NCAA Men’s Championships: Kieran Smith Anchors Florida to 200 Free Relay Title; Three Hundredths Off Record<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the second time in two sprint relays at the NCAA Men’s Championships, the Florida Gators are on top. After Florida captured the win in the 200 medley relay Wednesday night by 0.23, the Gators came out on top again in the 200 freestyle relay by a similar margin of 0.25. The foursome of\u00a0Adam Chaney<\/strong> (18.85),\u00a0Eric Friese<\/strong> (18.39),\u00a0Will Davis<\/strong> (18.28) and\u00a0Kieran Smith<\/strong> (18.59) delivered in the big moment to take down powerhouse squads from Cal and Texas.<\/p>\n

The same four swimmers placed second in this relay last season, finishing less than a tenths of a second ahead of Cal. With the sting of that defeat in mind, the Gators spent much of this season preparing for their next shot at a title. All season long, hey practiced the order they would use at the NCAA Championships, and they stayed after practice for extra work on relay starts with Florida associate head coach\u00a0Steve Jungbluth<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Obviously, like the first relay, this one means a lot to us,” Davis said. “For me specifically, this is one of the most stressful relays that I\u2019ve ever been on, just because it\u2019s so competitive. The momentum that we had from yesterday, I think we did a good job of carrying it into the next relay.”<\/p>\n

The story surrounding the 200 freestyle relay was whether the NCAA and U.S. Open record in the event, the 1:14.08 that Auburn set during the era of full-body, polyurethane suits 2009, would go down, and the Gators very nearly hit that mark. As Smith maintained his edge on Cal anchor Destin Lasco<\/strong> down the stretch, all eyes turned to the clock, but Florida touched in 1:14.11, just three hundredths off the mark that has now stood for 13 years.<\/p>\n

“That one\u2019s always been on the radar for us,” Chaney said of the long-lasting Auburn record. He added with a laugh, “That\u2019s why I went 0.1 slower than my individual, so I could give us a little motivation for next year.”<\/p>\n

The Golden Bears finished second in 1:14.36 with\u00a0Bjorn Seeliger<\/strong>,\u00a0Jack Alexy<\/strong>,\u00a0Daniel Carr<\/strong> and Lasco, matching their winning time from the event at last year’s championships. Notably, Seeliger led off in 18.27, well ahead of\u00a0Brooks Curry’s<\/strong> mark of 18.56 that won the individual 50 free earlier in the night. Seeliger crushed his own best time of 18.45 set in prelims, and he beat\u00a0Ryan Hoffer’s\u00a0<\/strong>Cal school record of 18.33 from last year \u2014 while also surpassing Hoffer as the second-fastest swimmer in history behind only former Florida legend\u00a0Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Third place went to Texas in 1:14.41 with\u00a0Drew Kibler<\/strong>,\u00a0Danny Krueger<\/strong>,\u00a0Caspar Corbeau<\/strong> and\u00a0Cameron Auchinachie<\/strong>. Auchinachie was disqualified in the individual 50 freestyle final earlier in the night, but he rebounded with an enormous 18.14 split on the way home to pull Texas from sixth place into third.<\/p>\n

Chaney, Friese and Davis all swam on the Gators’ 200 medley relay Wednesday (along with breaststroker\u00a0Dillon Hillis<\/strong>), while Smith swam this relay just after after he placed a disappointing fourth in the 500 free, the event where he holds the fastest time in history, earlier in the session. Smith showed off some speed and delivered a clutch leg to stay ahead of the Bears.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m really proud of us,” Smith said. “I\u2019m excited that I\u2019ve gotten better and better as this whole championship season has gone on, from SECs to here. I couldn\u2019t have been more excited when I touched the wall and saw a number one. As for the 500, I think there\u2019s just been a missing piece in that race all season. I haven\u2019t quite pinpointed what it was, but tonight it was the fourth 100. I was proud with the way I raced that. I knew that I had to give it a go on the first 250, 300, get away from those Georgia boys. I\u2019m excited for tomorrow because, like I said, I keep getting better and better, so I think I\u2019ll be in contention to defend my 200 free title.”<\/p>\n

NC State, buoyed by a huge 18.04 split from\u00a0Nyls Korstanje<\/strong> on the second leg, finished fourth in 1:14.69, one hundredth ahead of Virginia (1:14.70). The Cavaliers were two tenths off their own American record set at the ACC Championships last month, and even though the top three teams all swam faster than record, they each included one international swimmer, making them ineligible for the national mark.<\/p>\n

While it was far from a perfect day for the Longhorns, they remain in first place in the team race with 148 points, while Cal (124) sits just ahead of Florida (119).<\/p>\n