CANTON, Ohio - Coming into this week's NCAA Division II Championships in Canton, Ohio, there was no doubt that sophomore
Alex Henley had already earned "star" status with her multiple school records and conference championships. After Thursday night, she'll have another designation to add to her collection -- national champion. The versatile Thousand Oaks, Calif., native out-swam a stellar field to win the 400 individual medley, breaking her own UCSD record in the process with a time of 4:18.71. Though she "finaled" in four individual events as a freshman in 2009, this was her first NCAA crown.
Henley's heroics propelled the UCSD women to fourth place in the team standings after the meet's first two days. The Tritons now have 142 points, well behind frontrunning Drury (MO) which has piled up 343. On the men's side, head coach
Scott McGihon's squad sits ninth with 105 points, but is just 57 points out of third. The Championships, being hosted at the C.T. Branin Natatorium, continue Friday and will conclude Saturday.
On a night when several Tritons turned in noteworthy efforts, it was Henley's performance that clearly demanded top billing. She was on or near the lead from the outset and eventually put away defending national champ and NCAA record holder Yuan Quin Li of Drury for the victory. In typical understated fashion, the 19-year-old, whose win came relatively early in the program, gave her accomplishment its due but kept the bigger picture in focus.
"I was excited, happy and relieved, but had to get ready to move on to the (400 medley) relay," said Henley, who was well aware of Li's presence two lanes over. "Going into the freestyle leg, she was still right there. With 50 to go, I knew I could do it and with 25 yards to go, I knew I was going to win. That's a great feeling."
McGihon praised Henley's physical and mental talents that led to her championship performance.
"Alex had a specific game plan for this race and followed it perfectly. She knew she would be better than everyone else in the pool over the final 100 yards and she put herself in position to be able to capitalize on that strength," said McGihon. "She's got the same tough-mindedness that we see in (men's standout) Dan Perdew, it's just more subtle."
Henley was hardly the only news Thursday. In the 100 butterfly, senior Karla Holman went 56.17, just a few ticks off her school record, which was good enough for sixth place. The Triton women reached the finals in two relay events. In the evening's first race, the quartet of Anju Shimura, Jessica Ferguson, Amber Tan and Katherine Tse clocked in at 1:35.26, which left them eighth in the 200 freestyle relay. Then, in the final event, it was Henley, Mercedes O'Brien, Holman and Shimura touching in 3:49.31 to grab fifth place in the 400 medley relay.
On the men's side, UCSD's best effort produced a creditable third place result in the 200 freestyle relay, but it was an outcome that fell two slots short of what appeared to be their potential. After gaining the No. 1 seeding in the prelims, the Triton foursome of Daniel Perdew, Todd Langland, Sam Stromberg and Blake Langland led early in the final but closed with a 1:20.98 -- leaving them in third place, just .19 seconds behind winner Ouachita Baptist (AR).
In Thursday's final event, the 400 medley relay, the crew of Julius Espiritu, Juan Pablo Carrillo, Perdew and Todd Langland claimed 10th place with a mark of 3:22.32. In between the two relays, UCSD picked up a ninth place finish in the 100 butterfly as Perdew won the consolation final in 49.41 and 10th place in the one-meter diving competition where freshman Tyler Runsten bounced back from some early difficulties to score 401.5 points.
When the night was over, McGihon's sentiments were mixed on the team's success thus far.
"We're relying on our stars to carry the team and the rest of the team has seemed satisfied to just be average," said the 12th-year mentor. "Over the next two days, I'm looking forward to seeing our entire team swim with the pride and heart that I know they possess."
