Lydia Jacoby
Seward’s Lydia Jacoby on Friday popped a record-breaking performance at the Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis.
The University of Texas freshman touched the wall in 57.54 seconds to place second in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke, finishing just 0.06 seconds behind Texas teammate Anna Elendt.
Her blistering time set Friday a national record for the 17-18 age group, bettering Kaitlyn Dobler’s mark of 57.71 in 2021.
A quick start helped the Alaskan make history as Jacoby’s first split was 0.14 seconds faster than Dobler’s pace.
Jacoby, of Seward High fame, dropped more than a full second from her previous PR of 58.87.
The 2020 Olympic 100-meter breaststroke gold medalist still has time to improve on that mark as she doesn’t turn 19 until after the Big 12 Conference Championships in late February.
When it comes to current NCAA rankings, Dobler, of USC, is No. 1 in 56.94, with Elendt second and Jacoby third.
Earlier this season, Jacoby won her first collegiate race in the 200 breaststroke with an NCAA-B standard time of 2:09.19, which at the time was the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season.