2017 NCAA D1 Men’s Swim & Dive Championships: Texas En Route to Championship Title

Photo Courtesy: Cathleen Pruden

NCAA DI editorial coverage is proudly sponsored by Adidas. Visit adidasswimming.com for more information on our sponsor. For all the latest coverage, check out our event coverage page. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE RESULTS

Three veterans of the NCAA scene will be looking to defend their national titles as the final night of competition approaches.

Cal’s Ryan Murphy (200 back), Florida’s Caeleb Dressel (100 free), and Texas’ Will Licon (200 breast) all return as the defending national champions in their respective races and for Murphy and Licon it will be their final individual races as Division I athletes.

Texas continues on their path toward a third-straight, and 13th overall, national championship title as they lead the team scores by over 100 points.

Events:

200 Back
100 Free
200 Breast
200 Fly
400 Free Relay

200 Back

American Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)

U.S. Open Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)

NCAA Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)

Meet Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)

The three-time defending champion, Cal’s Ryan Murphy, prepared for his second four-peat by grabbing the top seed in the 200 back. Murphy stopped the clock at a 1:38.22 to set a new pool record on his way to the top seed.

USC’s Patrick Mulcare posted a close 1:38.56 to pick up the second place seed, while Texas’ John Shebat qualified third with a 1:38.67. Shebat’s time takes down Texas alum and former-World Record holder Aaron Persil’s school record of 1:39.16.

Grigory Tarasevich of Louisville picked up the fourth place seed with a 1:38.74, followed by Texas’ Jonathan Roberts and his time of 1:39.05.

Denver’s Anton Loncar (1:39.29), Missouri’s Carter Griffin (1:39.46), and Alabama’s Connor Oslin (1:39.83) rounded out the top eight.

  1 Murphy, Ryan           SR California        1:38.07    1:38.22P 
    r:+0.56  23.23        48.56 (25.33)
        1:13.77 (25.21)     1:38.22 (24.45)
  2 Mulcare, Patrick       SO Southern Cali     1:39.37    1:38.56  
    r:+0.67  23.60        48.87 (25.27)
        1:13.48 (24.61)     1:38.56 (25.08)
  3 Shebat, John           SO Texas             1:39.74    1:38.67  
    r:+0.63  22.75        47.81 (25.06)
        1:13.32 (25.51)     1:38.67 (25.35)
  4 Tarasevich, Grigory    SR Louisville        1:39.05    1:38.74  
    r:+0.55  23.62        48.60 (24.98)
        1:13.58 (24.98)     1:38.74 (25.16)
  5 Roberts, Jonathan      JR Texas             1:39.87    1:39.05  
    r:+0.70  23.18        48.15 (24.97)
        1:13.64 (25.49)     1:39.05 (25.41)
  6 Loncar, Anton          JR Denver            1:40.33    1:39.29  
    r:+0.62  23.44        48.34 (24.90)
        1:13.72 (25.38)     1:39.29 (25.57)
  7 Griffin, Carter        SR Missouri          1:40.51    1:39.46  
    r:+0.57  23.68        48.86 (25.18)
        1:14.07 (25.21)     1:39.46 (25.39)
  8 Oslin, Connor          SR Alabama           1:40.35    1:39.83  
    r:+0.57  23.49        48.98 (25.49)
        1:14.62 (25.64)     1:39.83 (25.21)

100 Free

American Record: 40.46 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2016)

U.S. Open Record: 40.46 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2016)

NCAA Record: 40.46 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2016)

Meet Record: 40.46 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2016)

Caeleb Dressel of Florida set himself up to properly defend his title in the 100 free by flirting with the 41-second mark. The junior, who shocked the collegiate swimming world with a new American record in the 100 fly yesterday, posted a 41.00 to snag the top time.

Fellow 2016 Olympian and junior at NC State, Ryan Held, turned in the second fastest time of the morning at a 41.34.

Missouri’s Michael Chadwick will round out the top three qualifiers with a 41.58, followed by USC’s Dylan Carter and his 41.73.

