{"id":467133,"date":"2021-03-26T15:53:17","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T22:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=467133"},"modified":"2021-03-26T21:36:53","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T04:36:53","slug":"kieran-smith-runs-down-kibler-to-win-first-ncaa-title-of-career-in-200-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/kieran-smith-runs-down-kibler-to-win-first-ncaa-title-of-career-in-200-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Kieran Smith Runs Down Kibler to Win First NCAA Title of Career in 200 Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida junior\u00a0Kieran Smith\u00a0<\/strong>won his first NCAA title on Friday night at the 2021 NCAA Division I men’s swimming and diving championships in Greensboro with a 1:30.10 in the 200 freestyle, running down Texas junior\u00a0Drew Kibler\u00a0<\/strong>(1:30.39) in the process.<\/p>\n

Kibler set the pace early, turning at 43.29 as he was trying to pick up Texas’ first individual win of the weekend in the pool as he swam faster than he did leading off the relay. Smith was a 43.79 on the front half and stayed poised throughout, closing the gap slowly but surely and turning even on the final 25. Smith split a 23.16, just a few tenths quicker than his teammate\u00a0Bobby Finke<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>earlier in the 400 IM as he won his first individual title of his career after coming last year as the top man in the 200 and 500 free before the meet was cancelled. Smith will be in the 100 freestyle tomorrow.<\/p>\n

“This was really emotional. I was devastated when the meet got canceled last year because I felt like I had a couple of good shots at winning a title. I fell a little short in the 500 yesterday, so I am beyond happy to get my hand on the wall first tonight,” Kieran Smith said after the race. “I was watching Bobby’s race and I couldn’t believe my eyes. That got me going tonight.”<\/p>\n

Kibler moved up to seventh all-time with his swim as Texas extended its lead over Cal with three total A-finalists to Cal’s one representative in\u00a0Trenton Julian\u00a0<\/strong>in third at 1:31.55. The Longhorns also placed\u00a0Jake Sannem\u00a0<\/strong>(1:32.58) in fourth and\u00a0Peter Larson <\/strong>(1:33.67) in eighth.<\/p>\n

Ohio State’s Paul DeLakis\u00a0<\/strong>(1:32.97), LSU’s\u00a0Brooks Curry\u00a0<\/strong>(1:33.12) and USC’s\u00a0Alexei Sancov <\/strong>(1:33.64) also swam in the championship final.<\/p>\n

Florida now has six NCAA titles in the 200 freestyle as Kieran Smith joins Mike Heath\u00a0<\/strong>(1984),\u00a0Adam Sioui\u00a0<\/strong>(2002),\u00a0Shaune Fraser\u00a0<\/strong>(2009),\u00a0Conor Dwyer\u00a0<\/strong>(2010) and Brett Fraser\u00a0<\/strong>(2011) as winners of the event for the Gators.<\/p>\n

All-Time Rankings Men\u2019s 200 Free<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 1:29.15, Dean Farris<\/strong>, Harvard, 2019<\/li>\n
  2. 1:29.48, Kieran Smith<\/strong>, Florida, 2021<\/li>\n
  3. 1:29.50, Townley Haas<\/strong>, Texas, 2018<\/li>\n
  4. 1:29.63, Blake Pieroni<\/strong>, Indiana, 2018<\/li>\n
  5. 1:30.14, Andrew Seliskar<\/strong>, California, 2019<\/li>\n
  6. 1:30.34, Zach Apple<\/strong>, Indiana, 2019<\/li>\n
  7. 1:30.39, Drew Kibler<\/strong>, Texas, 2021<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
  8. 1:30.59,\u00a0Shaine Casas<\/strong>, Texas A&M, 2021<\/li>\n
  9. 1:30.95,\u00a0Dylan Carter<\/strong>, Southern California, 2017<\/li>\n
  10. 1:31.20,\u00a0Simon Burnett<\/strong>, Arizona, 2006<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n