Caroline Lee, right, won two events at the SAA Championships in her final home meet at Centre College. (Matt Holbrook Photo)
It was almost like a fairy tale finish to her collegiate career for Centre College senior Caroline Lee.
At the Southern Athletic Association Championships hosted by Centre, Lee won the 50-yard freestyle with a new meet record and school record time and tied for first in the 100-yard freestyle with a dynamic surge over the final 50 yards.
She was also third in the 100-yard backstroke and then swam a stunning final leg in the 400-yard freestyle relay to lead the Colonels to a second-place finish.
“It was so great having my parents, family and coaches to celebrate with. (Coach) Dean (Brownley) was excited for me all season and really encouraged me, so to have such a special final home meet was just amazing,” said Lee, a West Jessamine High School graduate.
Lee, a third-place state high school finisher in the 50 freestyle her senior year, studied abroad during the 2025 Centre winter term which put her a bit behind on training when the swim season started. She stayed in Danville for the 2026 winter term and it paid off.
“Last year I was pleased with my results but having a full year to connect with the team and focus on training helped me make a lot of progress in events that I had not seen progress in for a while,” Lee said.
Lee finished the 50-yard freestyle in 23.31 seconds to put herself in position for a potential invite to the NCAA Division III Championships. She won the race by more than three-tenths of a second.
“Swimming is such a mental sport and often the less thinking you do the better, especially with short distance events. I wanted to enjoy my final home meet. There are no guarantees about going to nationals and I knew this might be my last 50 free,” she said. “But the feeling of looking at the scoreboard after I finished was something I will never forget. To see I broke a school record that had been there for 17 years and maybe made nationals was unreal.
“I really didn’t think it was possible to break the record. It’s hard to drop time in the 50 but I got to take a shot at it and it all worked out great. I didn’t look immediately at the scoreboard when I finished. I looked at Dean first. He was so excited that I knew something special had happened and then I looked at the scoreboard.”
Later that night she helped the 200-freestyle relay team — Katelynn Stanczyk and Olivia Headley were the other team members — finish second. Lee considers Headley and Stanczyk two of her best friends.
“We did not win but we had so much fun doing what we love. Trinity had a really good team and a lot of swimmers that will be in nationals. We were hoping to be second and we did it,” Lee said.
Her third-place finish in the 100 backstroke on day two was “better than expected” and set the tone for a huge final day for the senior even though it didn’t start that way when she was fourth overall in the 100 freestyle prelims with a time of 53.10 seconds. That was the fourth best time.
“I was really tired and sore going into the last night. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself in the prelims and I was not super upset with the fourth time. I still wanted to get on the podium (for a top three finish) in the finals but winning was not on my mind,” she said.
She took a nap before the 100 finals and fed off the energy from teammates and fans. She surged in the final 50 yards to tie Trinity’s Amy Benson for first in 51.73 seconds.
“I was just trying to keep up with the girl next to me and didn’t think my final 50 would be that strong. I gave it all I had and just put my heart out there and it paid off,” Lee said.
She had about a 45-minute break before the 400-freestyle relay with three senior teammates. When Lee started her anchor leg, the Colonels were mired in fifth place. However, she swam her 100 yards in 50.42 seconds to propel Centre to a second-place finish. Her split would have broken the Centre school record by eight-tenths of a second and been the fifth fastest time in the country this season.
“We were pretty far down when I dove in (the pool). Winning was not our goal, but we wanted to beat Rhodes,” Lee said. “I just wanted to have fun, but when it came my turn to swim, I really wanted to turn things around. It was a very cool moment with my teammates.
“I am still trying to wrap my head around the time. The stars must have aligned just right or something. I try to breathe on the side where my teammates are, and I could see them jumping and going crazy. To see them cheering and my coaches going crazy at the end was special. I didn’t want to let my coaches down.
“I thought the time was probably close to what I went in the individuals. Then I went over and Dean said it was the craziest thing he had seen for me to go faster than I did in the individual. It’s definitely something I will always remember and something that will hopefully live on forever.”
Lee isn’t sure what she’ll do after graduation without competitive swimming. She plans to get her Master’s in elementary education and become a preschool teacher.
“I am sure I will still go to the pool every now and then. I would love maybe to compete in a cross fit challenge. I love high intensity training. The swimmer in me loves getting my heart rate up,” she said. “I will still be in the weight room. I also love playing pickleball. I might try to pick up another sport if something sparks my interest. I don’t really like running but I might have to give that a try.
“I just know I will really miss swimming, and I am so happy that my last home meet at Centre College turned out to be so special. That’s something I will never forget.”
