By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
2024 NCAA All-American in both the 400 and 800 free relays Ella Ristic has announced her transfer from Indiana to USC to use her COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility.
As a freshman, Ristic earned an individual NCAA invite as she went on to finish 22nd in the 500 free (4:44.91) and 30th in the 200 free (1:46.72). She returned to NCAAs as a sophomore with an individual invite once again. She finished 41st in the 200 free (1:46.49), 43rd in the 500 free (4:45.42), and 57th in the 100 free (49.72).
Ristic swam at NCAAs in. both her junior and senior seasons as a relay-only swimmer. In 2023, she split a 48.79 100 free flying start split helping the team’s 400 free relay to a 6th place finish. This past season as a senior she swam on both the 400 free and 800 free relays. She split a 48.79 on the 400 free relay that went on to finish 8th and a 1:44.84 on the 800 free relay that finished 5th.
Ristic’s best SCY times are:
- 100 free: 49.02
- 200 free: 1:44.77
- 500 free: 4:42.06
Her best 200 and 500 freestyle times would have been 4th on the roster this past season for the Trojans. Her relay split in the 200 free at NCAAs was faster than one of the USC splits by over a second. The difference of 1.19 seconds would have moved the USC relay up from 11th to 9th.
Ristic will compete for USC in the team’s first season in the Big Ten which she has plenty of experience in as an undergrad with the Hoosiers. At 2024 Big Tens, Ristic scored 45 individual points although things will look different this upcoming season with the additions of USC and UCLA.
Ristic told SwimSwam she chose USC because “It’s so close to where I grew up (Laguna niguel, CA) and it’s sort of a “homecoming” getting to be so close to my family and childhood home to finish off my career. I grew up swimming at the USC pool for various meets and I’ve always could see myself in that environment so when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up.
She will be working towards a masters in human resource management which the school offers as an accelerated one-year track.
SwimSwam: NCAA Relay All-American Ella Ristic Transferring to USC For Fifth Year
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