Jan. 8, 2009

ATLANTA, Ga. - Five members of the George Mason swim team traveled to Atlanta for the U.S. Short Course National Championships this past weekend and had outstanding performances, highlighted by the record-shattering efforts of freshman Ashley Danner and junior Caitlin Impink at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

Danner set records in three events, including the 100-yard breaststroke where she was declared the 18-and-under national champion. Her time of 1:00.55 in the preliminaries set a new school and Colonial Athletic Association mark. She smashed the same records in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley, where she recorded times of 2:10.06 and 2:00.26, respectively.

Impink swam a time of 1:50.20 in the 200-yard freestyle, besting her own school record.

There were a number of excellent performances by Patriot swimmers against the best competition in the country, including a 14th-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle by freshman Preston Wolter, who clocked in with a 15:24.26 mark. Full results by Mason swimmers at the competition can be found at the link above.

Mason will not return to the pool in team competition until the new year, when it competes in the Orange Bowl Classic in Key Largo, Fla., on January 3 at noon.