Sam Perry of Stanford picked up a close fifth place seed with a 41.77, just ahead of Indiana’s Blake Pieroni’s 41.89.

USC’s Santo Condorelli and Texas’ Brett Ringgold were seventh and eighth with times of 41.92 and 41.96 respectively.

                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Dressel, Caeleb        JR Florida             41.24      41.00  
    r:+0.60  19.90        41.00 (21.10)
  2 Held, Ryan             JR NC State            41.61      41.34  
    r:+0.65  19.61        41.34 (21.73)
  3 Chadwick, Michael      SR Missouri            41.80      41.58  
    r:+0.65  19.84        41.58 (21.74)
  4 Carter, Dylan          JR Southern Cali       42.14      41.73  
    r:+0.58  20.03        41.73 (21.70)
  5 Perry, Sam             JR Stanford            42.24      41.77  
    r:+0.60  19.68        41.77 (22.09)
  6 Pieroni, Blake         JR Indiana             41.44      41.89  
    r:+0.63  19.76        41.89 (22.13)
  7 Condorelli, Santo      JR Southern Cali       42.78      41.92  
    r:+0.63  19.66        41.92 (22.26)
  8 Ringgold, Brett        JR Texas               42.39      41.96  
    r:+0.68  19.93        41.96 (22.03)

200 Breast

American Record: 1:48.12 – Will Licon, Texas (2016)

U.S. Open Record: 1:48.12 – Will Licon, Texas (2016)

NCAA Record: 1:48.12 – Will Licon, Texas (2016)

Meet Record: 1:48.12 – Will Licon, Texas (2016)

Will Licon of Texas blasted past the competition in prelims of the 200 breast, qualifying more than two seconds ahead of the field with a 1:49.80. Licon will look to defend his title and add a third individual gold to his name for the 2017 championships.

Alabama’s Anton McKee posted a 1:51.99 to claim the second place seed, followed closely by Texas A&M’s Mauro Castillo Luna and his time of 1:52.01.

Brandon Fiala of Virginia Tech touched fourth in prelims with a 1:52.52, while Purdue’s Marat Amaltdinov qualified fifth with a 1:52.79.

South Carolina’s Nils Wich-Glasen (1:53.04), Louisville’s Carlos Claverie (1:53.45), and Notre Dame’s Trent Jackson (1:53.58) completed the top eight qualifiers.

                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Licon, Will            SR Texas             1:49.89    1:49.80  
    r:+0.74  25.35        53.17 (27.82)
        1:21.47 (28.30)     1:49.80 (28.33)
  2 McKee, Anton           SR Alabama           1:52.22    1:51.99  
    r:+0.64  25.14        53.42 (28.28)
        1:22.49 (29.07)     1:51.99 (29.50)
  3 Castillo Luna, Mauro   JR TAMU              1:53.84    1:52.01  
    r:+0.61  25.32        53.77 (28.45)
        1:22.34 (28.57)     1:52.01 (29.67)
  4 Fiala, Brandon         SR VT                1:52.39    1:52.52  
    r:+0.64  24.97        53.31 (28.34)
        1:22.55 (29.24)     1:52.52 (29.97)
  5 Amaltdinov, Marat      JR Purdue            1:52.89    1:52.79  
    r:+0.79  25.68        54.34 (28.66)
        1:23.27 (28.93)     1:52.79 (29.52)
  6 Wich-Glasen, Nils      JR South Carolina    1:52.41    1:53.04  
    r:+0.68  25.44        53.98 (28.54)
        1:23.13 (29.15)     1:53.04 (29.91)
  7 Claverie, Carlos       JR Louisville        1:53.19    1:53.45  
    r:+0.71  25.93        55.46 (29.53)
        1:24.19 (28.73)     1:53.45 (29.26)
  8 Jackson, Trent         SR Notre Dame        1:53.52    1:53.58  
    r:+0.71  25.77        54.14 (28.37)
        1:23.69 (29.55)     1:53.58 (29.89)

200 Fly

American Record: 1:38.06 – Jack Conger, Texas (2016)

U.S. Open Record: 1:37.97 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2016)

NCAA Record: 1:37.97 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2016)

Meet Record: 1:37.97 – Joseph Schooling, Texas (2016)

Jack Conger of Texas secured the top seed in the prelims of the 200 fly, stopping the clock at a 1:39.88. The senior holds the American record at a 1:38.06 from last year’s NCAA Championships, but will look to secure his first title in the event after teammate and defending champion, Joseph Schooling, failed to make finals.

