Faith Knelson
Student-Athlete Features
Vanderbilt Hustler — Faith Knelson: A head above water
Career Honors
• 2023-24 second-team CSCAA Scholar All-American
• 2022-23 second-team CSCAA Scholar All-American
• 2023-24 SEC Academic Honor Roll
• 2022-23 SEC Academic Honor Roll
Career-Best Times (collegiate)
50 Free: 23.40 at SEC Championships, 2.21.24
100 Free: 51.43 at Little Rock/North Texas, 1.27.24
50 Breast: 28.09 at SEC Championships, 2.23.24
100 Breast: 1:00.60 vs. Grand Canyon, 12.3.20
200 Breast: 2:12.68 at SEC Championships, 2.18.23
100 IM: 55.90 at CSCAA National Invitational, 3.11.23
200 IM: 2:02.73 at Gamecock Invitational, 11.16.22
Commodore Record Watch
• School record holder in the 100 breast, and has the program’s top times in the 50 breast and 100 IM as well
• Is ranked second all-time at Vandy in the 200 breast, also standing fourth in the 200 IM
• Helped set program records in the 400 free, 200 and 400 medley relays also
As a Senior (2023-24)
• Achieved an NCAA B Standard time in the 100 breast while meeting the CSCAA National Invitational B Standard in the 200 breast and 200 IM
• Finished atop the Commodores’ season performer list in the 100 and 200 breast, and was also second in the 200 IM and fifth in both the 50 and 100 free
• Placed first in the 100 breast C Final with 1:00.74 mark while also swimming the 200 breast (2:16.33) and 50 free at the SEC Championships (Feb. 20-24), posting season-low marks in the 100 breast and 50 free
• Won the A Final of the 100 breast and the B Final of the 200 IM (2:02.79), qualifying for the A Final in the 200 breast as well, at the Gamecock Invitational (Nov. 15-17)
• Finished first in the 100 breast in dual meet against Illinois (Nov. 4)
• Won the 100 breast (1:02.82) by a nearly five-second margin and swam a leg on the victorious 200 medley free relay in Senior Day defeat of Tulane (Feb. 2)
• Recorded second-place results in the 100 breast (1:03.06) and 200 IM (2:06.11) to help Vandy defeat Iowa (Oct. 28)
• Touched the wall second in the 100 (1:02.55) and 200 (2:19.40) breast at Arkansas (Jan. 20)
• Runner-up in the 100 breast (1:05.31) while finishing third in the 200 breast (2:24.93) in spring debut against Miami (Fla.) and Iowa (Jan. 2)
• Was the Dores’ top finisher in the 100 (1:03.48) and 200 (2:22.06) breast—touching the wall second in the latter race—in her season debut against Florida (Sept. 29)
• Led Vandy in both the 100 (1:01.90) and 200 (2:16.60) to place third and fifth, respectively, in tri-meet with Georgia and Florida State (Jan. 13)
As a Junior (2022-23)
• Recorded the team’s top marks in the 100 and 200 breast, and was ranked second in the 200 IM
• Ended up 24th in the SEC in the 100 breast rankings and was also 26th in the 200 breast, meeting NCAA B Standards in both events
• Advanced to the A Final in the 50 and 100 breast at the CSCAA National Invitational (March 9-11)
• Posted the fastest mark in program history at the time in prelims in the 50 breast (28.18) before going on to finish sixth in the final, also moving on in the 100 breast with a time of 1:01.24
• Won the B Final of the 100 IM after setting school record in the race
• Qualified for the Bonus Final in the 100 (1:00.79) and 200 breast at the SEC Championships (Feb. 14-18), also competing in the 200 IM (2:03.12)
• Earned individual victories in the 100 (1:03.44) and 200 (2:20.52) breast at Iowa (Jan. 21)
• Placed first in the A Final of the 100 breast (1:01.61) and finished third in the A Final of the 200 breast at the Gamecock Invitational (Nov. 16-18), touching the wall second in the 200 IM B Final as well
• Finished first in the 100 (1:03.71) and 200 (2:20.19) breast in Vandy’s defeat of North Florida and Georgia Southern (Oct. 15)
• Led Vanderbilt with a second-place finish in the 100 breast (1:03.67) and was third in the 200 IM (2:05.85) in meet against LSU and Tulane (Sept. 23)
As a Sophomore (2021-22)
• Joined program in spring and competed at final two meets of regular season
• Met both the NCAA B and NIC A Standards in the 100 breast, and the NIC A Standard in the 50 breast as well
• Recorded the team’s best time in the 100 breast after winning race in regular-season finale against Arkansas-Little Rock (Jan. 29), also setting a school record in the 50 breast (28.75) in the competition
• Also ranked second on the Commodores’ season performance list in the 200 IM with her performance at the SEC Championships (Feb. 15-19)
• Contributed to Vandy’s best 200 medley relay mark of the season as well at the SEC Championships
• Led Vandy with a third-place finish in the 100 breast (1:03.91) and 200 IM (2:10.98) in dual meet with Tennessee (Jan. 20)
As a Freshman at Arizona (2020-21)
• Competed at one meet for the Wildcats before missing the rest of the season due to injury
• Posted the Wildcats’ top times in the 100 breast (1:00.60) and 200 breast (2:16.55) in a December victory over Grand Canyon
The Knelson File
• Majors are anthropology and communication studies
• Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
• Owns the national age group record in the 100 breast, as well as numerous provincial records
• At the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, claimed a silver medal as part of Canada’s 4×100 medley relay while adding bronze in the 100 breast
• Won four medals — two gold, two silver — at the 2017 World Junior Championships
• Part of a team that set junior world and championship records in the girl’s 4×100 medley relay
• Earned silver medals in the 50 breast and 100 breast at the event
• Recorded a time of 1:07.84 to place fourth in the 100 breast at the Commonwealth Games in 2018
• Won the 50 breast at the 2017 Canadian Championships, adding a silver medal in the 100 breast and bronze in the 200 breast
• Did not compete at the collegiate level during the 2019-20 season while attempting to qualify for the Olympics
• Served as a coach at the Island Swimming Club in the fall of 2021