COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 26. ARIZONA's Jean Basson claimed the men's 500-yard free title at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships.
Basson clocked a time of 4:08.92 for the win, which put him into the 4:08 club for the first time. Only two other swimmers have reached that time with Peter Vanderkaay (4:08.54) and Tom Dolan (4:08.75) being the only previous 4:08 swimmers. Basson's time actually stands as the fourth-best ever with Vanderkaay also owning a 4:08.60.
The triumph gave Arizona its eight win in the event all time, but the first since Ryk Neethling won the event three straight years from 1998 to 2000. Other Arizona winners include Doug Towne (1981), George DiCarlo (1983, 1984) and Chad Carvin (1994).
Texas' Michael Klueh broke 4:10 for the first time with a second-place effort of 4:09.32 that moved him into fourth all time in the event, while Virginia's Matt McLean wound up third with a 4:10.41, just off his 4:10.00 lifetime best that puts him among the top five all time.
Texas moved into the team lead with 59 points, while Arizona stood second with 46 points. Stanford (44), Auburn (40) and Florida (33) rounded out the top five.
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