Sophomore Julia Knox became the first women’s swimmer to represent the Colonials at the NCAA Championship earlier this month at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee since GW Hall of Famer Meghan Mitchell qualified in 1995.
Knox finished the second day of competition in 24th place out of a total of 43 swimmers in the 400-yard individual medley after matching her second-best time of the year with 4:11.44. Knox entered the National Championship seeded in 53rd place out of 281 swimmers but climbed seven spots on the first day finishing in 46th place with her shortened time in the 200-yard individual medley with a 1:58.32 time while also qualifying for the 200-yard breaststroke.
She qualified for the championships at the Bulldog Invite Last Chance meet Feb. 26 at the Gabrielsen Natatorium, where she set a new program record of 4:10.57 in the 400-yard IM and qualified for all her NCAA events. Swimmers within a 4:03.62 to 4:17.30 range qualified for the A standard and B standard championship levels which is determined by the swimmer’s time and where it falls in the range, A standard being the most elite level.
“Being in such a competitive environment, like I haven’t been in an environment where there’s the top 40 people in the country in every event,” Knox said in a press conference the week of the championship. “So I think I’m really excited to just see a lot of fast swimming, and I’m excited to be one of those people swimming besides them as well.”
The sophomore has become an integral part of the women’s program in the past two seasons with steady improvements including a gold medal in the 200-yard breastroke at the A-10 Championships last month with a 2:12.39 time, besting her 2:17.82 time at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships in 2021.
“Julia’s performance this year was extremely special,” Head Coach Brian Thomas said in a GW Athletics release earlier this month. “You’d have to say she’s the best in 28 years at GW for women’s swimming.”
Knox has been a strong performer in the 400-yard IM throughout her career, with a bronze medal and a broken GW record in the 400-yard IM during her freshman year after recording a 4:15.38 time at the 2022 A-10 championship. She set a new A-10 record in the pre-eliminatory events in February, where she timed 4:11.44 and took a silver medal in the finals.
Knox closed out her run at the NCAA Championships Saturday morning, where she placed 52nd in the 200-yard breaststroke out of 55 swimmers with a 2:14.37 time before returning to GW to head into the offseason.
“I’m just really excited,” Knox said in the press conference. “It’s very good to see that someone is able to do it because it hasn’t been seen in such a long time on the women’s side.”