Kieran Smith Runs Down Kibler to Win First NCAA Title of Career in 200 Free

Photo Courtesy: Luke Jamroz Photography

Florida junior Kieran Smith won his first NCAA title on Friday night at the 2021 NCAA Division I men’s swimming and diving championships in Greensboro with a 1:30.10 in the 200 freestyle, running down Texas junior Drew Kibler (1:30.39) in the process.

Kibler set the pace early, turning at 43.29 as he was trying to pick up Texas’ first individual win of the weekend in the pool as he swam faster than he did leading off the relay. Smith was a 43.79 on the front half and stayed poised throughout, closing the gap slowly but surely and turning even on the final 25. Smith split a 23.16, just a few tenths quicker than his teammate Bobby Finke earlier in the 400 IM as he won his first individual title of his career after coming last year as the top man in the 200 and 500 free before the meet was cancelled. Smith will be in the 100 freestyle tomorrow.

“This was really emotional. I was devastated when the meet got canceled last year because I felt like I had a couple of good shots at winning a title. I fell a little short in the 500 yesterday, so I am beyond happy to get my hand on the wall first tonight,” Kieran Smith said after the race. “I was watching Bobby’s race and I couldn’t believe my eyes. That got me going tonight.”

Kibler moved up to seventh all-time with his swim as Texas extended its lead over Cal with three total A-finalists to Cal’s one representative in Trenton Julian in third at 1:31.55. The Longhorns also placed Jake Sannem (1:32.58) in fourth and Peter Larson (1:33.67) in eighth.

Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis (1:32.97), LSU’s Brooks Curry (1:33.12) and USC’s Alexei Sancov (1:33.64) also swam in the championship final.

Florida now has six NCAA titles in the 200 freestyle as Kieran Smith joins Mike Heath (1984), Adam Sioui (2002), Shaune Fraser (2009), Conor Dwyer (2010) and Brett Fraser (2011) as winners of the event for the Gators.

All-Time Rankings Men’s 200 Free

1:29.15, Dean Farris, Harvard, 2019
1:29.48, Kieran Smith, Florida, 2021
1:29.50, Townley Haas, Texas, 2018
1:29.63, Blake Pieroni, Indiana, 2018
1:30.14, Andrew Seliskar, California, 2019
1:30.34, Zach Apple, Indiana, 2019
1:30.39, Drew Kibler, Texas, 2021
1:30.59, Shaine Casas, Texas A&M, 2021
1:30.95, Dylan Carter, Southern California, 2017
1:31.20, Simon Burnett, Arizona, 2006

 Event 10  Men 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:29.15  3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
         Meet: M 1:29.15  3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
     American: A 1:29.15  3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
   U. S. Open: O 1:29.15  3/27/2019 Dean Farris, Harvard
         Pool: P 1:29.66  3/24/2021 Kieran Smith, Florida
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Smith, Kieran          JR Florida           1:31.69    1:30.10   20  
    r:+0.70  21.05        43.79 (22.74)
        1:06.94 (23.15)     1:30.10 (23.16)
  2 Kibler, Drew           JR Texas             1:30.87    1:30.39   17  
    r:+0.61  20.60        43.29 (22.69)
        1:06.56 (23.27)     1:30.39 (23.83)
  3 Julian, Trenton        SR California        1:31.95    1:31.55   16  
    r:+0.64  21.23        44.08 (22.85)
        1:07.39 (23.31)     1:31.55 (24.16)
  4 Sannem, Jake           SR Texas             1:32.68    1:32.58   15  
    r:+0.77  21.37        44.71 (23.34)
        1:08.71 (24.00)     1:32.58 (23.87)
  5 Delakis, Paul          SR Ohio St           1:32.59    1:32.97   14  
    r:+0.71  21.70        44.92 (23.22)
        1:08.85 (23.93)     1:32.97 (24.12)
  6 Curry, Brooks          SO LSU               1:32.55    1:33.12   13  
    r:+0.60  20.96        44.58 (23.62)
        1:08.84 (24.26)     1:33.12 (24.28)
  7 Sancov, Alexei         JR USC               1:32.55    1:33.64   12  
    r:+0.59  21.41        44.73 (23.32)
        1:08.87 (24.14)     1:33.64 (24.77)
  8 Larson, Peter          SO Texas             1:32.53    1:33.67   11  
    r:+0.61  21.06        44.18 (23.12)
        1:08.64 (24.46)     1:33.67 (25.03)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Unlu, Baturalp         FR GT                1:32.80    1:32.60    9  
    r:+0.65  21.51        45.25 (23.74)
        1:09.12 (23.87)     1:32.60 (23.48)
 10 Forst, Preston         FR Stanford          1:32.91    1:32.80    7  
    r:+0.66  21.98        45.38 (23.40)
        1:09.06 (23.68)     1:32.80 (23.74)
 11 Dahlgren, Jack         JR Missouri          1:32.80    1:32.98    6  
    r:+0.63  21.45        44.70 (23.25)
        1:08.41 (23.71)     1:32.98 (24.57)
 12 Magahey, Jake          FR Georgia           1:32.92    1:33.07    5  
    r:+0.73  21.86        45.43 (23.57)
        1:09.33 (23.90)     1:33.07 (23.74)
 13 Callan, Patrick        JR Michigan          1:32.98    1:33.19    4  
    r:+0.67  21.73        45.12 (23.39)
        1:08.90 (23.78)     1:33.19 (24.29)
 14 Carrozza, Coby         FR Texas             1:32.70    1:33.30    3  
    r:+0.66  21.58        45.21 (23.63)
        1:09.34 (24.13)     1:33.30 (23.96)
 15 Miller, Luke           FR NC State          1:32.87    1:33.31    2  
    r:+0.58  21.47        45.42 (23.95)
        1:09.32 (23.90)     1:33.31 (23.99)
 16 Theall, Mark           SR TAMU              1:32.73    1:33.57    1  
    r:+0.70  21.80        45.35 (23.55)
        1:09.43 (24.08)     1:33.57 (24.14)

Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 10                  
 
  1. Texas                             326 
  2. California                        291
  3. Florida                           213 
  4. Georgia                           162
  5. Indiana                            97 
  6. NC State                           89
  6. Texas A&M                          89 
  8. Louisville                         81
  9. Michigan                           70 
 10. Arizona                            66
 11. Virginia                           63 
 12. Missouri                           62
 13. Stanford                           58 
 14. Virginia Tech                      52
 15. Ohio St                            42 
 16. Alabama                            38
 17. Lsu                                36 
 18. Georgia Tech                       29
 19. Purdue                             28 
 20. University of Miami                19
 21. Florida St                         18.5 
 22. Notre Dame                         15
 22. Southern California                15 
 24. Penn St                            13
 25. Pittsburgh                         12 
 26. Kentucky                            9
 27. Wisconsin                           8 
 28. Tennessee                           7
 29. UNC                                 4 
 30. Utah                                2.5

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