2023 Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 3 Prelims 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 3 Prelims Heat Sheet

It’s moving day at the Men’s NCAA Championships. Although the term is frequently used in golf, it applies here—the second-to-last day of a championship competition, where those with hopes of the title will need to put themselves in a position to do so.

In the team race, Cal holds the overnight lead with 184 points, 19 clear of Texas, while ASU, NC State and Florida are close behind.

TEAM STANDINGS – 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
16. Alabama – 26
17. LSU – 22
18. Wisconsin – 19
19. Notre Dame – 17
20. UNC – 15
21. USC – 14
22. Michigan – 12
23. Arizona / Mizzou – 10
24. –
25. Miami (FL) – 9
26. Princeton – 4
27. Georgia Tech – 3
28. Pitt – 1

Friday’s action kicks off with the 400 IM, where all eyes will be on Leon Marchand as he looks to win his first NCAA title in the event after placing second last year to Cal’s Hugo Gonzalez. Marchand’s three finals swims so far have been the fastest in history, and the expectation is that we’ll see another such performance tonight.

Day 3 will also include the 100 fly, featuring an intriguing four-way battle between defending champ Andrei Minakov, top seed Youssef Ramadan, 50 free champion Jordan Crooks and freshman standout Josh Liendo.

The 200 free is headlined by Texas’ Luke Hobson, who joined the sub-1:30 club on Wednesday’s 800 free relay, while Max McHugh seeks a third straight title in in the 100 breast, competing in his home pool in his last collegiate competition.

In the 100 back, NC State’s Kacper Stokowski comes in as the defending champion while Florida’s Adam Chaney holds the top seed at 44.17.

400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 3:31.84 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Meet Record: 3:32.88 — Hugo Gonzalez, Cal (2022)
• American Record: 3:33.42 — Chase Kalisz, Georgia (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 3:31.84 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Pool Record: 3:35.29 — Abrahm DeVine, Stanford (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Hugo Gonzalez, Cal — 3:32.88

Top 16

1. Leon Marchand, Arizona State – 3:34.47
2. Hugo Gonzalez, Cal – 3:35.86
3. Carson Foster, Texas – 3:36.38
4. Hubert Kos, Arizona State – 3:36.86
5. David Johnston, Texas – 3:37.90
6. Jason Louser, Cal – 3:38.19
7. Ian Grum, Georgia – 3:38.75
8. Jake Foster, Texas – 3:39.09
9. Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M – 3:39.14
10. Mason Laur, Florida – 3:39.60
11. David Schlicht, Arizona State – 3:39.61
12. Jared Daigle, Michigan – 3:40.35
13. Louis Dramm, UNC – 3:40.93
14. Landon Driggers, Tennessee – 3:41.23
15. Dominik Mark Torok, Wisconsin – 3:41.44
16. Jack Hoagland, Notre Dame – 3:41.67

Leon Marchand got off to a blistering start in the fifth and final heat of the 400 IM, turning under his NCAA Record pace at the halfway mark before cruising home and establishing the top time of the morning in 3:34.47.

Marchand turned at 1:40.94 at the halfway mark, well under his opening 200 in his record performance from Pac-12s (1:42.39), where he ultimately produced the fastest time ever in 3:31.57.

Marchand was followed by defending champion Hugo Gonzalez in the last heat, as Gonzalez rattled off a very solid swim to hit a new season-best and the second seed for the final in 3:35.86.

Texas’ Carson Foster looked strong in winning the penultimate heat in 3:36.38, qualifying third, while ASU freshman Hubert Kos was right with Foster most of the way and put up a new personal best of 3:36.86 to advance in fourth. Longhorn junior David Johnston made a big push on freestyle to qualify fifth (3:37.90), exactly one second under his best time set last year.

Cal’s Jason Louser took over on the breast leg in the first circle-seeded heat, touching the wall first in 3:38.19 to advance sixth into the final.

UNC’s Louis Dramm had a phenomenal swim out of the second heat, clocking 3:40.93 to knock well over a second off his previous best time of 3:42.24, set earlier this month at the American Short Course Championships. Dramm ultimately made the ‘B’ final in 13th.

