My NCAA Division I Men’s Event Picks

Column by John Lohn

CRANBURY, New Jersey, March 15. ONE of my recent assignments for Swimming World was to pick the order of finish for the upcoming NCAA Men's Championships, slated for Ohio State in a little less than two weeks. Ultimately, the championship pick was Texas, with Arizona, Auburn, Stanford and California rounding out the top five. The sixth through tenth spots were selected to go to Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Georgia and Ohio State.

To be honest, with these picks being required a couple months back to meet deadline requirements, I like Georgia ahead of Virginia and could see Ohio State moving ahead of the Cavaliers as well. We'll see soon. But in terms of the top seven finishes, I'll stick with my guns, believing that Texas is too loaded and Arizona will recover from a subpar showing at the Pac-10 Champs with a stellar showing.

This week, since this is my last column before the NCAA Champs get under way, I'll take a shot at picking the top three individual finishers in each event. It won't be an easy task in a number of events, but why not give it a run. Hey, it should make for some lively debate.

50 Freestyle
Jimmy Feigen, Texas
Nathan Adrian, California
Gideon Louw, Auburn
Comment: Just a hunch that Feigen captures first NCAA title.

100 Freestyle
Nathan Adrian, California
Jimmy Feigen, Texas
Gideon Louw, Auburn
Comment: A reversal of the finish in the 50 free between Adrian and Feigen.

200 Freestyle
Ricky Berens, Texas
Shaune Fraser, Florida
Jean Basson, Arizona
Comment: Texas' Dave Walters is a wild card in this one. Fraser is the reigning champ.

500 Freestyle
Jean Basson, Arizona
Scott Jostes, Texas
Troy Prinsloo, Georgia
Comment: South African defends his title with Jostes delivering strong showing for Longhorns.

1650 Freestyle
Chad La Tourette, Stanford
Troy Prinsloo, Georgia
Jackson Wilcox, Texas
Comment: Top two appear in command over rest of the field.

100 Backstroke
Hill Taylor, Texas
Eugene Godsoe, Stanford
Pascal Wollach, Auburn
Comment: Taylor rises from third in 2009 to take title.

200 Backstroke
Tyler Clary, Michigan
Cory Chitwood, Arizona
Omar Pinzon, Florida
Comment: After year away while recovering from injury, Chitwood has big showing.

100 Breaststroke
Damir Dugonjic, California
Adam Klein, Auburn
Marcus Titus, Arizona
Comment: Dugonjic not winning would be a surprise.

200 Breaststroke
Scott Spann, Texas
Sean Mahoney, California
Adam Klein, Auburn
Comment: Thinking Spann performs like the 2008 Olympic finalist he was.

100 Butterfly
Tyler McGill, Auburn
Tom Shields, California
Eugene Godsoe, Stanford
Comment: Absence of Austin Staab opens the door for competitive battle for top spot.

200 Butterfly
Mark Dylla, Georgia
Shaune Fraser, Florida
Dan Madwed, Michigan
Comment: Dylla and Fraser switch positions from last year's finish.

200 Individual Medley
Tyler Clary, Michigan
Ricky Berens, Texas
Shaune Fraser, Florida
Comment: Wolverines standout takes the first of three victories.

400 Individual Medley
Tyler Clary, Michigan
Gal Nevo, Georgia Tech
Jack Brown, Arizona
Comment: Went with the chalk. Feel good about Clary, but open after that.

200 Freestyle Relay
Auburn
California
Texas
Comment: Auburn has been dominant in the sprints for years and there's no reason to believe this season will be any different.

400 Freestyle Relay
Texas
Auburn
California
Comment: The Longhorns close out their NCAA championship with win in last relay.

800 Freestyle Relay
Texas
Arizona
Michigan
Comment: Arizona makes a big jump from eighth seed, which is misleading.

200 Medley Relay
Auburn
California
Stanford
Comment: Sprint relays have been domain of the Tigers.

400 Medley Relay
California
Texas
Auburn
Comment: Very tough relay to call. Won't be surprised by anything that goes down here.

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