Distance freestyler Hannah Herbst from Swim Neptune in Arizona has verbally committed to the Houston Cougars.
Herbst has best times of 5:01.32 in the 500 free, 10:15.20 in the 1000 free, and 17:20.52 in the 1650 free.
She’s also solid across all of the 200 yard events (200 back – 2:06.96, 200 breast – 2:27.87, 200 fly – 2:10.52, 200 IM – 2:08.65).
The best of those times is the 1000 free, which would rank her 7th on Houston’s all-time list. While that’s not an official NCAA championship event, the time shows her potential. It would have been the fastest time for Houston last season, and would’ve been 3rd-fastest in the American Athletic Conference.
She should be a scorer on the conference level as a freshman. She improved five-and-a-half seconds in the 500 free and almost 10 seconds in the 1650 free as a junior last season. If she drops similar amounts in the next two years, she could be have a really big impact for the Cougars as a freshman. While Herbst won’t impact relays much as things sit right now (though she could earn her way onto the 800), second-year coach Rich Murphy is still working on building up his base in Houston.
She swims for Desert Mountain High School, where she placed 7th in the 500 free at the Division I State Championship meet last year.