100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Meet Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• American Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Pool Record: 42.80 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Andrei Minakov, Stanford — 43.71

Top 16

1. Josh Liendo, Florida – 43.80
2. Youssef Ramadan, VA Tech – 44.00
3. Andrei Minakov, Stanford – 44.17
4. Tomer Frankel, Indiana – 44.26
5. Aiden Hayes, NC State – 44.40
6. Jordan Crooks, Tennessee – 44.52
7. Nyls Korstanje, NC State – 44.56
8. Kacper Stokowski, NC State – 44.65
9. Victor Baganha, Penn State – 44.75
10. Brendan Burns, Indiana – 44.79
11. Gal Cohen Groumi, Michigan – 44.80
12. Dare Rose, Cal – 44.86
13. Aaron Sequeira, Stanford – 44.87
14. Clement Secchi, Mizzou – 44.96
15. Connor Foote, Texas A&M – 45.21
16. Arsenio Bustos, NC State – 45.24

Florida freshman Josh Liendo asserted himself as the man to beat in tonight’s final of the 100 fly, joining the sub-44 club with a new lifetime best of 43.80 to claim the top seed. He also takes over the top time in the nation this season.

Liendo’s previous best stood at 44.11, set last month at SECs when he won the conference title.

Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan, who came in as the only swimmer sub-44 this season at 43.93, executed a strong third turn to edge out defending champion Andrei Minakov in the final heat, clocking 44.00 to Minakov’s 44.17.

Minakov was notably significantly quicker in last year’s prelims (43.77) before winning the title.

Indiana junior Tomer Frankel registered a lifetime best from that last heat in 44.26, smoothly qualifying for the final in fourth.

Tennesse sophomore Jordan Crooks (44.52) touched out NC State’s Kacper Stokowski (44.65) in the penultimate heat as they qualified sixth and eighth, respectively.

The Wolfpack put three swimmers up into the ‘A’ final, as sophomore Aiden Hayes (44.40) set a personal best time to take fifth and senior Nyls Korstanje (44.65) made it through in eighth.

Penn State’s Victor Baganha broke 45 seconds for the first time in 44.75 to make the ‘B’ final in ninth. His previous best stood at 45.18 from the 2022 NCAAs, and he was coming in as the 19th seed.

200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:29.15 — Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• Meet Record: 1:29.15 — Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• American Record: 1:29.15 — Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:29.15 — Dean Farris, Harvard (2019)
• Pool Record: 1:29.50 — Townley Haas, Texas (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Drew Kibler, Texas — 1:30.28

Top 16

1. Luke Hobson, Texas – 1:30.78
2. Gabriel Jett, Cal – 1:30.86
3. Julian Hill, Arizona State – 1:31.74
4. Brooks Curry, LSU – 1:31.94
5. Coby Carrozza, Texas / Jack Dahlgren, Mizzou – 1:32.06
6. –
7. Grant House, Arizona State – 1:32.12
8. Patrick Sammon, Arizona State / Rafael Miroslaw, Indiana – 1:32.28
9. –
10. Chris Guiliano, Notre Dame – 1:32.36
11. Luke Maurer, Stanford – 1:32.40
12. Charlie Hawke, Alabama – 1:32.42
13. Andrew Gray, Arizona State – 1:32.51
14. Jake Mitchell, Florida – 1:32.56
15. Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio State – 1:32.59
16. Wen Zhang, Air Force – 1:32.61

The 200 free prelims had a bit of everything, and they’re not over yet as we’ll see a swim-off for eighth place.

Luke Hobson and Gabriel Jett had an exciting battle in the fifth heat, with Jett getting an early lead before Hobson powered home in 23.26 to get the touch in 1:30.78, claiming the top seed for tonight’s final. Hobson set a PB of 1:29.63 on Wednesday leading off Texas’ 800 free relay.

Jett, who came into the meet having never broken 1:32, clocked 1:30.86 for another best time, having led off Cal’s 800 free relay in what is now his former PB of 1:31.35.

Julian Hill had a monstrous performance to win the first circle-seeded heat in 1:31.74, breaking 1:32 for the first time, with coach Bob Bowman going wild on the sidelines.

LSU’s Brooks Curry makes a second straight ‘A’ final in this event, putting up a time of 1:31.94 out of the non-circle seeded heat third heat.

Heading into the last heat, it looked as though we might end up with a swim-off for eighth between Coby Carrozza and Jack Dahlgren, who were tied for fifth at the time in 1:32.06.

But only Grant House (1:32.12) ended up being the only ‘A’ final qualifier out of the last heat, and as a result, ASU’s Patrick Sammon and Indiana’s Rafael Miroslaw ended up dead-locked for eighth in 1:32.28 and will swim off for the last spot in the championship final.

Two of the top seeds coming in, Alabama’s Charlie Hawke (1:32.42) and Air Force’s Wen Zhang (1:32.61) were amongst a sea of 1:32s and will be relegated to the ‘B’ final tonight.

