2017 MEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 22 – Saturday, March 25
- IUPUI Natatorium – Indianapolis, IN
- Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
- Defending Champion: Texas (results)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live stream: Wednesday/Thursday Prelims & Finals, Friday/Saturday Prelims / Friday/Saturday finals on ESPN3
- Event Previews
- Live Results
The 2017 Men’s NCAA Championships kick off tonight at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Swimmers will get the meet started with a quick session, competing in only the 800 free relay tonight.
Texas will look to defend their title in tonight’s race, with 3 of Team USA’s Olympic gold medalists in the 800 free relay stepping up to the plate for the Longhorns: Townley Haas, Jack Conger, and Clark Smith.
Among the challengers looking to upend Texas are the Florida Gators, who have plenty of starpower to potentially use on this relay including the likes of freshman standout and SEC Champion Maxime Rooney, Khader Baqlah, Mitch D’Arrigo, Mark Szaranek, and maybe even Caeleb Dressel.
MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY
- NCAA record: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- American record: 6:10.16, Texas, 2009
- U.S. Open record: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- 2016 NCAA Champion: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- NC State- 6:06.53
- Texas- 6:08.61
- Florida- 6:09.30
In heat 2, USC’s Dylan Carter led off with a phenomenal 1:30.95, making him the 2nd fastest 200 freestyler of all time. Indiana’s Blake Pieroni topped that with a 1:30.87 leadoff in the next heat.
NC State exceeded all expectations tonight, pulling off the upset by a landslide with a new NCAA and U.S. Open Record of 6:06.53. Ryan Held led them off in 1:31.37, followed by teammates Andreas Vazaios (1:32.23), Justin Ress (1:32.26), and Soeren Dahl (1:30.67).
Texas followed, finishing just half a second shy of their former NCAA Record. The team of Jack Conger (1:31.54), Jeff Newkirk (1:33.25), Clark Smith (1:33.49), and Townley Haas (1:30.42) set a new American Record, breaking the former mark of 6:10.16 set by Texas in 2009.
Florida’s Mark Szaranek put up a 1:31.46 anchor split to help the Gators take 3rd, running down Cal’s Ryan Murphy (1:32.06). Andrew Seliskar had the fastest split for the Bears, turning in a 1:31.58 on the 2nd leg.
Harvard’s Dean Farris (1:31.31) and Stanford’s Tom Kremer (1:31.75) were also in the 1:31-range from a rolling start.
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1:
1. NC State 40 2. Texas 34 3. Florida 32 4. California 30 5. Southern Cali 28 6. Univ of Georgia 26 7. Stanford 24 8. Louisville 22 9. Indiana 18 10. Wisconsin 14 11. Michigan 12 12. Auburn 10 13. South Carolina 8 14. Harvard 6 15. Arizona State 4 16. Missouri 2
wpDiscuz
Has anyone mentioned Dean Farris is swimming this meet?
All you Dean Farris haters
I was going to start replacing Chuck Norris’ name with Dean Farris’ in all those jokes, but Chuck Norris emailed me a round house kick before I could.
What I learned from the women meet and last year: who has the fastest split of this relay will win the 200 free.
Worked last year at the men’s meet too.
The person that swims the fastest 200 free will win the 200 free?
Sounds like John Madden has joined the SwimSwam comments section!
Harvard 4×200 Free Relay: Dean Farris, Dean Farris, Dean Farris, Dean Farris
STEVE HOLT!!!
If Dean Farris wins the 200 free, the Ivy League will change its name to the Dean Farris League. Ivies will become Deanies.
Harvard will be known simply as “The House that Dean Built.”
Swimming = The Sport that Dean Created
Phelps gets demoted to SGOAT.
maybe they’ll make Dean the Dean?
….i’ll see myself out
Bobby Hackett was pretty good.
Then again, I’m old. Sigh.
Charlie Campbell, Hess Yntema, Ross Wales. You think you’re old.
Why does no one remember Righi
Or Chris Swanson for that matter???
He swam the mile. Not an event people actually enjoy watching
Plus everyone watching thought he was getting lapped, thanks to Rowdy’s commentary.
Best event IMO
David Berkoff, Tony Corbisero, Nelson Diebel and the 200 medley relay….
He went to Yale.
Who went to Yale? Ferris Bueller?
Or one of SwimSwam’s greatest contributors and a guy whose name makes it seem like he was in charge of a British colony back in the 1500s, “David Cromwell!
Texas 1st in 800fr relay
Florida 2nd, Dressel will throw down something nasty.
Cal 3rd largely based off of Seliskar’s swim.
At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
Final Predictions:
1. Texas 6:06.86, Haas leads in 1:30.9, but Conger splits 1:30-mid as well and pulls away
2. Florida 6:07.95, With or without Dressel this team is great overall, with Dressel involved potential for 3 1:31 splits!!!
3. NC State 6:08.20, Great Conference performance, don’t know if all four can drop and overcome the already stacked field
If both Texas and Florida break the NCAA record, I will eat my shorts
Shorts spared.
Phew. I was nervous
If Murphy swims this he’ll have the fastest split
1:32.08. Not even the fastest on his team.
Murphy was downright pedestrian
Faded on the last 50, but still not pedestrian.
Crazy that we live in a world where 1:32.0 is pedestrian.
Big claim, big failure
6:08.1 Texas wins. Whatever Townley goes on the relay his flat start time will be similar
I’m looking for the Clark Smith split as a predictor for the rest of the meet for him. It was last year.
And he choked lmao
A second better than last year, so we’ll see how that translates. Still slow, but all the Texas guys were compared to the pre-meet hype.
He was a little slower than last year, but not by much.
Clark Smith only swims for himself, relays are a bad indicator of how fast he will be.
His LCM best time in the 200 is from leading off the 800 FRR in prelims at the Olympics.
Yep. Only for himself and his country.
My Dream Relay Lead-off: Conger, Murphy, Dressel, Held (none entered individually) against Pieroni
And Schooling leads off for another school just to unnerve Conger.