{"id":525745,"date":"2023-03-23T18:03:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T01:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=525745"},"modified":"2023-03-23T19:19:33","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T02:19:33","slug":"ncaa-mens-championships-florida-sprints-to-ncaa-record-in-freestyle-relay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-florida-sprints-to-ncaa-record-in-freestyle-relay\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Men’s Championships: Florida Sprints to NCAA Mark in Freestyle Relay With Record That Has ‘So Much History on it’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second night of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Championships concluded with the 200 freestyle relay.<\/p>\n

After an extremely fast final in the 50 freestyle, the event brought some speed from a plethora of teams.<\/p>\n

Florida, the defending champion, was able to pull of a stunning repeat – and in NCAA record fashion, winning in 1:13.35.<\/p>\n

Josh Liendo<\/strong> led off with an 18.22, followed by Adam Chaney<\/strong> (18.37), Eric Friese<\/strong> (18:64) and Macguire McDuff<\/strong> (18.12).<\/p>\n

“In practice, we always talked about the record. We joked about it, but at the same time, we were serious,” Liendo said. “We went to go get it.”<\/p>\n

The previous NCAA record was set by Auburn in 2009 (1:14.08), during the time of tech suits. It was the last men’s race that still had a tech-suit-era record.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think that it was because it was the last tech suit record, it just has been around since 2009. How long that record has been around has so much history on it,” Chaney said.<\/p>\n

The Gators repeated as champs with Friese and Chaney on both relays.<\/p>\n

“It means so much. I have been thinking about this (record) since my freshman year. For Adam and I, it is really special, and we have been dreaming about this for three years,” Friese said.<\/p>\n

It speaks to the growth of the Gators, especially in the sprint events, continuing in the tradition of Dressel, but winning sprint relays with six different swimmers in the past two years.<\/p>\n

“If you are a good sprinter, come to Florida, as you can see. This was Eric’s last swim ever and we did it for him,” Chaney said. “But we will hopefully be able to rotate more swimmers in and get even faster.”<\/p>\n

Liendo said part of the Florida allure is the ability to balance fun with focus.<\/p>\n

“It is the best training environment. We train hard, but have fun,” Liendo said. “There is a balance. The coaches keep us in check. But we are serious when we need to be serious.”<\/p>\n

Like right before a 200 free relay final.<\/p>\n

“We really know when to focus,” Chaney said. “I have never seen us more focused than before this relay. We wanted to break the record and (it was ours to lose as defending champions). That was the most pressure we ever had.”<\/p>\n

McDuff was happy to be a part of the relay and anchor the record.<\/p>\n

“I put a ton of pressure on myself. I wanted to perform. I didn’t have a great swim this morning, so I knew had more to give,” McDuff said.<\/p>\n

Cal took second with Bjorn Seeliger, Jack Alexy, Liam Bell<\/strong> and Destin Lasco<\/strong> getting to the wall in 1:13.82, also beating the previous NCAA mark set.<\/p>\n

NC State took third with Noah Henderson, Nyls Korstanje, Luke Miller<\/strong> and David Curtiss<\/strong> (1:14.44).<\/p>\n

Tennessee was fourth behind Jordan Crooks, Guilherme Santos, Scott Scanlon<\/strong> and Aleksey<\/strong> Tarasenko<\/strong> (1:14.68).<\/p>\n

In the second heat, an 18.63 split from Youssef Ramadan<\/strong> gave Virginia Tech an early lead, and the Hokies hung on to win the heat in 1:15.67, nine hundredths behind Texas’s time in the first heat.<\/p>\n

The Longhorns won the first heat in 1:15.58, putting 500 free winner Luke Hobson<\/strong> on the anchor leg.<\/p>\n