University of Minnesota Athletics
Ashley Steenvoorden Wins 400 Free at Nationals
8/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Aug. 2, 2011
Golden Gopher swimmer Ashley Steenvoorden won her first national title on Tuesday at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships in Palo Alto, Calif. She won the 400-meter freestyle in a personal-best time of 4 minutes, 7.63 seconds--a time fast enough to earn her a spot on the U.S. roster for the Pan American Games in October.
Steenvoorden was seeded first going into the final after posting a time of 4:09.16 in the preliminary heats. In the final, she had the lead by the 250-meter mark and kept it until the end. Steenvoorden beat out several swimmers who competed in last week's FINA World Championships, including second-place finisher Chloe Sutton (who was ninth in the event at worlds), followed by Elizabeth Beisel and Allison Schmitt.
Other 400 free competitors with Gopher ties were Kiera Janzen (t-43rd), Lauren Weis (51st), Kristen Steenvoorden (55th), Hannah Whitehead (80th), and Loren Brandon (119th). Those competing in other events included: Annalise Colton (87th) and Tori Simenec (t-147th) in the 100 butterfly, and Haley Spencer (80th) and Molly Belk (147th) in the 200 individual medley.
Players Mentioned
