NCAA Men’s Championships: Jordan Crooks Crowned 50 Free Champ

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

NCAA Men’s Championships: Jordan Crooks Crowned Sprint Champ

The 50 freestyle all year has been about the sub-18 depths plumbed by Jordan Crooks. That’s where the gold medal is going, too.

Crooks went 18.32 to win the 50 freestyle at the NCAA Championships at Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.

Crooks was .08 ahead of Florida freshman Josh Liendo. Bjorn Seeliger of Cal was third in 18.67. Brooks Curry, last year’s champion, finished fourth in 18.76.

Crooks’ win is the first NCAA men’s title for a Tennessee swimmer since 2001 (Michael Gilliam, 100 backstroke).

Crooks entered as only the second man, alongside Caeleb Dressel, to have covered 50 meters of freestyle in less than 18 seconds. That doesn’t, to the Caymanian’s mind, add any pressure.

“I think just trying to realize that it’s been a fun season,” Crooks said. “It’s only my second season here at UT, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think just trying to relax and trust the training and know that you’ve done the work. It’s just trying to have fun now.”

The race got off to a weird start, literally, with the gun held for a palpably long time. It meant that only Youssef Ramadan, in Lane 8, got out in a reaction time of under .6 seconds. (He was at .56). It helped the Virginia Tech swimmer sprint to fifth in 18.82.

“It did feel a little long, but things happen, it is what it is and I’m still happy with the outcome,” Crooks said. “You can’t really change it.”

“That start, they held us a long time,” Liendo said. “I was prepared and I guess ready for it. … Everyone was talking about it after the race, but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it.”

Cal’s Jack Alexy, Arizona State’s Jack Dolan and Gui Caribe of Tennessee rounded out the A final.

NC State cashed in in the B final, with Nyls Korstanje winning it in 18.74 and Noah Henderson second in 18.89. David Curtiss tied for 14th overall. It bodes well for the 200 free relay later in the night, in which the Wolfpack are seeded second.

Indiana’s Van Mathias, reinvented as a sprinter this year, went 18.91 to lower the school record he took in the morning from Blake Pieroni.

Three of them medalists from last year were back in the A final: Curry the winner, Seeliger the runner-up and Crooks tied for third last year. (The co-bronze medalist, Virginia’s Matt Brownstead, finished 13th overall this time around.)

Event 5  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Meet: M 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     American: A 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
   U. S. Open: O 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Pool: P 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Crooks, Jordan         SO Tennessee           18.25      18.32   20  
     r:+0.74  8.98         18.32 (9.34)
  2 Liendo, Josh           FR Florida             18.54      18.40   17  
     r:+0.62  8.86         18.40 (9.54)
  3 Seeliger, Bjorn        JR California          18.46      18.67   16  
     r:+0.70  9.02         18.67 (9.65)
  4 Curry, Brooks          SR LSU                 18.72      18.76   15  
     r:+0.73  9.02         18.76 (9.74)
  5 Ramadan, Youssef       JR VT                  18.87      18.82   14  
     r:+0.57  9.10         18.82 (9.72)
  6 Alexy, Jack            SO California          18.77      18.87   13  
     r:+0.67  9.03         18.87 (9.84)
  7 Dolan, Jack            SR ASU                 18.87      19.15   12  
     r:+0.73  9.21         19.15 (9.94)
  8 Santos, Guilherme      FR Tennessee           18.81      19.16   11  
     r:+0.70  9.14        19.16 (10.02)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Korstanje, Nyls        SR NC State            18.94      18.74    9  
     r:+0.60  8.93         18.74 (9.81)
 10 Henderson, Noah        SR NC State            18.89      18.89    7  
     r:+0.60  8.95         18.89 (9.94)
 11 Mathias, Van           5Y Indiana             18.89      18.91    6  
     r:+0.67  9.09         18.91 (9.82)
 12 Brownstead, Matt       JR Virginia            19.03      18.92    5  
     r:+0.60  8.96         18.92 (9.96)
 13 Bell, Liam             SR California          19.04      18.96    4  
     r:+0.61  9.14         18.96 (9.82)
 14 Curtiss, David         SO NC State            18.93      19.10    2.5
     r:+0.62  9.22         19.10 (9.88)
 14 Gaziev, Ruslan         JR Ohio St             19.00      19.10    2.5
     r:+0.64  9.10        19.10 (10.00)
 16 Elaraby, Abdelrahman   SR Louisville          18.96      19.30    1  
     r:+0.63  9.17        19.30 (10.13)
 
                  Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 5                  
 
  1. California                        150   2. Arizona St                        126
  3. Texas                             122   4. NC State                        119.5
  5. Florida                           103   6. Indiana                            64
  7. Tennessee                          57   8. Stanford                           52
  9. Louisville                         43   9. Auburn                             43
 11. Georgia                            36  12. Virginia                           27
 13. Alabama                            26  14. Virginia Tech                      24
 15. Texas A&M                          20  16. Wisconsin                          19
 17. Notre Dame                         17  18. Lsu                                15
 19. Missouri                            6  20. Ohio St                           4.5
 21. Michigan                            4  21. Princeton                           4
 23. Georgia Tech                        3

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Coach

1 year ago

50 Meters of freestyle in less than 18 seconds 🧐 ?