2021 M. NCAAs Day 3: 8th In Prelims Faster in 3 Events Than in 2019

2021 NCAA MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• When: Wednesday, March 24 – Saturday, March 27, 2021
• Where: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC (Eastern Time Zone)
• Prelims 10 AM/ Finals 6 PM (Local Time)
• Short course yards (SCY) format
• Defending champion: Cal (1x) – 2019 results
• Streaming:
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

We’re taking a daily look at the times it took to make the championships or console finals in each event here at the 2021 Men’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, and just like yesterday, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, with some times faster than in years past, and a few times slower.

In the morning’s first event, the 400 IM, the 3:40.80 it took to take the A-final was just 0.02s slower than it took in 2019, although a good deal slower than the 3:39.52 it took to make it in 2018. Only 9 of the 36 men who swam this event this morning dropped time from seed, with 4 of those coming from swimmers who made the A-final. Top-seeded Carson Foster of Texas was actually about 2.5s slower than his seed time, although that was still enough to make him the top qualifier by nearly a second.

The 100 fly was faster, in terms of 8th place time, than it had been in recent years, with a 45.10 needed to make tonight’s A-final, and that’s with the top seed, Virginia Tech freshman Youssef Ramadan being disqualified for a false start. Had Ramadan not been DQd and come to close his seed time, it would’ve taken a 45.0 to make the A-final, and it looks like it’s only a matter of time before it’ll take a 44. Cal’s Ryan Hoffer got the top time of the morning with a 44.24, knocking nearly a second off of his seed time. 15 of 41 swimmers in this even dropped time from seed.

It took a 1:32.68 to make the A-final in the 200 free, just a bit slower than in 2019, but generally in line with what we’ve seen in previous years. What’s notable, though, is that it once again took a sub-1:33 to even make the B-final, something we first saw happen in 2019 after 1:33s were still scoring in previous years. 10 of 43 swimmers dropped time from seed, although neither Drew Kibler, who had the fastest time of the morning at 1:30.87, nor Kieran Smith, who has the fastest time this season at a 1:29.48 and posted the 2nd-fastest time of the morning (1:31.69), did. .

We expected the 100 breast to take a leap forward this year, especially after all the 51s we saw ACCs and Big Tens, and sure enough, the 8th and 16th place times were each two-tenths faster than they were in 2019. Top seeded Max McHugh was almost seven-tenths off of his seed time, but still the only man under 51, and it would not be a surprise if we see a 49 tonight. Despite the overall speed, only 4 of 39 swimmers dropped from seed time, although in a really interesting wrinkle, another three swimmers – Reece Whitley (51.39), Caspar Corbeau (51.52), and Kevin Houseman (51.75), all exactly matched their seed times.

The 8th place time for the 100 back was also a bit faster than in previous years, with it taking a 45.04 today after it took a 45.09 in 2019 and a 45.2 the two years before that. With 7 of the top 8 men going under 45, it’ll certainly take a 44 to make the A-final in the next couple of years, just as in the 100 fly. On the flip side, it was a bit easier to make the B-final than it was in 2019, with a 45.53 getting the job done today versus a 45.37 two years ago. Just as we saw in 3 of the other 4 events, the fastest swimmer of the morning actually added time from seed, as Shaine Casas went 44.41 after coming in with a 43.87 seed time, but again, he should be faster tonight. 14 of 40 swimmers dropped time from seed, including 6 of the top 8 (and Nick Albiero tied his seed time at 44.85).