Cal’s Quah Zheng posted a second place qualifying time of 1:40.44, followed closely by the Georgia duo of Gunnar Bentz (1:40.61) and Chase Kalisz (1:40.62).

Andrea Vazaios of NC State grabbed the fifth place seed with a 1:40.77, while Georgia’s Pace Clark added to the Bulldog’s presence with a 1:40.98 for sixth.

Andrew Seliskar of Cal and Justin Wright of Arizona turned in times of 1:41.16 and 1:41.38 for the seventh and eighth place seeds respectively.

                     === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Conger, Jack           SR Texas             1:39.17    1:39.88  
    r:+0.68  22.05        47.37 (25.32)
        1:13.16 (25.79)     1:39.88 (26.72)
  2 Quah, Zheng            FR California        1:40.36    1:40.44  
    r:+0.63  22.70        48.40 (25.70)
        1:14.55 (26.15)     1:40.44 (25.89)
  3 Bentz, Gunnar          JR Georgia           1:43.06    1:40.61  
    r:+0.71  22.73        48.30 (25.57)
        1:14.57 (26.27)     1:40.61 (26.04)
  4 Kalisz, Chase          SR Georgia           1:40.38    1:40.62  
    r:+0.71  22.83        48.29 (25.46)
        1:14.13 (25.84)     1:40.62 (26.49)
  5 Vazaios, Andreas       JR NC State          1:41.42    1:40.77  
    r:+0.71  23.10        48.59 (25.49)
        1:14.46 (25.87)     1:40.77 (26.31)
  6 Clark, Pace            SR Georgia           1:40.87    1:40.98  
    r:+0.60  22.58        48.38 (25.80)
        1:14.41 (26.03)     1:40.98 (26.57)
  7 Seliskar, Andrew       SO California        1:40.74    1:41.16  
    r:+0.62  22.54        48.28 (25.74)
        1:14.07 (25.79)     1:41.16 (27.09)
  8 Wright, Justin         JR Arizona           1:41.88    1:41.38  
    r:+0.60  23.45        49.34 (25.89)
        1:15.36 (26.02)     1:41.38 (26.02)

400 Free Relay

American Record: 2:47.02 – Texas (2009)

U.S. Open Record: 2:46.03 – Auburn (2009)

NCAA Record: 2:46.03 – Auburn (2009)

Meet Record: 2:46.56 – Auburn (2007)

A trio of teams swam beneath the existing pool record of 2:48.33 on their way to qualifying for the final race of the 2017 Championships.

Texas’ Townley Haas was able to hold off a charging Caeleb Dressel to secure the top seed for Texas in the 400 free relay. Haas (anchor, 41.41) combined with teammates Jeremy Nichols (43.31), Brett Ringgold (41.27) and Tate Jackson (41.79) to post the top qualifying time and a new pool record at a 2:47.78.

Dressel (40.67) anchored the Florida Gators to a second place qualifying time of 2:47.90. Teammates Maxime Rooney (42.72), Jan Switkowski (42.18), and Mark Szaranek (42.33) combined to finish with a 2:47.90.

USC’s Santo Condorelli (42.22(, Ralf Tribuntsov (41.71), Dylan Carter (41.51), and Reed Malone (42.73) picked up the third place seed with a 2:48.17.

Stanford qualified fourth with a 2:49.26, while NC State was fifth with a 2:49.34.

Cal (2:49.58), Indiana (2:49.62), and ASU (2:49.64) rounded out the top eight.

