COLLEGE SWIMMING:Peirsol fourth in women’s 500 free

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Auburn University senior Hayley Peirsol, a Newport Harbor High product, finished fourth in the finals of the 500 freestyle at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota Thursday.

Peirsol swam the race in four minutes, 41.97 seconds. She finished a spot ahead of her fifth-place preliminary time earlier in the day Thursday.

Tigers teammate Adrienne Binder won the race in 4:36.96.

Peirsol is an All-American and the defending NCAA champion in the women’s 1,600 freestyle. She will attempt to defend that title on Saturday. Her seed time of 15:56.37 is nearly five seconds faster than her competitors.

Auburn, the defending national champions, is trying for its fifth championship in the last six years.

Peirsol will next compete in the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, starting March 17.