FEDERAL WAY, Washington, March 28. THE Auburn Tigers defended their title in the 200 medley relay in a big way at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships.
The foursome of Scott Goodrich (21.69), David Maras (23.55), Alexei Puninski (19.81) and Cesar Cielo (18.19) clocked a U.S. Open and NCAA record time of 1:23.24 to claim the title. Last year, Auburn won the title with the then U.S. Open and NCAA record of 1:23.37.
The win is the sixth in the event for Auburn, the most ever in the event – in front of Stanford and Texas' four apiece.
"I'm speechless," Maras said. "I'm officially retired as of today. I just couldn't be more proud. This is a great way to go out. A new NCAA record with three of my closest friends – I'm speechless."
Arizona finished second when the team of Albert Subirats, Marcus Titus, Darian Townsend and Jordan Smith touched in 1:24.08.
California's contingent of David Russell, Damir Dugonjic, Jernej Godec and William Copeland placed third in 1:24.50.
Subirats had the fastest backstroke leg with a 20.73, while Alex Hetland of SMU owned the best breaststroke with a 23.43. Puninski and Cielo also had the best butterfly and freestyle legs of the race.
Notably, Minnesota won a tightly-contested battle in the consolation heat over Tennessee, 1:26.23 to 1:26.50.
Arizona led with 171 points after the event, while California took second with 144 points. Auburn (137), Texas (128) and Stanford (123) rounded out the top five.