Katie Branch

Height:
5-7
Class:
Sophomore
High School:
Horizon Honors
Hometown:
Phoenix, Ariz.

2016-17: Seniors breaststroke swimmer for the ‘Cats… Second on the Wildcat top-time list in the 100 breast and third in the 200 breast…Also on the list in two other events…Swam a season-best 100 breast (1:02.87) at the Big Ten Championships (2/15)… Also competed in the 200 breast and 50 free… Finished with a career-high time of 27.19 in the 50 free at the Purdue Triple Dual (1/28)…Came in third in the 100 breast (1:06.97) and fifth in the 500 free (5:15.73) at the Chicago Quad-Dual (10/22)…Finished in the top ten in all three events (50 breast, 100 breast and 200 breast) at the TYR Invitational (11/20)… Notched a sixth-place finish against Notre Dame (1/14) in the 100 breast… Placed seventh in the 200 breast and eighth in the 100 breast against Iowa (1/21).

2015-16: Second-fastest Wildcat swimmer in the 100 breast and third-fastest in the 200 breast ... Picked up a 'B' qualification with a career-best time of 1:02.36 in the preliminaries of the 100 breast at the Big Ten Championships (2/19) ... Swam 1:02.91 in the 'C' heat of the finals session ... Registered a 'B' cut in the prelims of 2:15.65, but narrowly missed a second swim ... Posted a second-place 1:05.19 in the 100 breast versus Iowa (1/23) ... Had a standout performance at the TYR Invitational (11/20-23), swimming a team-best time of 1:03.54 in the 100 breast and a career-best time of 2:17.43 in the 200 breast ... Placed fourth in the 100 breast (1:06.91) at Illinois ... Garnered a sixth-place finish in both the 100 breast (1:06.82) and the 200 breast (2:26.77) at the Chicago Quad (10/24).

2014-15: Member of Northwestern's breaststroke group … Ranked second for the Wildcats in the 100 breast and third in the 200 breast following the season … Swam career-bests in both breaststroke events at the Big Ten Championships … Touched in 1:03.03 in the 100 to finish 27^th while turning in a 2:19.15 in the 200 to place 36^th … Her 1:03.03 in the 100 breast placed her sixth on Northwestern's all-time top times list in the event … Also competed in the 50 free at the B1G meet … Qualified for the championship final of the 100 breast at Northwestern's own TYR Invitational (11/21-11/23) with a then-career-best 1:03.88 in the prelims before taking fourth overall via a 1:03.96 in the finals … Also made the championship final of the 50 breast at the TYR, placing sixth … Qualified for the consolation final of the 200 breast at the TYR before ending up 12^th overall … Had five top-five event finishes in dual meets.

2013-14: Made NU's top times list in two categories during the season, 100 breast and 200 breast ... Swam career best 1:04.02 in 100 breast at TYR invite (11/23), which was second fastest 'Cats time on the season in the event ... Posted career best 2:20.33 time at TYR Invite in 200 breast, finishing as the fifth-best time for NU ... Swam in three events in first trip to Big Ten Championships ... Posted 30.44 time in 50 free at Big Tens ... Time of 1:05.70 in 100 breast ranked 40th at Big Tens ... Posted No. 43 time of 2:25.30 at Big Tens in 200 breast ... Swam in 50, 100 and 200 breast at TYR Invite, reaching finals in all three categories ... Placed third in college debut swim with 1:05.70 time in 100 breast vs. Illinois/Eastern Michigan.

High School: High school did not have a swim team, so competed exclusively with the Sun Devil Aquatics club for over 11 years ... Ranked as the No. 15 recruit from the state of Arizona by Collegeswimming.com... Member of the Sun Devil Aquatics national meet training group and team captain ... Helped team to several top three finishes at national meets ... Her best club time in the 100 breast would have placed her second at the Arizona high school state meet ... All-America Scholastic Achievement award winner ... National Honor Society member.

Personal: Born Katie Rebecca Branch ... Daughter of Lauri and Michael Branch ... Chose Northwestern over Oregon State ... Major is psychology.

BRANCH'S CAREER BESTS