Costella takes ninth in the 1,500 free

Staff Reports

Carson High graduate Lauren Costella turned in an outstanding performance in the 1,500-meter freestyle as the NCAA Women's Swimming Championships concluded on Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Costella, who swims for the Carson Tigersharks and is a freshman at Stanford, took ninth in the 1,500 free in 16 minutes, 9.27 seconds. Costella came in seeded 11th in the event. Another CHS graduate, Julie Hardt, a senior at Georgia, placed 22nd in the event in 16:29.35.

Fellow CHS graduate Kate Hardt, a sophomore at Minnesota, placed 47th in the 100 free in 56.51. Hardt came in seeded 52nd in the event.

In the team standings, Auburn defended its title, finishing with 569 points. Georgia took second (431) and was followed by Arizona (369), Florida (253) and Stanford (237) in fifth.