USC’s Cristian Quintero Upsets Michigan’s Connor Jaeger in 500 Free

NCAA Championship editorial coverage is proudly sponsored by Competitor Swim. Visit CompetitorSwim.com for more information on our sponsor. For all the latest coverage, check out our event coverage page. Also, make sure to check out our Facebook photo gallery for the latest images from the meet in Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas, March 27. ALMOST everyone in the building expected Michigan’s distance king Connor Jaeger to roll to victory in the men’s 500-yard free at the NCAA Division I Men’s Championships, but USC’s Cristian Quintero had other ideas as he overhauled the field.

Quintero ripped off a 4:10.02, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. That swim is the 11th fastest of all time, and Quintero vaulted to eighth overall in the event’s history.

“Since the beginning I felt really strong. I knew I had this. I had this all the time,” Quintero said. “I’m really proud of this. I’m really glad with my last performance. It was my last 500 free. I really wanted to make a good performance and I did. It was a lot of work. We welcome it. The whole season we’ve been working and I’m really happy with the results.”

Florida’s Dan Wallace caught Jaeger down the stretch to win second, 4:11.62 to 4:12.67, in the finale. Georgia’s Matias Koski (4:13.97), Texas’ Jack Conger (4:14.34), Florida’s Mitch D’Arrigo (4:15.75), Navy’s Thomas Duvall (4:16.85) and Michigan’s Anders Nielsen (4:16.88) rounded out the championship heat.

That’s USC’s record 14th victory in the event as the Trojans have a very long tradition in the 500. Former winners include John Konrads (1963), Roy Saari (1964, 1965, 1966), Greg Charlton (1968), John Naber (1974, 1975), Mike O’Brien (1985), Daniel Jorgenson (1987), Klete Keller (2001, 2002), Erik Vendt (2003) and Larsen Jensen (2007).

California’s Jeremy Bagshaw picked up big team points for the Golden Bears as he dominated the consolation heat with a 4:13.40. Arizona’s Matt Barber placed second well behind him in 4:15.08.

Auburn’s Zane Grothe (4:16.10), Texas’ Sam Lewis (4:16.39), Michigan’s Michael Wynalda (4:16.40), USC’s Reed Malone (4:16.85), Michigan’s Sean Ryan (4:17.08) and CSU Bakersfield’s Mitchell Huxhold (4:18.61) also earned team points in the B final.

Splits
1 Quintero, Cristian JR Southern Cal. 4:13.03 4:10.02 20
r:+0.70 22.58 47.49 (24.91)
1:12.59 (25.10) 1:37.88 (25.29)
2:03.55 (25.67) 2:29.08 (25.53)
2:54.32 (25.24) 3:19.74 (25.42)
3:45.11 (25.37) 4:10.02 (24.91)
2 Wallace, Dan JR Florida 4:13.51 4:11.62 17
r:+0.71 23.49 48.97 (25.48)
1:14.61 (25.64) 1:40.19 (25.58)
2:05.66 (25.47) 2:31.18 (25.52)
2:56.27 (25.09) 3:21.74 (25.47)
3:46.90 (25.16) 4:11.62 (24.72)
3 Jaeger, Connor SR Michigan 4:12.37 4:12.67 16
r:+0.71 23.01 48.49 (25.48)
1:13.46 (24.97) 1:38.76 (25.30)
2:04.25 (25.49) 2:29.99 (25.74)
2:55.53 (25.54) 3:21.16 (25.63)

Team Standings
1. Florida 58
2. Michigan 57
3. Texas 53
4. California 49
5. Auburn 38
6. Arizona 37
7. UNLV 26
8. USC 23
9. Louisville 18
10. Georgia 15

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use