2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming Championships: Day 4 Prelims Photo Gallery

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The final day had plenty of fast races during prelims at the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas, on Friday.

The final morning of the men’s NCAA championships featured impressive top-seeded efforts from Dean Farris in the 100 free and Andreas Vazaios in the 200 fly, while Andrew Seliskar and Ian Finnerty set up a 200 breast showdown. As for the team race, Cal virtually put away a national championship.

Cal currently holds a 43-point lead in the team race, with four-time defending champion Texas, Indiana, NC State and Louisville rounding out the top five. The Golden Bears should only extend their lead in the finals after placing two swimmers in each of the four individual A-finals on the final day. No other team had more than three A-finalists.

Swimming World’s chief photographer Peter Bick has been on deck capturing some of the images and emotions of the meet. Splash through the gallery below.

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200 Back

The Texas duo of Austin Katz and John Shebat picked up the top two seeds in the men’s 200 back, with defending champion Katz touching in 1:37.72 and Shebat taking second in 1:37.97. But Texas’ outside hopes of catching Cal for the NCAA title took a hit when top seed Ryan Harty finished 10th in prelims in 1:39.53 and two Cal Bears qualified for the A-final.

For Cal, Daniel Carr got through his prelims swim without incident this time after a backstroke wedge mishap in Friday’s 100 back, qualifying third in 1:38.56, and teammate Bryce Mefford took fourth in 1:38.95. Arizona State’s Zachary Poti was fifth in 1:39.09, followed by Hawaii’s Kane Follows (1:39.15), NC State’s Coleman Stewart (1:39.29) and Florida’s Clark Beach (1:39.37).

100 Free

Harvard’s Dean Farris looks set to challenge for a second NCAA title after he qualified first by four tenths for the 100 free final. Farris put up a time of 41.00, well ahead of second seed Bowe Becker of Minnesota (41.44). Third went to Texas’ Daniel Krueger in 41.49, followed by Indiana’s Zach Apple (41.59) and Alabama’s Robert Howard (41.69).

NC State’s Justin Ress took sixth in 41.74, and Cal swimmers Pawel Sendyk and Ryan Hoffer tied for seventh in 41.76. Notably, top seed Tate Jackson of Texas finished 25th in 42.44, while teammates Townley Haas (14th, 42.02) and Drew Kibler (15th, 42.17) will be in the B-final.

200 Breast

Many of the principle figures in the 200 breast prelims swam in separate heats, but they will go head-to-head in the final. Cal’s Andrew Seliskar will go for his third national title of the meet after qualifying first in prelims at 1:51.19. But just five hundredths behind was Indiana’s Ian Finnerty, who held off Seliskar on the last 50 to win last year’s NCAA title.

A pair of impressive freshman were the next two qualifiers, with Minnesota’s Max McHugh finishing just behind Finnerty in their heat at 1:51.36, and Cal’s Reece Whitley, who won heat five in 1:51.59. Georgia Tech’s Caio Pumputis took fifth in 1:52.40.

Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis (1:52.56), Texas A&M’s Benjamin Walker (1:52.58) and Georgia’s James Guest (1:52.75). Guest got into the final by one hundredth over Michigan’s Tommy Cope (1:52.76).

200 Fly

NC State’s Andreas Vazaios was the only swimmer to break 1:40 in the 200 fly prelims, coming in at 1:39.54 to secure lane four for the final. Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero took second in 1:40.16, while Vini Lanza, the 100 fly national champion Friday evening for Indiana, tied with Virginia’s Zach Fong for third in 1:40.18.

Cal put two swimmers into the A-final to put a stamp on the Golden Bears’ all-but-certain national title, with Zheng Quah taking fifth (1:40.21) and Trenton Julian finishing eighth (1:40.94). Also qualifying for the A-final were Towson’s Jack Saunderson (1:40.44) and Georgia’s Camden Murphy (1:40.72).

400 Free Relay

Cal put a wrap on a dominant mornin gsession by claiming the top seed for finals in the 400 free relay. The foursome of Michael Jensen (42.50), Pawel Sendyk (42.34), Ryan Hoffer (42.16) and Andrew Seliskar (41.38) combined to swim a time of 2:48.38.

Indiana’s Zach Apple, Bruno Blaskovic, Mohamed Samy and Jack Franzman qualified second in 2:48.67, and Texas won heat three to qualify third in 2:49.07 with Drew Kibler, Jake Sannem, Matthew Willenbring and Daniel Krueger. Both Townley Haas and Tate Jackson could be options for the Longhorns in the final.

NC State qualified fourth for the final in 2:49.11 after Justin Ress anchored in 41.26, and the rest of the final will include Florida State (2:49.22), Ohio State (2:49.39), Louisville (2:49.64) and Arizona State (2:49.67).

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