WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Junior Meredith Budner of Towson University finished eighth in the championship final of the 500-yard freestyle at the 2010 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center on the campus of Purdue University on Thursday evening.

Budner, who was seeded seventh in the championship final, completed the event in a time of 4:40.10 to earn All-America honors. It is the second time in her career she has been named as an All-American after receiving honorable mention notice in the 1650-yard freestyle at last year's NCAA Championships.

“It was another great effort by Meredith,” Towson Coach Pat Mead said. “It was an outstanding day for her and our program. I am very proud of Meredith for what she has done so far and look forward to seeing what she will do over the next two days.”

Coach Mead added, “It's been amazing with all of the encouraging calls and text messages we have received from the parents and alumni.”

Budner set the school and CAA record during the preliminaries on Thursday afternoon with a time of 4:39.51.

Sophomore Allison Schmitt of the University of Georgia set a pool record by winning the event with a time of 4:34.13 while senior Lauren Boyle of the University of California finished in second place with a time of 4:37.18.

A nine-time Colonial Athletic Association individual champion, Budner will compete in two other events at the NCAA Championships. On Friday, she is seeded 26th for the 400-yard individual medley. She will also compete in the 1650-yard freestyle event on Saturday after qualifying as the 15th seed.

Budner led the Tigers to their third straight Colonial Athletic Association title in late February by winning three individual events. She is making her second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships.