For the second straight year, Mary Washington junior Alex Anderson won the national championship in the 400 IM with a record-breaking performance on Thursday, becoming the first athlete in school history to win multiple national titles.

Anderson broke the national record in the event, which he set last year, after leading throughout the race. Seeded fifth after the morning prelims, Anderson jumped out ahead by a full two seconds after the butterfly leg of the event. That lead started to shrink as Anderson went through the back and breaststroke legs. Anderson turned up the heat in the freestyle leg to pull out the victory, breaking his record along the way by a full second at 3:49.25.

He is the first and only NCAA Division IIi swimmer to complete the race under 3:50. 

Anderson, who captured silver in the 200 IM on Wednesday, will wrap up his NCAA competition tomorrow in the 200 butterfly. He enters the event seeded first in the country.