Leon Marchand Breaks Record in 200 Breaststroke as ASU Wins First Title: ‘He Made it Happen’

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Leon Marchand‘s individual NCAA finale came in yet another event he entered already holding the NCAA record, and it led Arizona State to the pinnacle.

Marchand broke his own NCAA record in the 200 breaststroke in 1:46.35 and celebrated a little bit. Then when his team clinched the championship, he celebrated a lot.

“It’s amazing,” Marchand said. “When I talked to the coaches about coming, the team was (unranked) and they told me it was possible. I really trusted them from the beginning, and we did it. I am really proud of all the coaches and all my teammates.”

It was Marchand that turned the Sun Devils into title contenders.

“I am incredibly grateful for all of those who believed when there was nothing to believe in. Through it all, everyone kept growing and the program kept growing,” Arizona State coach Bob Bowman said. “When Leon came is when it took off. He made it happen. It gave everyone the example of what real excellence was and raised the level that everybody was doing, and attracted other people who could help us win this thing.”

Being a part of the team will be something Marchand takes back home to France and into his future.

“I have learned a lot. I think it will help me in my life, not just swimming, the way we worked really hard,” Marchand said.

Marchand’s record from last year’s NCAAs was 1:46.91, giving him a half second drop this year.

Marchand was out in 24.02 to take an early lead over Cal’s Liam Bell (24.18).

At the 100, Marchand was at 50.78 and about a half a body length ahead of Bell, who won the 100 breaststroke on Friday.

Marchand was in control at 1:18.16 at the 150 and got to the wall in 1:46.35 to break his own NCAA record.

“I didn’t feel really fast during the race but I tried really hard to do my turns well and go for it from the very beginning – 1:46 is really good. I am really happy with it,” he said.

Penn junior Matthew Fallon had the top seed from the morning’s prelims, the only swimmer to break 1:50. He ended up second in finals with a strong back half, surging past the field to finish in 1:48.48.

Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti was third in 1:49.99, followed by Bell (1:50.15), Schlicht (1:50.67), Virginia’s Noah Nichols (1:50.69), Indiana’s Jassen Yep (1:51.51) and Brown’s Jack Kelly (1:53.27).

Event 18  Men 200 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:46.91  3/25/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
         Meet: M 1:46.91  3/25/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
     American: A 1:47.91  3/25/2017 Will Licon, Texas
   U. S. Open: O 1:46.91  3/25/2023 Leon Marchand, ASU
         Pool: P 1:47.91  3/25/2017 Will Licon, Texas
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Marchand, Leon         JR ASU               1:50.76    1:46.35N  20  
    r:+0.62  24.02        50.78 (26.76)
        1:18.16 (27.38)     1:46.35 (28.19)
  2 Fallon, Matthew        JR Penn              1:49.36    1:48.48   17  
    r:+0.63  24.97        52.60 (27.63)
        1:20.05 (27.45)     1:48.48 (28.43)
  3 Coll Marti, Carles     SR VT                1:51.28    1:49.99   16  
    r:+0.63  24.70        52.78 (28.08)
        1:20.82 (28.04)     1:49.99 (29.17)
  4 Bell, Liam             5Y California        1:50.78    1:50.15   15  
    r:+0.62  24.18        51.95 (27.77)
        1:19.44 (27.49)     1:50.15 (30.71)
  5 Schlicht, David        SR ASU               1:50.57    1:50.67   14  
    r:+0.65  24.81        52.68 (27.87)
        1:21.20 (28.52)     1:50.67 (29.47)
  6 Nichols, Noah          SR Virginia          1:51.22    1:50.69   13  
    r:+0.64  24.96        53.22 (28.26)
        1:21.64 (28.42)     1:50.69 (29.05)
  7 Yep, Jassen            SR Indiana           1:51.15    1:51.51   12  
    r:+0.58  25.02        53.35 (28.33)
        1:22.01 (28.66)     1:51.51 (29.50)
  8 Kelly, Jack            JR Brown             1:51.65    1:53.27   11  
    r:+0.75  25.44        54.25 (28.81)
        1:23.33 (29.08)     1:53.27 (29.94)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Bustos, Arsenio        JR NC State          1:52.24    1:50.49    9  
    r:+0.63  24.49        52.16 (27.67)
        1:20.91 (28.75)     1:50.49 (29.58)
 10 Sanchez, Alex          SR TAMU              1:52.17    1:51.32    7  
    r:+0.68  25.28        53.98 (28.70)
        1:22.72 (28.74)     1:51.32 (28.60)
 11 Pouch, AJ              5Y VT                1:51.69    1:52.01    6  
    r:+0.66  25.30        53.12 (27.82)
        1:22.04 (28.92)     1:52.01 (29.97)
 12 Reich, Max             SR Indiana           1:51.71    1:52.28    5  
    r:+0.70  25.31        53.88 (28.57)
        1:23.07 (29.19)     1:52.28 (29.21)
 13 Martter, Cale          SO ASU               1:52.46    1:52.42    4  
    r:+0.65  25.43        53.87 (28.44)
        1:22.88 (29.01)     1:52.42 (29.54)
 14 Foster, Jake           5Y Texas             1:51.81    1:52.55    3  
    r:+0.67  24.79        53.03 (28.24)
        1:22.32 (29.29)     1:52.55 (30.23)
 15 Savickas, Aleksas      SO Florida           1:52.62    1:52.74    2  
    r:+0.68  24.95        53.32 (28.37)
        1:22.51 (29.19)     1:52.74 (30.23)
 16 Benzing, Brian         SR Towson            1:52.71    1:53.26    1  
    r:+0.65  25.22        53.55 (28.33)
        1:22.78 (29.23)     1:53.26 (30.48)
 
                 Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 18                  
 
  1. Arizona St                      456.5   2. California                      360.5
  3. Florida                           344   4. Indiana                           283
  5. NC State                          259   6. Tennessee                         179
  7. Texas                             175   8. Virginia Tech                     146
  9. Stanford                          144  10. Notre Dame                        110
 11. Georgia                           106  12. Auburn                             88
 13. Louisville                         80  14. Ohio St                            79
 15. Texas A&M                          77  16. Michigan                         68.5
 17. Virginia                         66.5  18. Smu                                54
 19. Alabama                            50  20. Minnesota                          40
 21. Florida St                         34  22. Southern California                24
 23. Miami (Fl)                         21  24. Missouri                           19
 24. Arizona                            19  26. Towson                             18
 27. Penn                               17  28. Wisconsin                          16
 29. Pittsburgh                         15  30. Lsu                                11
 30. Brown                              11  32. UNC                                 9
 33. Penn St                             8  34. Brigham Young                       7
 35. Utah                                6  36. Purdue                              5
 37. GW                                  3  38. Northwestern                        1

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