ATLANTA, Ga. – Indiana State's Grace Cummings made her NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships debut one to remember as the freshman distance freestyle swimmer set new Missouri Valley and Indiana State marks on the way to winning her heat in the 1650-yard Freestyle event and placing 15th overall in the event field.
 
Cummings went out in 16:08.21 on her way to establishing a new standard in the Indiana State record books and shattering the oldest standing swimming record in the MVC record books in the first heat of the 2026 NCAA Championships held at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
 
"The race went to plan," Cummings said following the morning sessions. "I am so grateful with how this year has progressed and I'm excited to see what the next year holds!"
 
Cummings' top 16 finish garnered her the program's first-ever College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association All-American Honorable Mention honors as recognized by the organization following the conclusion of the event.
 
"Showing up at this meet and swimming fast is a big challenge, especially as a freshman," Josh Christensen, Indiana State head swimming & diving coach said. "I'm really proud of how Grace handled not only the swim today, but the time we had between conference and the meet."
 
"This was a historic day for our program," Christensen continued. "As I said before the meet, this was a full team effort in getting an athlete to this level. All current Sycamores and alumnae have a lot to be proud of. ROLL TREES!"
 
Cummings' time broke the previous mark of 16:15.49 set by SIU's Kirsten Groome on February 13, 2010. The Kent, England native also broke her own previous-best time of 16:17.25 set on February 28, 2026, at the 2026 MVC Championships.
 
Cummings also set a new Indiana State and MVC record in the 1000-yard Freestyle as her split of 9:44.85 broke the previous mark set by teammate Claire Parsons (9:46.34) last year in a dual meet against Toledo on February 7, 2025.
 
In the first NCAA appearance by an Indiana State swimmer in program history, Cummings came off the blocks fast going 26.54 over the opening 50 yards to secure an early lead. The Sycamore freshman posted a time of 4:50.43 at her 500-yard split and held a lead of nearly three seconds at the turn.
 
She consistently posted 50-yard splits hovering between 29.63 and 29.40 for a majority of the race before finishing strong down the stretch to win her heat by 9.64 seconds over Harvard's Alexandra Bastone.
 
Her victory in the opening heat of the day marked Indiana State's first-ever heat win at the NCAA Championships and put her seventh in the field following the morning sessions.
 
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