Texas Sophomore Kelly Pash Chooses 200 Free Over 400 IM for NCAAs

Texas sophomore Kelly Pash has chosen the 200 free for day three of the 2021 NCAA Championships, dropping the 400 IM.

NCAA WOMEN’S PRE-CUT PSYCH SHEETS

Pash has had a great year, including putting down a lifetime best 1:42.70 in the 200 free while leading off Texas’s 800 free relay at the 2021 Big 12 Championships. Pash broke 1:44 for the first time in December (1:43.61) before coming down to her current best at Big 12s.

Pash’s 1:42.70 is tied with Riley Gaines of Kentucky for #2 in the nation and on the psych sheets. At Big 12s, Pash raced the 400 IM individually alongside her usual 200 IM/200 fly, going 4:04.93 to finish runner-up behind teammate Evie Pfeifer (4:04.61). Pash would’ve been the 8-seed for 2021 NCAAs if she stuck with the 400 IM instead of the 200 free. Meanwhile, Pfeifer is going to race the 400 IM, where she’s the 5-seed.

Last season, Pash was 4:07.71 in the 400 IM and 1:44.41 in the 200 free, and went with the 200 free on the post-selection psychs, where she was seeded 20th. In 2020, she was also invited in the 200 fly, where her 1:54.14 had her seeded 13th.

This time around, Pash has set herself up to make a run at NCAA titles in the 200 free and 200 fly. In addition to her T-2-seed in the 200 free, Pash is seeded fourth in the 200 fly (1:52.69) and eighth in the 200 IM (1:55.13). In the 200 fly, her freshman teammate Olivia Bray is the top seed (1:52.03).