Tucson, Ariz. - Five former Arizona athletes were selected to the Pac-12 All-Century Women's Swimming and Diving team, announced on 'Pac-12 Sports Report' on Monday night. Three swimmers were named to the team: Crissy Ahmann, Amanda Beard and Amy Van Dyken. The two divers were Sam Pickens and Michele Mitchell, who was also named the Pac-12 Diver of the Century.
The team was selected by a panel of 25 coaches, swimmers, administrators and media members. The top four vote-getters in each of the six disciplines and two additional “wild card” swimmers qualified. To determine the All-Century divers, the top two divers in each of the three disciplines were selected.
Ten Pre-Title IX nominees were also included on the ballot. These standout swimmers and divers attended Pac-12 universities, but did not compete collegiately due to the lack of opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics at the time.
Crissy Ahmann (1988-1991) was a 13-time All-American, two-time NCAA Champion in the 100m butterfly (1991-1992), three-time honorable mention All-American and a nominee for the Honda Award-Swimming and Diving, 1990-91 season. She set and re-set the American and NCAA record for the 100m butterfly, and she was on the on the 1991 World Championship team. She was co-captain of the USA Olympic Team in 1992. Ahmann was a two-time gold medalist on a world record-setting 400 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. She also has an individual silver medal in the 100m butterfly.
An eight-time All-American with two All-America honorable mentions, Amanda Beard (1999-2000) won an NCAA individual title in the 200 breaststroke. She then broke the world record in the 200m breaststroke in 2003, re-breaking the record in 2004. Beard set seven American records between 1999 and 2004. At the 1996 Olympics, she earned a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke. She also won gold in the 400m medley relay. Four years later, Beard won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke. At both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 200m breaststroke. Also in 2004, she earned silver in the 200m IM and 400m IM.
Amy Van Dyken (1991-1992) is a nine-time All-American and has one All-America honorable mention. She was runner-up in the 50 freestyle at the 1993 NCAA Championships. In the 1996 Olympics, Van Dyken won a gold medal in both the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly. She added two more gold medals in relays, winning the 400m freestyle relay and 400m medley relay. Van Dyken then competed at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where she won a gold medal again in the 400m freestyle and 400m medley relay.
Current Director of Operations, Michele Mitchell (1979-1982) is a four-time All-American at Arizona, earning her best NCAA finish in the 1-meter, taking second in 1982. Mitchell was also a nine-time U.S. national champion during her collegiate career. In both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, she earned a silver medal in the 10-meter platform. She was a 1985 World FINA Cup champion, finalist for the 1986 Sullivan Award, 1987 Pan American Games champion and a four-time U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year honoree. Mitchell holds the American Record for platform diving with 479.40 points for an eight-dive list. She was inducted into the University of Arizona Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995. Mitchell is the most decorated diver in Arizona history, earning her the Pac-12 Diver of the Century honor.
Sam Pickens (2011-2015) won two NCAA titles in the 1-meter (2013 and 2015), becoming the first Arizona female to win a national title in diving. She was a five-time All-American and has one All-America honorable mention. She holds the Arizona records in both the 1-meter (345.90) and 3-meter (379.75). Pickens was named Pac-12 Diver of the Year in both 2013 and 2015. Throughout her last season at Arizona, she went undefeated in the 1-meter, including all championship meets. Pickens also won the 1-meter at the World Championship Trials. In the summer of 2015, Pickens finished fourth in the 3-meter at the World University Games and competed for the U.S. National Team at the World Championships, tying for 16th in the prelims of the 1-meter.
Arizona was one of six Pac-12 schools to have athletes selected to the All-Century team. USC lead the team with 10 selections, followed by Stanford (8), California (4), UCLA (3), Arizona (5) and Arizona State (2). All 26 All-Century swimmers competed at the Olympics at least once, and collectively won 101 medals. The team also tallied 110 NCAA individual titles (95 swimming, 15 diving).
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