2023 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

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 SeeligerJosh 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

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 Hendersonand 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

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train for thousands of hours but not relay starts
11 months ago

Anyone think it’s unacceptable that some of these top athletes are +0.2 to +0.3 reactions on relay starts? That’s a free 0.1+ seconds right there which is quite significant

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
11 months ago

2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming
Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle
Brooks – CAY
Liendo – CAN
Seeliger – SWE

Not an American in the top three.

2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming
Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle
Ruck – CAN
Douthwright – CAN
Canny – RSA

Not an American in the top three.

The beginning of the end of USA Swimming.

CavaDore
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
11 months ago

Well, Alex Walsh probably would’ve won the 200 Free had she raced it since she easily beat Ruck head-to-head in the 800 Free Relay.

Emily Se-Bom Lee
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
11 months ago

you only made this strawman so you could say “the reports of usa swimming’s death were greatly exaggerated” when their wc results do not reflect these cherry-picked stats

Last edited 11 months ago by Emily Se-Bom Lee
Steve Nolan
Reply to  Emily Se-Bom Lee
11 months ago

I dunno why that guy says anything.

It might literally be a ChatGPT bot.

Emily Se-Bom Lee
Reply to  Steve Nolan
11 months ago

yes, I am definitely giving the entity too much credit. It’s so insistent on writing everything out in full and going into excessive detail, but from reading all the comment it’s made, I have no idea what NCAA stands for, or what the current year is because the numbers haven’t also been converted to words

Last edited 11 months ago by Emily Se-Bom Lee
Springfield's #1 Athlete
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
11 months ago

Relax, the 200yd Freestyle will be dominated by American girls for the next 5 years, though that depends on the future plans of one person, but 2 on the podium is a certainty. This year was slow, you should already know that HS times would’ve won that event this year.
The US does have a wave of male sprinters coming too, so you are showing zero foresight.
Also, two events does not a prediction make.

Sub13
Reply to  Springfield's #1 Athlete
11 months ago

Are you talking about McIntosh? Pretty sure she isn’t eligible for NCAA because she did ISL.

Springfield's #1 Athlete
Reply to  Sub13
11 months ago

The barrier of exclusion really is low.

Yikes
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
11 months ago

If we agree that USA swimming is dead will your participation on this site cease? If so, yes, yes it’s dead, time to move on.

Awsi Dooger
11 months ago

Short course doesn’t matter. Can’t be seriously considered regarding best in the world rankings.

Finals threads…450+ comments

Not-so-Silent Observer
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
11 months ago

Thank you for this finely crafted feedback. No one asked you to seek out an article on the fasted short course meet in the world. Nor did anyone ask you to attempt to degrade it by commenting on how many comments appear in the thread.

Yikes
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
11 months ago

It’s always between you and relay names guy for worst take of the night.

DK99
11 months ago

Disappointing 50 Free

PBJSwimming
11 months ago

Who was the 50 starter, Caeleb Dressel’s aunt?

SwimJim
Reply to  PBJSwimming
11 months ago

The starter should not be allowed to start a race at a meet this fast – back to age group

timtammachine
Reply to  SwimJim
11 months ago

Does the “take your marks” bug anyone else? Emphasis on the ‘s’ in mark…..

Allie Koning
Reply to  timtammachine
11 months ago

It’s required now. Technically it makes grammatical sense given you’re speaking to 8 separate individuals. The question to ask now is if there’s a heat with only one swimmer.. are you allowed to say “take your mark”?

Mike
11 months ago

I wish there was parimutuel betting on this meet and the women’s meet and other big meets. Mostly chalk winners tonight, but the exotics (exacta, tris and supers) would be fun and a Pick 13 of all the individual winners would be awesome along with a relay pick five and total Pick 18.

Chachi
Reply to  Mike
11 months ago

Gambler’s Anonymous is your friend.

Mike
Reply to  Chachi
11 months ago

Thanks mom but I already know…

All horseplayers die broke – Damon Runyon

Awsi Dooger
Reply to  Mike
11 months ago

Agreed. I’ve always said that if sports like swimming and track want a foothold among bettors there needs to be a parimutuel aspect like you are referring to. The house take would be larger but otherwise there’s no way the sportsbooks would be willing to risk fixed or floating prices with all jeopardy on their own end. Win betting only is completely ridiculous. Golf wagering has been big for 40+ years because they came up with matchup wagers and then expanded it to round by round. Two guys can be at the bottom of the heap but still heavy interest because the matchup result is in the balance.

Chachi
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
11 months ago

Seek help.

Willswim
11 months ago

A little late to the chat so not sure if it’s already been discussed, but should Texas use Hobson instead of Krueger as their anchor tomorrow night?

Joe
Reply to  Willswim
11 months ago

100%

Grant Drukker
Reply to  Willswim
11 months ago

yes, that’s an easy decision imo.

Shaddy419
Reply to  Willswim
11 months ago

I’m gonna throw out the idea of Jake Foster on breast and Corbeau as the anchor

Kingkong
11 months ago

Crooks was moving. The starter was clearly waiting for him to stop rocking backwards. Maybe he should of brought them back up?

Admin
Reply to  Kingkong
11 months ago

I’m not an official, but by my understanding of the rules…that’s what I would have expected too.

About Sophie Kaufman

Sophie Kaufman

Sophie grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, which means yes, she does root for the Bruins, but try not to hold that against her. At 9, she joined her local club team because her best friend convinced her it would be fun. Shoulder surgery ended her competitive swimming days long ago, …

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