Thiele Earns All-America Honors on Day One of NCAA Championships

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Austin College women's swimmer Sammi Thiele made history on Wednesday evening, becoming the first 'Roo swimmer to ever earn NCAA Division III All-America honors following a fourth place finish at the national championship meet.

Thiele entered the event as the No. 6-seed in the 200 Individual Medley, but quickly moved up the rankings in Wednesday morning's preliminary swims to earn the fourth seed in this evening's finals. After earning the silver at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships last month, Thiele set a new conference record on her way to finishing fourth nationally on Wednesday night with a time of 2:01.86, breaking the previous record set by Trinity's Neely Burns, who finished sixth during Wednesday's finals. 

Thiele will be back in the pool on Friday for the 100 backstroke and again on Saturday for the 200 backstroke, in which she will once again be the No. 6-seed after winning both events at the SCAC Championships.