4:33.60.
Massengale still has two more events to compete in at the NCAA meet which runs through Saturday. The Owl record-holder will compete in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday and then wrap up her schedule by swimming in her specialty, the 1,650-yard freestyle, on Saturday.
Results for the championships will be posted live on the web each day of the meet at the above site.
Players Mentioned
