Westfield State senior Kelsey Johnstone (Southwick, Mass./Westfield)  swam a school record time of 1:59.70 in the 200 freestyle as she swam the leadoff leg of the Owls 800 meter freestyle relay at the 100th New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships at the Tootell Pool at the University of Rhode Island on Thursday evening.

Johnstone teamed with Nicole Pechulis (Longmeadow, Mass.), Jenna Albrecht (Methuen, Mass.), and Sarah Sartoris (East Hartford, Conn./South Windsor) to place seventh in a team time of 8:28.64.  The Owls improved their placing by four spots after being seeded 11th with a time of 8:56.37 in the regular season.

Johnstone's time was just over a second faster than Shannon Fitzsimmons '19's 2:00.96 set at this meet in 2018. It's the fourth individual record for Johnstone who also holds the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM records at Westfield State.

The 800 free relay was the only opening-night event for the meet, which continues through Sunday.