                       === Preliminaries ===                        
 
  1 Texas                               2:48.66    2:47.78P 
     1) Nichols, Jeremy SO            2) r:0.05 Ringgold, Brett JR    
     3) r:0.26 Jackson, Tate SO       4) r:0.16 Haas, Townley SO      
    r:+0.71  20.84        43.31 (43.31)
        1:02.53 (19.22)     1:24.58 (41.27)
        1:44.29 (19.71)     2:06.37 (41.79)
        2:25.97 (19.60)     2:47.78 (41.41)
  2 Florida                             2:47.09    2:47.90P 
     1) Rooney, Maxime FR             2) r:0.32 Switkowski, Jan JR    
     3) r:0.37 Szaranek, Mark JR      4) r:0.39 Dressel, Caeleb JR    
    r:+0.65  20.51        42.72 (42.72)
        1:03.10 (20.38)     1:24.90 (42.18)
        1:45.07 (20.17)     2:07.23 (42.33)
        2:26.50 (19.27)     2:47.90 (40.67)
  3 Southern Cali                       2:50.37    2:48.17P 
     1) Condorelli, Santo JR          2) r:0.23 Tribuntsov, Ralf JR   
     3) r:0.33 Carter, Dylan JR       4) r:0.19 Malone, Reed SR       
    r:+0.64  19.93        42.22 (42.22)
        1:01.98 (19.76)     1:23.93 (41.71)
        1:43.54 (19.61)     2:05.44 (41.51)
        2:25.61 (20.17)     2:48.17 (42.73)
  4 Stanford                            2:52.52    2:49.26  
     1) Perry, Sam JR                 2) r:0.28 Liang, Andrew JR      
     3) r:0.26 DeVine, Abrahm SO      4) r:0.09 Kremer, Tom SR        
    r:+0.62  19.75        41.71 (41.71)
        1:01.84 (20.13)     1:24.63 (42.92)
        1:45.07 (20.44)     2:07.37 (42.74)
        2:27.45 (20.08)     2:49.26 (41.89)
  5 NC State                            2:48.14    2:49.34  
     1) Ress, Justin SO               2) r:0.25 Held, Ryan JR         
     3) r:0.41 Schiellerup, Anreas SR 4) r:0.28 Dahl, Soeren SR       
    r:+0.65  20.56        42.86 (42.86)
        1:02.15 (19.29)     1:23.87 (41.01)
        1:44.35 (20.48)     2:07.28 (43.41)
        2:27.01 (19.73)     2:49.34 (42.06)
  6 California                          2:49.84    2:49.58  
     1) Lynch, Justin JR              2) r:0.08 Murphy, Ryan SR       
     3) r:0.33 Jensen, Michael FR     4) r:0.18 Gutierrez, Long SR    
    r:+0.62  20.58        43.08 (43.08)
        1:02.69 (19.61)     1:24.48 (41.40)
        1:44.62 (20.14)     2:06.91 (42.43)
        2:26.97 (20.06)     2:49.58 (42.67)
  7 Indiana                             2:48.29    2:49.62  
     1) Pieroni, Blake JR             2) r:0.29 Khalafalla, Ali JR    
     3) r:0.26 Lorentz, Sam SR        4) r:0.29 Samy, Mohamed SO      
    r:+0.63  20.24        42.30 (42.30)
        1:02.16 (19.86)     1:24.31 (42.01)
        1:44.37 (20.06)     2:07.00 (42.69)
        2:27.23 (20.23)     2:49.62 (42.62)
  8 ASU                                 2:48.95    2:49.64  
     1) Craig, Cameron FR             2) r:0.30 Porter, Andrew JR     
     3) r:0.40 Duskinas, Tadas SR     4) r:0.24 Bohus, Richard SR     
    r:+0.63  20.33        42.45 (42.45)
        1:02.45 (20.00)     1:25.49 (43.04)
        1:45.50 (20.01)     2:07.64 (42.15)
        2:27.40 (19.76)     2:49.64 (42.00)

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