The North Carolina swimming and diving teams combined for solid team performances highlighted by stellar individual showings in the USA Swimming AT&T Winter Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina.
What happened?
Bryanna Cameron starred in the finale of the event with one of the best individual performances by a Tar Heel in the competition. The junior went on to finish sixth in the finals for the women’s 200-meter butterfly. Her time of 2:13.92 was a shade off the career best she set in the prelims, and both numbers surpassed the Olympic Trial cut-off mark.
On the men’s side, Chris Thames and Tom Bilden both placed in the top 20 of the final for their respective events. The senior Bilden swam a time of 2:07.11 in the 200-meter butterfly to slide into 19th place. Thames’s mark of 2:06.15 in the 200-meter backstroke was good for 20th place among a stacked field.
Who stood out?
Though Cameron was the star of the show, she was not the only swimmer on the female side to perform at a high level. First-year Sophie Lindner, along with Cameron, swam times necessary to qualify in their respective events for the Winter National trials in 2020. Lindner didn’t stop there as she went to the A final in the 200-meter backstroke and placed eighth with a time of 2:15.35.
Another upperclassman who put in a veteran performance was senior Zhada Fields. The Ohio native made it to the final in the 100-meter freestyle and placed a respectable 15th in the event.
When was it decided?
The Tar Heels who made it to the finals in their events swam to the finish line on the fourth and final day of the competition. There the stars mentioned above brought more than their pride back to Chapel Hill with two qualifiers for the Winter National trials.
