2023 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Invited Swimmers By Team
• Alternates List
• Live Results
• Eligible Relays
• Live Stream
• Heat Sheets

The last meet of the 2023-23 NCAA season kicks off tonight, with the men’s 200 medley relay and 800 free relay being contested.

Florida comes in as the fastest 200 medley relay team in history and the defending champions, but there’s going to be several other teams such as Cal, ASU, NC State, and top seed Tennessee who are all in the 1:21-low range and can challenge the Gators. One thing to look out for in this relay is a potential 19-point 50 back leadoff. With Bjorn Seeliger going 20.08 last year, that 20 second barrier seems ripe to be broken, and swimmers like Adam Chaney and Kacper Stokowski all have a shot at getting under. Jordan Crooks, the first swimmer to split 18 on a 50 fly, will also be on this relay and looking to better his 18.90 split from SECs. Crooks also went a 17.93 50 free flat start at SECs, which means that we could also be looking at 17-point relay splits in this race.

The 800 free relay will be top seed Arizona State’s chance to snap Texas’s three-year win streak in this race. With swimmers like Leon Marchand and Grant House almost certain to get under the 1:30-barrier, it’s going to take the Longhorns everything they’ve got to defend their title and keep their NCAA record in this event. Meanwhile, schools like Cal, Indiana, Stanford, and NC State will be vying for the next few top spots here. Last year, we saw two sub-1:30 splits—how many more will we see today?

200 Medley Relay—Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:21.13 — Florida (2022)
• Meet Record: 1:21.13 — Florida (2022)
• American Record: 1:21.88 — Cal (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:21.13 — Florida (2022)
• Pool Record: 1:21.82 — USC (2018)
• 2022 Champions: Florida — 1:21.13

Top 8:

1. NC State — 1:20.67
2. Arizona State — 1:21.07
3. Florida — 1:21.14
4. Cal — 1:21.24
5. Indiana — 1:21.52
6. Tennessee — 1:21.59
7. Louisville — 1:22.43
8. Virginia — 1:22.51

What. A. Race.

NC State was utterly dominant in this men’s 200 medley relay, as Kacper Stowkowski (20.36), Mason Hunter (22.95), Nyls Korstanje (19.15), and David Curtiss (18.21) smashed the NCAA record by 0.46 seconds in a time of 1:20.67 and win their first-ever 200 medley relay title. Korstanje’s split was 0.4 seconds faster than his split on this relay last year, and also stands as the second-fastest fly split of all-time. In addition, Curtiss was also over half a second faster than his anchor leg from last year.

In second was ASU’s Jack Dolan (20.61), Leon Marchand (22.27), Max McCusker (19.74), and Jonny Kulow (18.45), who combined for a 1:21.07 and also got under the previous NCAA record. Marchand’s 50 breast split was the fastest 50 breast of all-time, 0.12 seconds faster than Max McHugh’s 22.39 that was clocked in heat one of this relay. McHugh, meanwhile, got 0.01 of a second faster than his previous fastest split ever of 22.40.

Florida, the defending champions, finished third. Adam Chaney (20.38), Aleksas Savickas (22.98), Eric Frieise (19.75) and Josh Liendo (18.03) put up a good fight, swimming just 0.01 of a second slower than their winning time from last year.

Cal’s Bjorn Seeliger had the fastest 50 back leadoff at 20.28, and helped Liam Bell (22.99), Dare Rose (19.85), and Jack Alexy (18.11) combine for a 1:21.24 and take fourth. Indiana’s Brendan Burns (20.60), Van Mathias (22.53), Tomer Frankel (19.56), and Gavin Wright (18.83) finished fifth, which is a major improvement from their 15th place finish last year. Mathias was a big difference maker, going over a second faster than the Hoosiers’ breaststroke split last year.

Jordan Crooks, the fastest 50 flyer ever, was a little slower than his SECs split, but he still clocked a very fast 19.27 split. Other notable relay splits from this race included Chris Guliano‘s 18.28 anchor for Notre Dame, and Kalle Makinen‘s 18.37 anchor for Auburn.

800 Free Relay—Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 6:03.89 — Texas (2022)
• Meet Record: 6:03.89 — Texas (2022)
• American Record: 6:03.89 — Texas (2022)
• U.S. Open Record: 6:03.89 — Texas (2022)
• Pool Record: 6:05.31 — NC State (2018)
• 2022 Champions: Texas — 6:03.89

Top 8:

1. Texas — 6:03.42
2. ASU — 6:05.08
3. Cal — 6:06.41
4. Indiana — 6:07.97
5. Florida — 6:08.79
6. NC State — 6:09.38
7. Stanford — 6:11.49
8. Auburn — 6:11.64

Texas was dominant to win their fourth-straight NCAA title in the 800 free relay, as Luke Hobson (1:29.63), Coby Carozza (1:30.50), Peter Larson (1:33.14), and Carson Foster (1:30.15) combined for a time of 6:03.42 to break the NCAA, US Open, and American record. Hobson’s leadoff time makes him tied as the fourth-fastest performer of all-time and the fifth man in history to go 1:29-point on a flat start.

ASU’s Grant House (1:31.92), Patrick Sammon (1:32.78), Julian Hill (1:31.96) and Leon Marchand (1:28.42) combined for a time of 6:05.08, though if House was closer to his flat start PB of 1:30.23 then ASU could have had a shot at beating Texas. Marchand’s split was mind-boggling, being the fastest in history and the first relay split under 1:29 (and also going out 42.28 to the feet).

Taking third was Cal’s Gabriel Jett (1:31.35), Lucas Henveaux (1:31.90), Patrick Callan (1:33.63), and Destin Lasco (1:29.53). Jett dropped nearly a second off his best time of 1:32.41, while Lasco’s split was amongst one of the fastest in history. In addition, Lasco also had an incredible back half, splitting 20.80/23.24/22.84/22.65/