NCAA Men’s Championships: Liam Bell Shatters NCAA Record in 100 Breaststroke

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

NCAA Men’s Championships: Liam Bell Shatters NCAA Record in 100 Breaststroke

Five swimmers were 50-point in the 100-yard breaststroke as the group collectively inched closer to Ian Finnerty’s NCAA record of 49.69 set in 2018.

It has finally fallen.

Cal fifth-year Liam Bell scorched a 23.15 on the first 50 as he took control and kept building that lead and got to the wall in 49.53.

“It means a lot, especially to my family and the guys on the team. It is something I have been wanting for a long time. It was a long journey. A lot of time and patience,” Bell said. “These are the moments we live for.”

A long journey that included taking a step away from swimming this past summer.

“A big thing was having a relatively injury-free season,” Bell said. “Being able to train for a whole season has been a game-changer. I didn’t really train much this summer. Maybe twice a week. I was lifting a lot. I think for me, gaining a lot of strength has been one of the big things because I was always that skinny kid that got washed away off the walls. I wanted to compete with those guys. But I just took a break from it.”

His best time before this race was 50.50, and like a whole slew of breaststrokers, he was looking for what would get him past the 50-second barrier. Year after year, that record looked like it would fall, but it took until the 2024 NCAAs.

“It is something everyone dreams of,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t think this was achievable. Looking at the guys when I was a kid, I would have never thought I could get here, but then I am training with the best guys in the world. I think it hit me at the Minnesota Invite (that I could do this). I was tired of being in the shadows and thought this would be a good season for me.”

Towson’s Brian Benzing surged to a second-place finish in 50.59 – a huge win for mid-majors. When his runner-up award was given, the Indiana Natatorium NCAA crowd gave him a thunderous ovation.

Louisville’s Denis Petrashov finished third in 50.91, ahead of Virginia’s Noah Nichols (50.93) as four broke 51 in the finals.

Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti took fifth (51.06), ahead of Indiana’s Josh Matheny (51.07), Florida’s Julian Smith (51.18) and Stanford’s Ron Polonsky (51.25).

Event 11  Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 49.69  3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
         Meet: M 49.69  3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
     American: A 49.69  3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
   U. S. Open: O 49.69  3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
         Pool: P 50.52  3/29/2024 Liam Bell, California
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Bell, Liam             5Y California          50.52      49.53N  20  
    r:+0.62  10.47        23.15 (12.68)
          35.93 (12.78)       49.53 (13.60)
  2 Benzing, Brian         SR Towson              50.92      50.59   17  
    r:+0.61  10.76        23.70 (12.94)
          36.88 (13.18)       50.59 (13.71)
  3 Petrashov, Denis       5Y Louisville          51.25      50.91   16  
    r:+0.68  10.75        23.66 (12.91)
          37.04 (13.38)       50.91 (13.87)
  4 Nichols, Noah          SR Virginia            50.97      50.93   15  
    r:+0.62  10.71        23.54 (12.83)
          36.75 (13.21)       50.93 (14.18)
  5 Coll Marti, Carles     SR VT                  51.19      51.06   14  
    r:+0.60  10.71        23.94 (13.23)
          37.24 (13.30)       51.06 (13.82)
  6 Matheny, Josh          JR Indiana             51.27      51.07   13  
    r:+0.63  10.97        24.14 (13.17)
          37.39 (13.25)       51.07 (13.68)
  7 Smith, Julian          JR Florida             50.94      51.18   12  
    r:+0.64  10.80        23.94 (13.14)
          37.39 (13.45)       51.18 (13.79)
  8 Polonsky, Ron          JR Stanford            50.87      51.25   11  
    r:+0.66  10.90        23.80 (12.90)
          37.25 (13.45)       51.25 (14.00)
 
                        === Consolation Final ===                        
 
  9 Savickas, Aleksas      SO Florida             51.35      51.06    9  
    r:+0.65  10.71        23.74 (13.03)
          37.22 (13.48)       51.06 (13.84)
 10 Crisci, Flynn          5Y Tennessee           51.63      51.15    7  
    r:+0.61  10.57        23.69 (13.12)
          37.13 (13.44)       51.15 (14.02)
 11 Horner, Jaek           5Y Utah                51.87      51.35    6  
    r:+0.58  10.78        23.73 (12.95)
          37.35 (13.62)       51.35 (14.00)
 12 Yep, Jassen            SR Indiana             51.72      51.52    5  
    r:+0.48  10.99        24.09 (13.10)
          37.64 (13.55)       51.52 (13.88)
 13 Varjasi, Peter         5Y FSU                 51.69      51.55    4  
    r:+0.62  10.55        23.93 (13.38)
          37.47 (13.54)       51.55 (14.08)
 14 Lazzerini, Mariano     SO Penn St             51.43      51.77    3  
    r:+0.60  10.94        24.17 (13.23)
          37.92 (13.75)       51.77 (13.85)
 15 Pouch, AJ              5Y VT                  51.82      51.78    2  
    r:+0.65  11.16        24.53 (13.37)
          37.80 (13.27)       51.78 (13.98)
 16 Foster, Jake           5Y Texas               51.58      51.81    1  
    r:+0.65  10.90        24.04 (13.14)
          37.69 (13.65)       51.81 (14.12)
 
                 Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 11                  
 
  1. Arizona St                        270   2. Florida                           244
  3. California                      234.5   4. Indiana                           158
  5. NC State                          150   6. Texas                             127
  7. Tennessee                         106   8. Stanford                          101
  9. Virginia Tech                      92  10. Georgia                            76
 11. Auburn                             70  12. Michigan                         60.5
 13. Louisville                         57  14. Notre Dame                         55
 15. Ohio St                            53  16. Alabama                            50
 17. Texas A&M                          43  18. Smu                                41
 19. Virginia                           27  20. Florida St                         24
 21. Missouri                           19  22. Towson                             17
 22. Minnesota                          17  24. Wisconsin                          16
 25. Arizona                            15  25. Miami (Fl)                         15
 27. Brigham Young                       7  28. Utah                                6
 28. Lsu                                 6  30. Purdue                              5
 31. GW                                  3  31. Penn St                             3
 33. UNC                                 2

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