GREENSBORO, N.C. – After a day off, William Smith College junior Caroline Conboy continued her impressive season today at the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. In the women's 100-yard breaststroke, Conboy touched the wall in eighth place to secure a spot on the podium.
 
"I am beyond thrilled for how Caroline swam today," Head Coach Kelly Kisner said. "I couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments. She worked so hard to get here over this past year after just missing out last year. To see a year's worth of hard work come to fruition at this level is pretty special and it could not have happened to a more deserving person. I also want to thank strength and conditioning coaches Matt Dorn and Jake Alvarez who helped get Caroline to this point."
 
Conboy entered the national championship with the nation's 13th fastest time in the 100 breaststroke. This morning, in the preliminaries, she was placed in the final heat, and she knew the time she needed to turn in to advance to the evening's finals. Not only did she qualify for the championship, but she did so comfortably with the morning's sixth fastest time, 1:02.85. She touched the wall second in her heat, Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Sam Senczyszyn placed first. Conboy's time lowered her own school record by 55-hundreths of a second. Her first 50 time of 29.38 was also a school record.
 
As the six-seed, Conboy swam in lane seven for the championship final. Competing with some of the nation's best swimmers, she held her ground touching the wall in eighth place. Conboy stopped the clock with a time of 1:03.05. The race came down to the wire as places four through eight were separated by a mere six-tenths of a second. Eau Claire's Senczyszyn won the national championship in the event in a time of 1:01.09. Amherst's Emily Hyde was right behind her in second place. By virtue of her eighth place finish, Conboy achieved All-American status in the event.
 
"We felt so much love and support from all of Heron Nation today," Kisner said. "From the Go Caroline video from the HWS community, to Instagram posts, tweets, and texts, Caroline really felt the support from all across the country. I want to thank the entire William Smith lacrosse team and Caroline's teammates, Cece Carsky-Bush, Kelsey Bohl, Katie Storch, and Kate Moreau for coming out to support us in Greensboro. It was special to have a cheering section for one swimmer that rivaled some of the full teams' sections."
 
Conboy will conclude her championship schedule and her 2015-16 season tomorrow on the fourth and final day of the national championships. Conboy will compete in the 200 breaststroke where she is 17th in the nation, according to the psych sheet.