NCAA Men’s Championships, Day 4 Prelims: Owen McDonald Dips Under 1:40 to Top 200 IM Heats
The final morning of the NCAA Men’s Championships began with a team title still in the balance, with Texas leading Florida by just 9.5 points entering the last several events. The Gators posted a monster performance on day three as Ahmed Hafnaoui and Ahmed Jaouadi went 1-2 in the 500 freestyle before Josh Liendo took first in the 50 free. However, Texas looked poised for a big day to close out the meet.
The final morning kicked off with Owen McDonald of Indiana setting the pace in the 200 IM, swimming the first sub-1:40 performance this college season as he aims for his first NCAA title. Later in the session, Pitt’s Julian Koch was the surprising top seed in the 100 free before favorites Ilya Kharun (Arizona State) and Hubert Kos (Texas) had the top times in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, respectively.
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 15 1. Texas 340.5 2. Florida 331 3. Indiana 254 4. Arizona St 245 5. Tennessee 199 6. California 186 7. NC State 175.5 8. Michigan 163 9. Virginia 110 10. Stanford 95 11. Louisville 72 12. Virginia Tech 67 13. Ohio St 63 14. Kentucky 52 14. Southern California 52 16. Georgia 50.5 17. Miami (Fl) 46 18. Auburn 44 19. Smu 41 20. Northwestern 29 20. UNC 29 20. Lsu 29 23. Alabama 27 24. Princeton 25 24. Florida St 25 26. Missouri 20 27. Pittsburgh 19 27. Wisconsin 19 29. Army 17.5 30. Yale 17 30. Utah 17 30. Georgia Tech 17 33. Notre Dame 16 34. Delaware 12 35. Purdue 10 36. Harvard 9 37. Texas A&M 8 38. IU Indianapolis 6 39. Penn St 5 40. Arizona 2
200 IM
Owen McDonald will swim his last individual NCAA race from lane four and seek the first individual national title. The Indiana senior put up the top mark in the morning medley heats at 1:39.48, pulling away to dominate the final heat of the event. McDonald, the third-place finisher in the event last year, was just off his lifetime best of 1:39.23 that ranks him ninth all-time in the event. With defending champion Hubert Kos opting out to focus on the 200 back, McDonald is the only swimmer in the race who has ever broken 1:40.
The biggest challenge in the final figures to come from Maximus Williamson, the Virginia freshman who won the national title in the 200 free from lane eight. Williamson qualified second here in 1:40.06, his lifetime best by seven tenths. Three other swimmers broke 1:41, the Texas duo of Will Modglin (1:40.79) and Baylor Nelson (1:40.82) plus McDonald’s Indiana teammate Noah Cakir (1:40.94).
The Hoosiers currently sit in third place in the team standings with Arizona State hot in pursuit. With Josh Bey in sixth place, this three-up performance will help Indiana’s cause. Texas, meanwhile, can expect a points surge here with Modglin and Nelson in the top heat and Campbell McKean and Nate Germonprez both scoring points. NC State got two into the heat as well, with Daniel Diehl and Arsenio Bustos in seventh and eighth, respectively.
Event 16 Men 200 Yard IM
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NCAA: N 1:36.34 3/23/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
Meet: M 1:36.34 3/23/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
American: A 1:37.91 3/28/2024 Destin Lasco, California
U. S. Open: O 1:36.34 3/23/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
Pool: P 1:37.69 3/24/2022 Leon Marchand, ASU
Name Year School Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===
1 McDonald, Owen SR Indiana 1:40.11 1:39.48
r:+0.57 21.20 45.69 (24.49)
1:14.69 (29.00) 1:39.48 (24.79)
2 Williamson, Maximus FR Virginia 1:40.78 1:40.06
r:+0.66 21.78 46.79 (25.01)
1:15.78 (28.99) 1:40.06 (24.28)
3 Modglin, Will JR Texas 1:40.58 1:40.79
r:+0.65 21.38 46.16 (24.78)
1:15.95 (29.79) 1:40.79 (24.84)
4 Nelson, Baylor SR Texas 1:40.29 1:40.82
r:+0.63 21.59 46.65 (25.06)
1:15.78 (29.13) 1:40.82 (25.04)
5 Cakir, Noah FR Indiana 1:42.47 1:40.94
r:+0.69 22.23 47.49 (25.26)
1:16.08 (28.59) 1:40.94 (24.86)
6 Bey, Josh FR Indiana 1:41.68 1:41.17
r:+0.65 22.33 47.24 (24.91)
1:16.23 (28.99) 1:41.17 (24.94)
7 Diehl, Daniel JR NC State 1:42.24 1:41.20
r:+0.66 21.65 47.60 (25.95)
1:16.43 (28.83) 1:41.20 (24.77)
8 Bustos, Arsenio 5Y NC State 1:40.39 1:41.22
r:+0.66 21.14 46.13 (24.99)
1:15.73 (29.60) 1:41.22 (25.49)
100 Freestyle
The men’s 100 free was a bit sluggish through the first five heats as only Josh Liendo had gotten under 41. Liendo clocked 40.81 to put himself in position to win his fourth consecutive national title in the event and cap off his Florida career in style. Liendo has already broken the NCAA record in the 100 butterfly on two occasions while also winning the 50 free.
