2016 M. NCAA Picks: Plenty of Players for 200 Free Crown

2016 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 23- Saturday, March 26
• Georgia Institute of Technology- Atlanta, GA.
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Webcast
• Championship Central

200 FREESTYLE

• NCAA record: 1:31.20 — Simon Burnett (Arizona) — 3/24/2006
• American record: 1:31.31 — Ricky Berens (Texas) — 3/7/2013
• U.S. Open record: 1:31.20 — Simon Burnett (Arizona) — 3/24/2006
• 2015 NCAA Champion: Cristian Quintero (USC) 1:32.03

Going into NCAAs, Big Ten juggernauts Blake Pieroni (1:32.33) of Indiana and Anders Nielsen (1:32.36) of Michigan sit atop a very tight bunch in the 200 free.

This isn’t the first time those two have met, as Big Ten rivals that they are, they’ve had plenty of match-ups over the last two years. Last year at NCAAs, Nielsen got the upper hand, finishing 2nd to Pieroni’s 4th. They come in neck-and-neck this year, though, and they have plenty of company right on their heels.

Next up is a trio of NC State swimmers. Simonas Bilis (1:32.46), Soeren Dahl (1:32.88), and Ryan Held (1:32.97) round out the rest of the sub-1:33 club. The Wolfpack program has molded these sprinters into deadly 200 freestylers, a testament to the program and to the athletes’ ability to extend their ranges.

Lurking down at #7 is USC’s Reed Malone. He’s a strong candidate for the American 800 free relay come Rio, but first, he’ll fight for the NCAA crown. Malone’s 1:33.08 pales in comparison to the 1:31.94 split he did anchoring USC’s 800 free relay at Pac-12s. He’d have to go a best time to break the 1:33 barrier, but the 200 is his sweet spot between the 100 and 500 range, and he’s been battle tested in years past.

#6, Matias Koski, sits just a hundredth ahead of Malone. He’s a rare talent, in that he can keep up with most of the best pure sprinters in the country while at the same time holding his taper to perform well in the distance free events. Other big names in the top 10 include Texas’ Townley Haas and Clark Smith along with Cal’s Long Gutierrez. Haas is one of the Longhorns’ stud freshmen, while Smith looks to be a future star on the international stage with his competitive LCM 200 and 400 free times. Gutierrez will have to muscle through a 200 free/100 fly double on the third day of competition at NCAAs.

TOP 8 PREDICTIONS

Dark Horse: #11 Trevor Carroll has risen over the last year to one of the best 50 thru 500 range freestylers in the country. The Louisville junior has been under 1:34 four different times this year, all of which rank as his top four times ever. He’s coming off of a strong ACC performance, and can challenge for a top 8 spot if he can carry that momentum through NCAAs.