Harrison to Swim 3 Events at NCAA Championships
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Sammy Harrison of the Oregon State swimming team will compete in three events this weekend at the NCAA Championships. Harrison qualified in both the 500 and 1650 Freestyle for the third time in her career, while adding the 200 Freestyle for the first time.
“Making it three years in a row is impressive,” head coach Larry Liebowitz said. “Each year she’s done that much better and pushed herself that much further. She’s done an amazing job of training and staying disciplined through it all. I think this is by far her best year. She’s such a consistent worker; she’s a great example for others. She has become more of a team leader each year, becoming a much more vocal role each year.”
Harrison will swim in one event each day of the competition, taking on the 500 Thursday, the 200 Friday and the 1650 on Saturday. She will compete in the preliminary race for each event during each day with the finals being held that evening. A complete schedule of events can be found here.
Harrison earned Honorable Mention All-American status in the 1650 last year, finishing 10th in the finals with a time of 16:01.59.
“It’s always an honor to make it this far,” said Harrison. “With how few swimmers make it compared to how many compete overall every year, it’s obviously really tough. It’s great to be in a place that energy really high and we’re all motivated to do well. This being my third year, my mentality has changed significantly. As a freshman I was much more nervous, but now I have a much better idea of what to expect. I’m excited that I get to add the new event this year. It helps my other two races, since the 200 is much more of a sprint. I’m ready to go a lot faster than I have in the past two years since I’ve had this extra event to train.”
The late sessions on Friday and Saturday will be streamed on ESPN3. Both sessions on Thursday as well as the morning sessions on Friday and Saturday will be live streamed through the NCAA here. Live results will also be available all weekend and can be found here. Further details about the event can be found at the official Championship website here.
“Even though I qualified as an individual it has been a team effort getting here,” said Harrison. “They helped push me all year and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
