Kelly Pash Swims NCAA-Leading 1:42.73 200 Free At Texas-NC State Dual Meet

By Yanyan Li on SwimSwam

Texas vs. NC State

• January 27 to 28, 2023
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, Austin, Texas
• SCY (25 yards)
• Live Results

On Friday at the Texas vs. NC State dual meet, Texas senior Kelly Pash swam a massive time of 1:42.73 in the 200 free, which overtakes Taylor Ruck‘s 1:43.11 as the fastest time in the NCAA. Pash is the first woman to break 1:43-point in the 200 free and one of the seven swimmers to go an NCAA-leading time in January (alongside Erica Sullivan, Kate Douglass, Kristen Stege, Leon Marchand, Grant House, and Gretchen Walsh).

Pash’s best time currently stands at a 1:42.38, from when she finished third at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Her season-best prior to today was a 1:43.40, which had made her second in the nation behind Ruck.

Within her race today, Pash dominated, beating out her teammate and second-place finisher Olivia Bray by over two seconds. Bray still had an impressive swim of her own, clocking a personal best time of 1:44.94. Her previous best prior to today was a 1:45.10 from the Minnesota Invite.

Top Performs, 2022-23 NCAA Season, Women’s 500 Free:

1. Kelly Pash, Texas — 1:42.73
2. Taylor Ruck, Stanford — 1:43.11
3. Brooklyn Douthwright, Tennessee — 1:43.60
4. Chloe Stepanek, Texas A&M — 1:43.83
5. Amy Fulmer, Ohio State — 1:44.04

You can watch the race video here:

Compared to NCAAs, Pash was slightly faster on both her first 50 and last 50, but slower by a larger margin on the middle 100—which accounted for the difference between the two swimmers. That being said, her in-season speed could give her the momentum to break the 1:42-point barrier or even become the national title favorite headed into NCAAs.

Comparative Splits, Texas vs. NC State 2023 vs. NCAAs:

SwimSwam: Kelly Pash Swims NCAA-Leading 1:42.73 200 Free At Texas-NC State Dual Meet