{"id":526143,"date":"2023-03-25T17:31:15","date_gmt":"2023-03-26T00:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=526143"},"modified":"2023-03-25T20:16:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T03:16:03","slug":"ncaa-mens-championships-nc-states-aiden-hayes-stuns-with-200-butterfly-comeback-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-nc-states-aiden-hayes-stuns-with-200-butterfly-comeback-win\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Men’s Championships: NC State’s Aiden Hayes Stuns With 200 Butterfly Comeback Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Men’s Championships: NC State’s Aiden Hayes Stuns With 200 Butterfly Comeback Win<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The swimmers geared up for one more showdown individually,, this time in the 200 butterfly on the final night of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Entering the final, Cal had the top two seeds as the Golden Bears were hoping for a 1-2 finish in the final individual swim of the meet, in their march toward a title.<\/p>\n

But it was a perhaps unexpected sophomore from NC State that put that celebration on hold.<\/p>\n

Aiden Hayes<\/strong> led at the 50, then surrendered that lead to defending NCAA champion Brendan<\/strong> Burns<\/strong> of Indiana. Hayes used a late surge on the final 50 reclaim the lead and to power to the wall in 1:38.79 and claim the NCAA title.<\/p>\n

He joins former Wolfpack swimmer Andreas Vazaios<\/strong>, who won the 200 fly five years ago in the same pool.<\/p>\n

“When I came to NC State, Braden is the pinnacle of everything I want as a coach. He kept telling me over and over, 2 fly, 2 fly. He had me do a set that Andreas did and beat every single time he did in that set. I am just glad Braden was able to believe in me,” Hayes said. “The amount of faith he puts in his swimmers is special and I don’t think you can find it anywhere else.”<\/p>\n

Teammate Ross Dant<\/strong> remembers that set.<\/p>\n

“I remember when he did that workout and Braden telling us what he was doing. Braden said he was smoking what Andreas was doing and that he thought Aiden could win a title,” Dant said. “The hard work pays off.”<\/p>\n

It was a big session after the Wolfpack went 1-2 in the mile.<\/p>\n

“Every single one of our milers torched it,” Hayes said. “Ross destroyed his mile and Will (Gallant) follows that up with a win. This is the session, I was thinking. And it ended up happening. I love to thrive off of nerves.”<\/p>\n

Hayes had a plan to start strong, but he still have to come back.<\/p>\n

“I knew my competition really well. I know I am the speediest guy out there, so I came in and wanted to play to my strength and dust the first 100. If I could build enough ground between us. That was the first time that on all my turns, I never saw above water level,” Hayes said. “My eyes didn’t go any place but right ahead and that allowed me to stay in the race.”<\/p>\n

Burns finished second in 1:38.97, followed by Cal sophomore Gabriel Jett<\/strong> (1:39.40) and junior Dare Rose<\/strong> (1:39.89).<\/p>\n

Indiana junior Tomer Frankel<\/strong> was fifth in 1:40.34, followed by NC State senior Noah Bowers<\/strong> (1:40.85), Arizona State senior Alexander Colson<\/strong> (1:41.38) and Michigan sophomore Gal Grou<\/strong>mi (1:42.73), who won the swim-off to get to the final.<\/p>\n

Princeton’s Raunak Khosla<\/strong>, a senior, won the B final in 1:40.94.<\/p>\n