GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trinity University sophomore Neely Burns {pictured} highlighted a historic Thursday night at the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, winning the 400-yard individual medley National Title. NCAA Championship Site | Live Results

Burns, who qualified first in the morning prelim swims with a time of 4:21.51, captured the national title and secured her fifth career individual All-American honor with an SCAC open record time of 4:15.67 in the final. Burns finished runner-up in this event last year as a rookie.

Historically, Burns is the first individual SCAC swimming and diving national champion since 2014 when Trinity’s Stephen Culberson captured gold in the men’s 100-yard freestyle. She is the first woman to capture a national title in a swimming event in league history. Previously the SCAC had three divers win national championships, most recently Ruth Hahn of Trinity won the 2012 3-meter national crown. In total, Burns’ national title is the eighth individual title in SCAC swimming and diving history.

Other individual women’s highlights from Thursday included Trinity seniors Emma Hagan and Caroline Myers competing in the 100-yard butterfly. Hagan finished in a tie for 23rd with a time of 55.93 and Myers hit the wall in a tie for 28th in 56.15.

In the relay events, Trinty’s Kyla Foxhoven and Amy Benson joined teammates Hagan and Myers to earn Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 200-freestyle relay, finishing 11th with an SCAC open record time of 1:33.37. It marked the first time since 2018 an SCAC 200 free relay has earned All-American honors and the highest finish since DePauw took fifth in 2008.

In men’s action, Trinity’s Michal Kohl finished seventh in the 100-yard butterfly to earn All-American honors with a time of 47.84. It marked the first time since 2015 an SCAC men’s swimmer has turned in a top eight performance in any event and the highest single finish in the 100-yard butterfly. For Kohl, Thursday’s performances marked his third career All-American honor, previously earning Honorable Mention accolades in the same even in 2022 and 2023.

Trinity’s Nathan Early secured his first career All-American honor, earning Honorable Mention accolades after finishing 12th in the 200-yard freestyle, hitting the wall in 1:38.42. It is the first All-American honor for an SCAC men’s swimmer in the event since Colorado College’s Jordan DeGayner won the National Title in 2012.

Following the opening two days of the NCAA Championships, Trinity currently sits in 11th-place on the women’s side with 59 total points, while Austin College is tied for 23rd with 15 points. On the men’s side, Trinity is tied for 25th with 17 points.

The 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships continue on Friday with prelims scheduled to start at 10 AM ET and finals set for 6 PM ET. Follow along all of the action at ncaa.com.