Springfield College sophomore earns All-America recognition in breaststroke events
EMILY MEDEIROS
SHENANDOAH, Texas — Springfield College sophomore Emily Medeiros of Wakefield swam to a 14th place finish in the 200 breaststroke on Saturday to garner Honorable Mention All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in the Conroe ISD Natatorium.
Entering the event as the 12th seed after a swimming a qualifying time of 2:19.49 at the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships, Medeiros clocked in at 2:19.66 in the morning preliminaries. That time, which tied her for 13th overall, allowed the sophomore to earn a spot in the consolation finals.
In the consolation finals, Medeiros raced to a sixth place finish, good for 14th overall, as she touched in 2:20.23.
That marked the second All-America honor of the weekend and third of Medeiros’ early career at Springfield.
That was because on Friday, the Physical Therapy major finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke with a school record time of 1:02.89. She posted the Springfield College-record breaking time of 1:02.89 in the 100 breaststroke championship race, finishing fifth overall, and earning All-America recognition on Friday evening.
That marked the best finish from a Springfield College student-athlete in the breaststroke event since Moria Price ‘09 finished third overall in the 100 breaststroke in 2008.
In Friday morning’s preliminaries, Medeiros shattered her old record in the 100 breaststroke when she posted a time of 1:03.27 to finish fourth, guaranteeing her a spot in the national championship race.
Earlier this year, Medeiros broke the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and school record with a time 1:03.78 at the NEWMAC Championships, breaking the previous mark that was held by Price, who posted a 1:03.88 in ‘08.
Last season, Medeiros finished 12th overall in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.32, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors.
Medeiros was the only representative from the Springfield College women’s swimming and diving program to compete on the last day of the NCAA Championships on Saturday as she swam in the 200 breaststroke.
At Wakefield Memorial High School, the former Warrior standout was the Div. 2 state champion in the 100 yard breaststroke her senior year. In 2012, Medeiros was crowned the Div. 2 state champion in the 100 breaststroke as she captured first place with a time of 1:06.78. The time was a WMHS record at the time.
In the same meet in ‘12, Medeiros also came away with a fifth place in the 100 butterfly as she clocked in at 1:06.62. The time also set a WMHS record.
