{"id":501033,"date":"2022-03-24T15:49:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T22:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=501033"},"modified":"2022-03-24T20:13:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T03:13:39","slug":"2022-ncaa-mens-championships-leon-marchand-breaks-dressel-200-im-mark-with-137-69","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/2022-ncaa-mens-championships-leon-marchand-breaks-dressel-200-im-mark-with-137-69\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 NCAA Men\u2019s Championships: Leon Marchand Breaks Dressel 200 IM Mark with 1:37.69"},"content":{"rendered":"

2022 NCAA Men\u2019s Championships: Leon Marchand Breaks Dressel 200 IM Mark with 1:37.69<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leon Marchand\u2019s<\/strong> impact on NCAA swimming has been immediate, to say the last.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman added his name to the list of international freshmen to make massive impacts on the college scene, going 1:37.69 to win the 200 individual medley. That time downs the NCAA record set in 2018 by Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> of Florida, who was on deck to see the Arizona State swimmer take it down.<\/p>\n

Marchand is Arizona State\u2019s first NCAA men\u2019s champion since 2000, when Attila Czene<\/strong> also won the 200 IM. He\u2019s just the fifth all-time in Sun Devils history.<\/p>\n

Marchand went 1:38.83 in the morning to grab the second seed. He was quicker by more than a second at night, jetting past Destin Lasco<\/strong> of Cal, who had set the pool record. Lasco was second in finals at 1:38.21.<\/p>\n

Marchand\u2019s finals splits: 21.42 \u2013 24.32 \u2013 28.41 \u2013 23.54<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marchand was out second after 50 yards, trailing only Luca Urlando<\/strong> of Georgia. He moved to the front on his backstroke with a split that was four tenths quicker than anyone else, with Urlando second. Lasco made up some ground with a 27.89 breaststroke leg, and he kept the pressure on with a 23.10 coming home. But the 23.54 from Marchand was enough.<\/p>\n

“This is amazing,” Marchand said. “A few years ago, I was watching this record and I was like, \u201cthis is insane.\u201d And now I\u2019m beating this so this is crazy.”<\/p>\n

Urlando was third in 1:39.22. Lasco, who was third last year, bumped up a spot. Cal got points from Hugo Gonzalez<\/strong> in fifth (he was second last year) and Trenton Julian<\/strong> in seventh. Carson Foster<\/strong> went from fourth last year to sixth.<\/p>\n

Stanford freshman Ron Polonsky<\/strong>, who was 10th in prelims, went a best time by more than a second to win the B final in 1:39.96. He led wire-to-wire, holding off the charge from Arizona State\u2019s Grant House<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Texas\u2019s Caspar Corbeau<\/strong> went from the ninth seed in the morning to 14th overall in what could be crucial points in the team standings.<\/p>\n

Marchand was a big part of a major international movement Thursday night<\/a>. Fellow freshman Matt Sates,<\/strong> of South Africa by way of Georgia, won the 500 free. Cal’s Swedish sprinter Bjorn Seeliger<\/strong> was second in the 50. For such a precocious talent to be dropping time to rapidly this early in his career bodes well for what the Frenchman’s potential may be.<\/p>\n

“From the beginning, it was very quick because everyday I\u2019m learning new stuff here,” Marchand said. “I\u2019m changing my regimen and everything. I\u2019m swimming more short-course \u2013 I was only swimming long-course in France. This is very different, and every day I\u2019m enjoying swimming with my teammates.”<\/p>\n