The last heat of the race provided a shake-up, however, as Pitt’s Julian Koch unleashed a huge performance to jump into the top spot. Koch touched in 40.52, a half-second best time that jumped him from 23rd all-time into eighth. Just behind him in that heat were LSU’s Jere Hribar (40.76) and NC State’s Quintin McCarty (40.97).
Tennessee’s Gui Caribe, the runnerup in the 50 fre and third-place finisher in this event last year, tied for fifth in 41.05, a time that Arizona State’s Jonny Kulow matched. Arizona’s Tomas Lukminas and Virginia Tech’s Brendan Whitfield also qualified for the final, locking out ASU’s Remi Fabiani despite his ninth-place time of 41.23. The one up-one down finish will help the Sun Devils, but it did not neutralize Indiana’s massive haul from the 200 IM.
Every point might matter in the team contest, and Texas picked up three unexpected ones here as Garrett Gould finished 14th. The Longhorns have now guaranteed four individually-scoring swims Saturday compared to just one (Liendo) for Florida.
Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Meet: M 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
American: A 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
U. S. Open: O 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Pool: P 40.46 3/26/2016 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Name Year School Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===
1 Koch, Julian SO Pittsburgh 41.00 40.52
r:+0.66 9.02 19.29 (10.27)
29.82 (10.53) 40.52 (10.70)
2 Hribar, Jere JR LSU 40.42 40.76
r:+0.73 9.22 19.56 (10.34)
30.17 (10.61) 40.76 (10.59)
3 Liendo, Josh SR Florida 40.94 40.81
r:+0.65 9.20 19.49 (10.29)
30.32 (10.83) 40.81 (10.49)
4 McCarty, Quintin JR NC State 40.88 40.98
r:+0.64 9.04 19.30 (10.26)
30.03 (10.73) 40.98 (10.95)
5 Caribe, Gui SR Tennessee 40.45 41.05
r:+0.58 9.05 19.50 (10.45)
30.37 (10.87) 41.05 (10.68)
5 Kulow, Jonny SR ASU 41.47 41.05
r:+0.63 9.18 19.50 (10.32)
30.10 (10.60) 41.05 (10.95)
7 Lukminas, Tomas SO Arizona 41.33 41.11
r:+0.63 9.35 19.87 (10.52)
30.52 (10.65) 41.11 (10.59)
8 Whitfield, Brendan JR VT 40.93 41.12
r:+0.70 9.18 19.57 (10.39)
30.42 (10.85) 41.12 (10.70)
200 Butterfly
Thirteen swimmers clocked times under 1:40 in the 200 butterfly, but the class of the field in the morning was Ilya Kharun. The Arizona State sophomore has been phenomenal all meet, swimming best times en route to third-place finishes in the 100 fly and 50 free and pacing three victories relays for the Sun Devils. Now, Kharun comes into the 200 fly as the big favorite following the withdrawal of defending champion Luca Urlando from this meet. Kharun previously won the event in 2024.
Kharun came from behind in the morning to win his heat in 1:38.49, about a second off his best of 1:37.56 from earlier this season. Kharun finished just ahead of Michigan’s Tyler Ray, whose 1:38.55 was the only other time under 1:39. Thomas Heilman, the Virginia freshman who was a U.S. Olympian in both butterfly events two years ago, got third in 1:39.26, followed by Florida State’s Logan Robinson and Minnesota’s Jacob Johnson.
Even though ASU has Kharun in the top spot, Indiana will punch back in the fight for third place overall with Raekwon Noel in the sixth spot entering the evening. Auburn’s Abdalla Youssef and Princeton’s Michell Schott also made it in. As for the team title battle, Florida had no entrants in the event while Texas picked up seven points from Kyle Peck and Cooper Lucas.
Event 18 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
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NCAA: N 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
Meet: M 1:36.43 3/29/2025 Luca Urlando, Georgia
American: A 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
U. S. Open: O 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
Pool: P 1:37.92 2/18/2022 Nicolas Albiero, Louisville
Name Year School Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===
1 Kharun, Ilya JR ASU 1:37.56 1:38.49
r:+0.66 22.32 47.50 (25.18)
1:12.85 (25.35) 1:38.49 (25.64)
2 Ray, Tyler SR Michigan 1:38.82 1:38.55
r:+0.70 21.61 47.08 (25.47)
1:13.04 (25.96) 1:38.55 (25.51)
3 Heilman, Thomas FR Virginia 1:39.09 1:39.26
r:+0.66 22.29 47.42 (25.13)
1:13.19 (25.77) 1:39.26 (26.07)
4 Robinson, Logan SO FSU 1:38.78 1:39.48
r:+0.62 22.19 47.46 (25.27)
1:13.55 (26.09) 1:39.48 (25.93)
5 Johnson, Jacob SO Minnesota 1:40.20 1:39.54
r:+0.64 22.01 47.18 (25.17)
1:12.89 (25.71) 1:39.54 (26.65)
6 Noel, Raekwon SO Indiana 1:39.26 1:39.55
r:+0.72 22.25 47.71 (25.46)
1:13.05 (25.34) 1:39.55 (26.50)
7 Youssef, Abdalla FR Auburn 1:40.73 1:39.59
r:+0.76 22.64 47.93 (25.29)
1:13.49 (25.56) 1:39.59 (26.10)
8 Schott, Mitchell SR Princeton 1:39.05 1:39.71
r:+0.70 22.27 47.87 (25.60)
1:13.38 (25.51) 1:39.71 (26.33)
200 Backstroke
Fresh off breaking the 43-second barrier in the 100 back, Texas’ Hubert Kos is the enormous favorite to dominate the 200-yard event. Last season, he blasted the NCAA and U.S. Open records by more than a second with a winning time of 1:34.21, and given his 100-yard speed at this meet, another special performance is likely awaiting at night. A prelims time of 1:36.29 already puts Kos a whopping 1.40 seconds ahead of the field, and the time was also quickest in the country this year.
