2023 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 2 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
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

Top 10 Teams Thru Day 1

1. ASU – 68
2. NC State – 66
3. Cal – 62
4. Florida – 60
5. Indiana – 58
6. Texas – 50
7. Louisville – 42
8. Auburn – 40
9. Stanford – 38
10. Tennessee – 26

Day 2 Finals Heat Sheet

It’s the first full session of finals at the 2023 Division I Men’s NCAAs. And with two exciting sessions in the books, tonight’s session is shaping up to be full of fast swimming. On tap are finals of the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1-meter diving, and the 200 free relay.

Texas junior David Johnston is the top seed in the 500 free, but with just .81 seconds separating first through sixth seed, this race is wide open. Johnston has his teammate Luke Hobson in the field, and the Gators also have a pair up in Alfonso Mestre and Jake Mitchell. There are other conference champions like Gabriel Jett and Jake Newmark looking to trade up for an NCAA title, while 2021 champion Jake Magahey aims to earn it back.

The 200 IM and 50 free are two of the most anticipated races of the meet and they both lived up to that billing in the morning. Destin Lasco and Leon Marchand are separated but just a hundredth after swimming 1:38.32 and 1:38.33 in separate heats. Lasco grabbed the pool record, but don’t expect it to be on the books for very long–both had some intriguing splits that promise faster swims tonight.

It took a scorching 18.87 to make it back into the ‘A’ final of the 50 freestyle. Jordan Crooks leads the way in 18.25, and everyone will be watching to see if he can replicated his 17.93 from SECs and become the national champion. In case the time to make it back didn’t make it clear, this is a stacked field and Crooks will have his hands full with Bjorn Seeliger, Josh Liendo, and defending champion Brooks Curry.

We’ll see the majority of these sprinters back in the 200 freestyle relay. There, teams will vie to erase the NCAA record, which is one of the most stubborn records and has been on the books since the supersuited days of yore (aka 2009). Florida’s group missed the record by just three-hundredths last year and now have Liendo’s speed. Also keep an eye on NC State; though they missed getting anyone into the 50 free ‘A’ final, they have three swimmers (all sub-19) in the B-final and have shown their form via their 200 medley relay win on day 1.

500 YARD FREESTYLE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2020)
• Meet Record: 4:06.61 — Matthew Sates, Georgia (2022)
• American Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2020)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2020)
• Pool Record: 4:08.60 — Townley Haas, Texas (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Matthew Sates, Georgia — 4:06.61

Top 8:

1. Luke Hobson, Texas — 4:07.37 (Pool Record)
2. David Johnston, Texas — 4:08.79
3. Jake Magahey, Georgia — 4:09.24
4. Jake Newmark, Wisconsin — 4:10.12
5. Jake Mitchell, Florida — 4:10.54
6. Gabriel Jett, Cal – 4:12.52
7. Ross Dant, NC State — 4:12.59
8. Alfonso Mestre, Florida — 4:12.62

What a start for the Longhorns. Luke Hobson and David Johnston held onto their 1-2 seeds, with the sophomore Hobson taking the first individual NCAA title of the meet. It was Hobson and Johnston for the whole race, as Hobson led from start to finish. He opened with a 22.59 and didn’t look back, with Johnston pacing just behind him in second.

Hobson pulled away from his teammate towards the end, touching in a lifetime best 4:07.37, which is also makes him the fifth fastest performer in history. Johnston held off a late push from 2021 champion Jake Magahey for second. Johnston clocked 4:08.79, which is a lifetime best and his first time sub-4:10.

As is his habit, Magahey began to move up on the back half of the race but where he really made his move was the final 100, where he split 49.13.

We were denied the Jake podium, but they did finish in succession with Magahey third, Jake Newmark fourth (4:10.12), and Jake Mitchell (4:10.54) fifth. Newmark dropped two seconds this morning and took even more time off here in finals, shaving off another .68 for an overall 2.84 second drop on the day.

