Record Relay Just the Beginning at NCAA Championships

nc-state-800-free-relay-
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Editorial content for the 2018 NCAA DI Championship coverage is sponsored by TritonWear. Visit TritonWear.com for more information on our sponsor. For full Swimming World coverage, check event coverage page.

By Michael J. Stott.

The 800 free relay is done and in the books. Last night was only the third time the event had been swum first, a circumstance appreciated by swimmers and coaches a like. For the record the winning squad was the quartet from third seeded North Carolina State whose 6:05.31 clocking was a NCAA, Open and championship record. It also presaged things to come as many observers predict this gathering will be the fastest NCAA gathering in history.

The Wolfpack’s foursome of Andreas Vazaios (1:31.32), Ryan Held (1:31.09), Jacob Molacek (1:32.13) and Justin Ress (1:30.77) operating from lane 3, held off a game Indiana squad (6:06.01). Another contributing factor to the new mark was the impressive reaction times of the winners whose leg 2-4 totals were .44, astonishingly precise for a distance relay.

“I’m proud of my four guys staying disciplined in their races all the while racing with heart and a diamond. It was an exciting race in that heat and congrats to all those teams,” said coach Braden Holloway.

However, the individual swim of the night belonged to the Hoosiers’ leadoff Olympian Blake Pieroni who became the first swimmer to blast through the long-standing 1:30 barrier. While one coach only half-jested that Florida’s Caeleb Dressel was capable of accomplishing the task, Pieroni’s 1:29.63 settled the issue for all time. This despite a well fought 1:30.41 personal best from Texas and former American record holder Townley Haas in lane 5. Pieroni achieved his historic swim by posting splits of 20.89, 22.64, 22.91, 23.18.

The mark had been a long time coming. While some speculated Haas might do it in 2017 his coach Eddie Reese pooh-poohed the idea because of the nature of the Omega walls. Still, the perception has lingered that fast swims were in the offing particularly because of the NCAA decision, effective in 2016, to move the 800 free relay from the middle of the third day to opening night.

“The biggest thing it does is make for faster relays,” says Holloway. “Obviously all of the teams will be a lot fresher so the quality of the event is much better. When the event is later in the meet it takes a toll on sprint type guys who might have a hard time handling it. The move was also smart because all the teams are here anyway,” he said.

On a possible record breaker South Carolina coach Mark Bernardino suggested that the swimmer who would finally bust through would be a, ”speed athlete, someone who can go from the 50 to a 200. It’s not going to be a distance athlete. Nobody is coming down to do it. Enter Pieroni. “I think this is going to be a terrific meet. There will be a lot of times that make people open their eyes and say, ‘Wow,’” observed Bernardino.

Another benefit of the move said Florida’s Gregg Troy is that the competition can give a good indication of where our athletes are. It doesn’t change the lineup of the other relays much but it may impact their individual events. Another big thing is you’ve gone from 6 to 7 sessions. So the coach’s job is then to monitor athlete enthusiasm, i.e. dialing it up and down. However, it shouldn’t be but so hard given they have already experienced it at conference,” he said.

Reese applauded the move. Not only did it make the 800 free relay faster, it has allowed the last day to be better. When asked if he thought the 1:30 mark might fall Reese opined if it did it would come on that first relay. When you get into the meet a lot of 200 guys come out of the 500 (he’s had a bunch including two-time defending champion Haas), so there is a buildup effect of fatigue. Could Haas do it? “He’s trained real hard so it depends if his coach rests him enough. Right now we are winning warmup,” he smiled. Will the Longhorns reign for the fourth straight year? “I’m excited. We have a real good team,” said Reese

As for what the Wolfpack victory meant Holloway said “It is a good way to start the meet. We did it last year and it was emotionally hard to recover. I think this year the guys are more emotionally prepared to handle a win. Obviously, it bodes well for the meet and is an exciting way to start. I don’t think it changes a whole lot moving forward. We have to be calm, enjoy the win and recover the right way so we can have a productive week. Putting the relay on the first night you see fast times. It makes it fun. Seeing a 1:29 was pretty cool.”

With last night as a harbinger Troy spoke for every coach on deck. “The spectators are going to see some fantastic swimming,” he said.

Spoiler alert. They already have.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x