The University of Virginia will also put up big points in this event thanks to a 2-3 finish for David King (1:37.69) and Jack Aikins (1:37.90). King previously tied for eighth in the 200 free prelims but declined a swim-off to allow teammate Maximus Williamson to advance. That decision paid off with an upset win for the freshman.
Also under 1:38 was Alabama’s Tommy Hagar at 1:37.96 while Georgia’s Ruard Van Renen, the 100 back runnerup, cut almost 2.5 seconds from his seed to take fifth (1:38.05). Sixth went to Jonny Marshall, the top seed entering the meet who rebounded nicely from a disastrous 17th-place finish in the 100 back Friday. Still, that will not be sufficient for Florida to keep pace with Texas, with the team only snagging two scoring swims in Saturday’s prelims. Texas, on the other hand, will also get 11th-place points from Rex Maurer.
Indiana’s Kai Van Westering took seventh, a boost for his team in the battle for third place with Arizona State, while Tennessee’s Nick Simons was eighth in 1:38.21, eight hundredths better than Cal’s Keaton Jones. The Volunteers and Golden Bears are currently in a fight for fifth place with 13 points of separation, so this swim could have big ramifications.
Event 19 Men 200 Yard Backstroke
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NCAA: N 1:34.21 3/29/2025 Hubert Kos, Texas
Meet: M 1:34.21 3/29/2025 Hubert Kos, Texas
American: A 1:35.37 3/30/2024 Destin Lasco, California
U. S. Open: O 1:34.21 3/29/2025 Hubert Kos, Texas
Pool: P 1:35.73 3/26/2016 Ryan Murphy, California
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Kos, Hubert SR Texas 1:36.80 1:36.29
r:+0.67 22.72 47.50 (24.78)
1:11.53 (24.03) 1:36.29 (24.76)
2 King, David SO Virginia 1:38.14 1:37.69
r:+0.82 23.07 47.66 (24.59)
1:12.55 (24.89) 1:37.69 (25.14)
3 Aikins, Jack SR Virginia 1:39.00 1:37.90
r:+0.69 23.12 47.85 (24.73)
1:12.88 (25.03) 1:37.90 (25.02)
4 Hagar, Tommy JR Alabama 1:37.92 1:37.96
r:+0.67 22.69 47.37 (24.68)
1:12.23 (24.86) 1:37.96 (25.73)
5 Van Renen, Ruard SR Georgia 1:40.48 1:38.05
r:+0.62 22.66 47.49 (24.83)
1:12.38 (24.89) 1:38.05 (25.67)
6 Marshall, Jonny JR Florida 1:36.38 1:38.08
r:+0.70 21.97 46.41 (24.44)
1:11.53 (25.12) 1:38.08 (26.55)
7 Van Westering, Kai SR Indiana 1:39.19 1:38.18
r:+0.70 23.01 47.40 (24.39)
1:12.82 (25.42) 1:38.18 (25.36)
8 Simons, Nick SR Tennessee 1:39.07 1:38.21
r:+0.61 23.08 48.23 (25.15)
1:13.44 (25.21) 1:38.21 (24.77)
400 Medley Relay
The streak of incredible streak of Cal finishing in the top-two at the NCAA Championships will end this season, and the Golden Bears are in fact done for the meet following Saturday morning’s session. But the team did not go down quietly, swimming the fastest time in the men’s 400 freestyle relay entering the final heat at night. Cal’s team of Martin Wrede, Lucca Battaglini, Evan Petty and Keaton Jones swam the top mark at 2:46.59, putting the team in position to move up in the scoring, possibly into the top-eight.
On the anchor leg, Jones fought off surging Virginia senior Jack Aikins to top the heat by 0.14. Thomas Heilman, Maximus Williamson and David King handled the first three legs for a Virginia team that went 2:46.73. Third in the morning went to another ACC squad, Pittsburgh, in a time of 2:47.17. Julian Koch had already posted the top prelims time in the 100 free at 40.52, and he was just off that mark leading off here in 40.71.
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