In the ‘B’ final, Lucas Henveaux went with the exact opposite race strategy from what he did this morning and it paid off as he won the heat in a personal best of 4:10.50. This morning he was out very fast, turning at the halfway mark in 2:02.74. In finals, he opted to let Notre Dame’s Jack Hoagland take the race out. Hoagland was in the lead until the 400-yard mark, but then Henveaux swam past him. Hoagland touched in a season best 4:12.49

200 YARD IM — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:37.69 — Leon Marchand, ASU (2022)
• Meet Record: 1:37.69 — Leon Marchand, ASU (2022)
• American Record: 1:38.13 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:37.69 — Leon Marchand, ASU (2022)
• Pool Record: 1:38.32 — Destin Lasco, Cal (2023)
• 2022 Champion: Leon Marchand, ASU — 1:37.69

Top 8:

1. Leon Marchand, ASU – 1:36.34 (NCAA Record)
2. Destin Lasco, Cal – 1:38.10 (American Record)
3. Hugo Gonzalez, Cal – 1:39.00
4. Carson Foster, Texas – 1:39.93
5. Ron Polonsky, Stanford – 1:40.62
6. Arsenio Bustos, NC State – 1:40.63
7. Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M – 1:40.88
8. Jake Foster, Texas – 1:41.03

Oh my, what did we just watch? Leon Marchand shattered the NCAA record he set a year ago by over a second, torching 1:36.34 to essentially rewrite the record book (but not the American record—more on that in a moment).

Marchand left no doubt that this race was all his from the start. The opening 150 yards was maybe the most mind-boggling NCAA performance we’ve ever seen, as he left everyone in the field in his wake. Not only did he get out in a 21.09 50 fly, he split 22.98 on backstroke, turning at the halfway mark in a blistering 44.07. He then split 27.66 on breaststroke, widening his lead even further as he was the only swimmer in the field sub-28.50 on the breaststroke. He did come back to the field a bit on the freestyle leg with a 24.61 split, but overall it was a truly impressive performance from the French sophomore who has shown incredible form through the first two days of the meet.

Behind him, Destin Lasco fired off a 23.31 freestyle split (the fastest in the field) to grab second in 1:38.10, sneaking under Caeleb Dressel’s American record of 1:38.13. Lasco opened his race in 21.53 then split 24.44/28.82 on the middle 100.

The Golden Bears went 2-3, as Hugo Gonzalez touched third in 1:39.00. That’s just off his lifetime best of 1:38.72, and a strong statement for the fifth-year who got off to a slow start when he rejoined Cal in January.

Carson Foster finished .93 seconds back from Gonzalez, taking fourth in 1:39.93. It’s a personal best for Foster and his first time sub-1:40, as he was 1:40.07 at NCAAs last year.

Sophomore Ron Polonsky was off the 1:39.96 that he went to win the ‘B’ final last year, but from a standings perspective the swim is a big improvement. He went that time to win the ‘B’ final, but now he’s fifth overall, picking up 14 points for Stanford compared to 9.

50 YARD FREESTYLE — FINALS

• NCAA Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Meet Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• American Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Pool Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Brooks Curry, LSU — 18.56

Top 8:

1. Jordan Crooks, Tennessee — 18.32
2. Josh Liendo, Florida — 18.40
3. Bjorn Seeliger, Cal — 18.67
4. Brooks Curry, LSU — 18.76
5. Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech — 18.82
6. Jack Alexy, Cal — 18.87
7. Jack Dolan, ASU — 19.15
8. Gui Caribe, Tennessee — 19.16

There was a very long hold on the start, which no doubt affected all the swimmers, six of whom added from their prelims time. The person it most noticeably affected was Jordan Crooks, who had the slowest reaction time (+.74) not only in the ‘A’ final but of all 16 finalists. That said, Brooks Curry and Jack Dolan were just one-hundredth faster.

Even with the shaky start, Crooks flipped second behind Josh Liendo, then roared home in 9.34 to take home his first NCAA title in 18.32. Last year, he tied for third in 18.60, and now he’s on the highest step of the podium as a sophomore. Liendo held on for second, clocking 18.40, which is just five-hundredths off the personal best he swam at SECs.

Cal junior Bjorn Seeliger took third in 18.67, with last year’s champion Brooks Curry finishing fourth in 18.76. Both added from prelims, with Seeliger .21 slower and Curry .04 off their times from this morning.

In the ‘B’ final, the Wolfpack rebounded from the disappointment of not getting a swimmer into the ‘A’ final by going 1-2-6. Nyls Korstanje won the heat with a season best 18.74. Fellow NC State senior Noah Henderson was second in 18.89, hitting his prelims time exactly.

