June 30, 2017
Results
INDIANAPOLIS - Penn State rising junior Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.) continues to shine at the Phillips 66 U.S. National Swimming Championships, placing 11th in the 400-meter freestyle Friday in the IU Natatorium.
McHugh now has three top-12 finishes in the three events she has competed in so far. She touched third in the B-final of the 400m Friday in 4:11.74, improving on her preliminary time of 4:14.05 from the morning, which had ranked her 13th.
"Just another really nice performance," said Penn State head coach Tim Murphy. "Her race this morning in prelmlims was probably her best and toughest race up to this point. She then came back tonight and dropped two-plus seconds. She really showed some assertiveness in terms of getting out in her race, putting herself in position to finish ahead."
On Thursday, McHugh became the first Nittany Lion woman to reach the finals at U.S. Nationals since Amy Modglin in 2010 with a morning swim of 4:43.75 in the 400m IM to place sixth. She then shaved 3.50 seconds off in the evening to place fourth in 4:40.25 for the best finish by a Penn State women's swimmer since at least 2000. The time also ranks 29th in the world.
McHugh also placed 10th in the 800m freestyle on Tuesday. McHugh shaved 11 seconds off her previous, winning her heat in 8:35.01 seconds. The time also ranks 41st in the world. McHugh's back 400 meters were the third fastest amongst all competitors (4:14.97), only getting bested by the top two finishers: Katie Ledecky (4:08.29) and Leah Smith (4:13.50).
During the 2016-17 collegiate season, McHugh set Penn State records in the mile and 400 IM, reaching the consolation finals in both at the NCAA Championships with her record mile swim earning her a 10th-place finish. She also won silver in the 400 IM at the Big Ten Championships.
McHugh is looking to earn a place on the U.S National team to compete in the 17th FINA World Swimming and Diving Championships, which will be hosted in Budapest, Hungary, July 14-30.
She will compete in one more event at the National Championships: 1500m free Saturday (2:35 p.m.)
"I'm very excited about the mile," said Murhpy. "It might end up being her best race. We shall see."