2013 NCAA Men’s Picks: Last-minute Breaststroke Calls

We’re 2 minutes away from NCAA’s!!  Let’s drop some breaststroke picks really quick…

Wildcats Bearing Down

The heavy favorite in the breaststroke events is Kevin Cordes of Arizona, the top seed in both distances and defending NCAA champion in the 100.  Cordes made his case this fall at AT&T Nationals, where he broke a pair of American records, becoming the first swimmer to ever break 1:51 in the 200, and narrowly missing cracking the 51 in the 100.  He’ll be joined by teammate Carl Mickelson, who grabbed a pair of 4^th place finishes a year ago.  With studs across all four legs (including two elite breaststrokers) of their medley relays, coach Eric Hansen will have the luxury of finishing safely in the top 8 in prelims.  That means rotating Mickelson and Cordes, and saving each of these guys from any extra swims.  Look for junior Kevin Steel, as well.  He sealed his qualification this fall, and he’s seeded 11^th here in the 100.

Cody Miller

Cordes is widely considered the runaway favorite in both events, but Indiana’s Cody Miller might have something to say about that.  He smashed Big Ten records in both breaststrokes, and actually swam the fastest 200 breast ever in a NCAA-only competition (Cordes’ 1:50.73 was at Winter Nationals, but is recognized as an NCAA record).  Two factors going against Miller: he doesn’t have the best NCAA history (he added significant time each of his first two seasons at this meet), and he has a much heavier workload than most of the other breaststrokers in this field.  He’ll have at least five relay over the first two days relays (Cordes, Mickelson, Hoyt, and Prenot will not), alone with two 200 IM’s (Hoyt and Mickelson will each have one at most, and Cordes doesn’t even have a third event).  That could be a factor as we head into Friday night and Saturday.

A Pair of Bears (actually, make that three)

Cal has been dominant in the breaststroke disciplines over the last few seasons (including a 1-2-4 finish in the 100 in 2011), and even though they are a little thinner than years past, the Bears will be represented in both A-Finals.  Trevor Hoyt has taken the reigns for Cal, finishing 6^th in the 100 and 2^nd in the 200 last year.  We like him equal or better those performances this year.

Hoyt be joined by freshman Josh Prenot in the 200, who looks to be one of the highest-scoring freshman at this meet.  In addition, Christian Higgins is buried in the psych sheet, but look for him to make some big moves.  He finished 13^th in the 100 a year ago.

The Other Guys

• Michigan’s duo of Richard Funk and Bruno Ortiz are seeded to A-Final (Ortiz in the 100, Funk in both events)… Critical points for Michigan.  Ortiz has more pure speed than Funk (that looks weird just typing it), but Funk was runner-up to Miller at Big Ten’s over both distances, swimming lifetime bests and earning himself a pair of 3^rd seeds in the process.
• Look for Ivy League champion Chuck Katis to make a splash.  He’s been lights-out all season, and should be a double A-Finalist.
• Sprint freestyle extraordinaire Vlad Morozov will be demonstrating his versatility on the middle day in the 100 breast.  He was runner-up to Cordes at PAC-12’s.

100 breast picks:

1. Kevin Cordes, Arizona – 51.10
2. Cody Miller, Indiana – 51.50
3. Carl Mickelson, Arizona – 52.19
4. Vladimir Morozov, USC – 52.06
5. Trevor Hoyt, Cal – 52.65
6. Chuck Katis, Harvard – 52.49
7. Bruno Ortiz, Michigan – 52.42
8. Kevin Steel, Arizona – 52.66

 200 picks:

1. Kevin Cordes, Arizona – 1:50.73
2. Trevor Hoyt, Cal – 1:53.76
3. Cody Miller, Indiana – 1:51.03
4. Carl Mickelson, Arizona – 1:55.09
5. Josh Prenot, Cal – 1:53.63
6. Chuck Katis, Harvard – 1:54.08
7. Christian Higgins, Cal – 1:55.14
8. Richard Funk, Michigan – 1:53.32