Missouri’s Anna Miller made history this week when she finished fifth in her heat and 35th overall in the 50th freestyle event at the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta. Her school’s first woman to compete in the NCAAs, Miller, a student at St. Joseph’s Academy, also qualified for Saturday’s 100th freestyle.
“It’s a little strange knowing that this will be the last time I compete,” admitted Miller, 22. “But I’ve always loved the sport and it’s been a big part of my life. Most of all I will miss the people I met along the way. I met some of my best friends while swimming—in high school, at Rockwood Swim Club, and in the state of Missouri. Swimming has taught me great lessons about hard work and motivation.”
“There’s no question about getting up at 5:30 in the morning for training and jumping into a cold pool. You never get used to that.”
People also read…
Miller finished her Missouri State career with 27 Missouri Valley Conference gold medals, 11 MVC titles, five All-MVC first-team selections, and school records in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 butterfly.
She is currently working on her MBA after graduating in Marketing Management with a minor in Business Analytics last spring.
“I’m looking for the next challenge and ready to move on to the next chapter in my life,” Miller said.
She started at the neighborhood swim club at the age of 6 and quickly developed a love for the sport.
“For me, motivation comes from having your team behind you,” she said. “This sport is incredibly difficult, mentally and physically. But it also teaches you discipline and lessons about hard work and motivation. Being given the opportunity to compete in the NCAAs, represent my school once again and compete against some of the best swimmers in the world is truly a special way of saying goodbye.”
Washington U. is co-track champion
Washington University and Wisconsin-Eau Claire each finished with 35 points and battled it out for the NCAA Division III men’s indoor track and field championship last weekend in Winston-Salem, NC
In the final event of the day, the Bears 4×400 relay team consisting of Marcus-Jay Williams, Harry Mills, Andrew Whitaker and John Harry Wagner (John Burroughs) finished second. At the meet, Whitaker won the 60 hurdles, the distance medley relay of Jeff Crandell, Jackson Cox, Alex Cobin (Ladue) and Jacob Ridderhoff took first place, Ridderhoff was fourth in the 3,000 and Gio Alfred was seventh in the 60 hurdles . The Bears’ Jeff Stiles was named National Coach of the Year.
In the women, Emma Kelley (Webster Groves) was second and Alessia Sarussi was sixth in the 800, while Ebunoluwa Opata was fifth and Alicia Gupte seventh in the triple jump. The Bears team of Lindsay Ott, Sarussi, Aoife Dunne and Emma Walter finished seventh in the distance medley relay.
Lindenholz wins
national ice hockey title
Lindenwood University won the American Collegiate Hockey Association championship Tuesday in Maryland Heights with an 8-3 win over Central Oklahoma.
The Lions, who have won their last 16 games of the season, finished 22-3. The team also won national titles in 2009, 2010 and 2016.
Short jumps
SLU right-hander Jack Weber (Chaminade) was named Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Rookie of the Week after making his first college save with two innings scoreless in a 5-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
• The Billikens’ Kristi Stevenson was named A-10 Softball Player of the Week; She hit .500 with two homers, two doubles, three RBIs and five runs. The senior third baseman is batting .340 this season.
• McKendree’s men repeated fourth place at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships in North Carolina. Top finishers for the Bearcats were Jackson Lustig (runner-up, 200 butterfly), the 800 relay team (runner-up; Xander Skinner Alireza Yavari, Leo Gandaria-Hernandez, Arthur Souza) and the 400 relay medley team (runner-up: DeVante Carey, Filipe Pinheiro, Gregg Lichinsky, and Xander Skinner).
• In the women’s event, Regan Gubera placed fifth in the 3-meter and sixth in the 1-meter, becoming the school’s first two-time All-American.
• The Bearcats’ Rasmus Nilsson was named Great Lakes Valley Conference Golfer of the Week after placing fourth in the Legacy Invitational.
• Washington University’s Jack Nolan was named an NABC second-team All-America basketball player. He averaged 21.3 points that season and finished third in program history with 1,795 career points.
• Lindenwood’s softball team (17-3) has won 11 straight games, the most for the program in its NCAA era. Leaders are Whitney Kinser (.396, 11 RBIs) and Whitney Wendel (.348, 12 RBIs). On the mound, Amanda Weyh is 10-0 with eight complete games and a 0.65 ERA.
• The Lindenwood men’s golf team won Tuesday’s Rockhurst Spring Invitational, beating the hosts Hawks by nine shots. The Lions’ Liam Bentein (142) and Sil Beyers (145) took second and third place respectively.
• In lacrosse, the Lions’ Patrick Kaschalk and Kyle Hebert earned GLVC honors. Kaschalk scored 14 goals and added two assists to define attack, while Hebert, a goaltender, made a program record with 20 saves against Florida Southern.
• Lindenwood’s Julia Ruzevich was named a third-team All-American in the Division II Conference Commissioners Association in basketball. The GLVC Player of the Year averaged 20 points and 11.4 rebounds this season. She also led the Lions in assists, steals and blocks.
• Maryville freshman Emerson Heron was named GLVC Softball Pitcher of the Week after beating Quincy 3-0 with a one-hitter in last week’s league game. Heron is 5-1 to start her college career. She also leads the team in batting (.377), hits (20), and RBIs (14).