Heller ties for third in 100 freestyle final to cap off NCAA Championships

March 12, 2013

University Relations

Jamie Foland
907-474-6807

Junior Bente Heller (Hamburg, Germany/Communication) capped off a stellar weekend in the pool as she claimed another All-America nod at the 2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship with a strong finish in the 100 freestyle Saturday evening at the CrossPlex Complex.

Heller completed the four-length sprint with a time of 50.58 seconds to tie for third place with UC San Diego's Shakya Anjali as the duo touched the wall simultaneously. Her mark was .18 faster than her preliminary race, which seeded her fourth for the championship final.

This is Heller's third All-America accolade of the 2013 championship and she is now a combined nine-time All-American the last two years among individual and relay performances at the NCAA meet.

On Friday, she won her first career national championship by claiming the 100 backstroke and also placed seventh in the 200 free on Thursday night. Her win in the 100 back marked the first time in program history a Nanook swimmer won a national title.

The Alaska duo compiled 64.5 points among the seven individual events, which was good for 19th place as a team out of 36 teams that scored at the meet.