1-Meter Diving — FINALS

• Meet Record: 473.75 — Kristian Ipsen, Stanford (2013)
• 2022 Champion: Kurtis Mathews, Texas A&M — 438.20

Top 8:

1. Lyle Yost, Ohio State — 443.95
2. Andrew Capobianco, Indiana — 439.45
3. Jack Ryan, Stanford — 429.45
4. Anton Down Jenkins, UNC-Chapel Hill — 398.45
5. Shangfei Wang, USC — 391.70
6. Victor Povzner, Texas A&M — 390.00
7. Nicholas Harris, Texas — 381.80
8. Allen Bottego, Texas A&M — 330.50

Ohio State senior Lyle Yost won the 1-meter diving national title by just 4.5 points, beating out Indiana’s Andrew Capobianco, who was the runner-up last year as well. Yost adjusted his final dive at the last minute in order to be able to have the degree of difficulty that he needed to have a chance to earn the win. He finished fifth last year, and now he’s won the NCAA title. Yost earned 443.95 points to Capobianco’s 439.45. For Capobianco’s part, it’s a higher point total than he amassed finishing second last year.

After looking out of race for the top three early on, Jack Ryan had some of the best entries and finish that helped pull him into third place with 429.45 points. It’s a big improvement for Ryan, who earned

200 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY — TIMED FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:14.08 — Auburn (J. Andkjaer, G. Louw, K. Norys, M. Targett), 2009
• Meet Record: 1:14.08 — Auburn (J. Andkjaer, G. Louw, K. Norys, M. Targett), 2009
• American Record: 1:14.47 — Virginia (M. Brownstead, M. King, C. Boyle, A. Lamb), 2022
• U.S. Open Record: 1:14.08 — Auburn (J. Andkjaer, G. Louw, K. Norys, M. Targett), 2009
• Pool Record: 1:14.39 — Florida (C. Dressel, J. Switowski, E. Martinez-Scarpe, M. Szaranek), 2018
• 2022 Champion: Florida (A. Chaney, E. Friese, W. Davis, K. Smith) — 1:14.11

Top 8:

1. Florida (J. Liendo, A. Chaney, E. Friese, M. McDuff) — 1:13.35 (NCAA Record)
2. Cal (B. Seeliger, J. Alexy, L. Bell, D. Lasco) — 1:13.82
3. NC State (N. Henderson, N. Korstanje, L. Miller, D. Curtiss) — 1:14.44
4. Tennessee — 1:14.68
5. ASU — 1:15.06
6. Virginia — 1:15.26
7. Texas — 1:15.58
8. Virginia Tech — 1:15.67

14 years later, the last super-suited record is finally off the books. After rattling the record en route to the national title last year, the Florida Gators defended their title while absolutely smashing the NCAA record, blazing 1:13.35 to take .73 seconds off Auburn’s old mark.

There was a much quicker start in the final heat than there was for the ‘A’ final of the individual 50 free. Josh Liendo led off for Florida in 18.22, almost two-tenths quicker than he went to finish as the runner-up behind Crooks in the individual event. Then, Adam Chaney took over and split 18.37, a nice bounce back after missing 50 free finals. Eric Friese clocked 18.64, then sophomore Macguire McDuff anchored in a speedy 18.12 to give the Gators the win and the record.

Cal was also under the old NCAA record, finishing second in 1:13.82. Like Liendo, Bjorn Seeliger was faster than he was in the individual race, leading off in 18.59. Jack Alexy ripped 18.12, Liam Bell split 18.59, and Destin Lasco anchored in 18.52. These are the first two teams to get under 1:14, but Virginia’s American record still stands, as the top three teams were all under the record but all had at least one international swimmer on their squad.

NC State had three swimmers in the 50 free ‘B’ final: Nyls Korstanje, Noah Henderson, and David Curtiss. They teamed with Luke Miller for third in 1:14.44. Henderson lead off in 18.88, Korstanje split 18.30, Miller was 18.59, and Curtiss brought them home in 18.67.

The last team to break 1:15 was Tennessee. Jordan Crooks (18.44), Gui Caribe (18.44), Scott Scanlon (18.76), and Aleksey Tarasenko (19.04) combined for a 1:14.68.

After playing with fire last night with a total relay reaction time of .01 in the 200 medley, Alabama was disqualified for a false start.

Top 15 Teams Thru Day 2

1. Cal – 184
2. Texas – 165
3. ASU – 154
4. NC State – 151.5
5. Florida – 145
6. Indiana – 99
7. Tennessee – 87
8. Stanford — 74
9. Auburn — 57
10. Louisville — 55
11. Virginia — 53
12. Virginia Tech — 52
13. Texas A&M — 44
14. Georgia — 36
15. Ohio State — 31.5