100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• Meet Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• American Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• Pool Record: 49.69 — Ian Finnerty, Indiana (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Max McHugh, Minnesota — 49.90

Top 16

1. Max McHugh, Minnesota – 50.26
2. Van Mathias, Indiana – 50.57
3. Liam Bell, Cal – 50.76
4. Caspar Corbeau, Texas – 50.82
5. Dillon Hillis, Florida – 50.88
6. Reece Whitley, Cal – 51.00
7. Derek Maas, Alabama – 51.05
8. Denis Petrashov, Louisville – 51.12
9. Aleksas Savickas, Florida / Ron Polonsky, Stanford – 51.14
10. –
11. Josh Matheny, Indiana – 51.17
12. Brian Benzing, Towson – 51.30
13. Cooper Van Der Laan, Pitt – 51.32
14. Julian Smith, Florida – 51.34
15. Ben Patton, Mizzou – 51.43
16. Reid Mikuta, Auburn – 51.66

Five men put up 50-point swims in the prelims of the 100 breaststroke, led by two-time defending champion Max McHugh.

McHugh had the fastest first (23.35) and second 50s (26.91) in the field en route to claiming the top seed in 50.26, marking a new season-best by wide margin (previously 50.80). In last year’s prelims, McHugh was 49.95.

Indiana’s Van Mathias continued his extremely impressive meet as he blows through the 51-second barrier for the first time by a wide margin, clocking 50.57 to qualify second for the final after coming in as the 11th seed. Mathias set his previous best time of 51.32 at the Big Ten Championships last month, and notably blasted a 22.53 breast leg on Indiana’s 200 medley relay at the beginning of the meet.

A huge pop went off in the Cal cheering section when Liam Bell won the first circle-seeded heat out of Lane 7, as the Bear senior clocked 50.76 to drop eight-tenths off his season-best and qualify third overall. Bell was third last year in 50.50, but found himself low on the psych sheets due to having only been 51.58 this season coming in.

Last year’s runner-up Caspar Corbeau dropped a season-best of his own in the last heat to qualify fourth in 50.82, out-touching Florida’s Dillon Hillis (50.88).

Reece Whitley clocked 51-flat to give Cal two swimmers in the ‘A’ final, while the top seed coming in, Aleksas Savickas of Florida, added four-tenths and ends up missing the championship final in ninth (51.14), tying with Stanford’s Ron Polonsky.

Another one of the top seeds, UVA’s Noah Nichols, ended up 17th in 51.67 to fall short of earning a second swim. Nichols was seeded third after swimming a lifetime best of 50.82 at ACCs.

100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• Meet Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• American Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• U.S. Open Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• Pool Record: 44.58 — Coleman Stewart, NC State (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Kacper Stokowski, NC State — 44.04

Top 16

1. Destin Lasco, Cal – 43.93
2. Kacper Stokowski, NC State – 44.02
3. Adam Chaney, Florida / Brendan Burns, Indiana – 44.28
4. –
5. Jack Dolan, Arizona State – 44.78
6. Nate Stoffle, Auburn – 44.93
7. Owen McDonald, Arizona State – 44.97
8. Andrei Ungur, Utah – 45.05
9. Bradley Dunham, Georgia – 45.13
10. Ruard Van Renen, SIU / Brady Samuels, Purdue – 45.17
11. –
12. Giovanni Izzo, NC State – 45.20
13. Aidan Stoffle, Auburn – 45.22
14. Bjorn Seeliger, Cal – 45.33
15. Nick Simons, Tennessee – 45.50
16. Leon MacAlister, Stanford / Tommy Janton, Notre Dame – 45.54

Destin Lasco‘s impeccable form continued Friday morning in the 100 backstroke, as the Cal junior put together a very casual looking 43.93 to become the sixth swimmer ever under the 44-second barrier.

Lasco set his previous best time of 44.36 at the 2022 NCAAs, but looked well in control as he produced impressive splits of 21.68/22.25, with his back half a full second faster than some of the other ‘A’ finalists. His time was also faster than the winning time last year (44.04).

The defending champion Kacper Stokowski was also under his winning time from one year ago in 44.02, dipping under his previous best from the 2022 final by .02.

Indiana’s Brendan Burns executed an impressive double, leaning on his strong underwater skills to tie Florida’s Adam Chaney in the final heat at 44.28, as they advance through in a tie for third.

Arizona State’s strong session continued as Jack Dolan (44.78) and Owen McDonald (44.97) gave them two swimmers in the big heat, as Dolan matches his PB and McDonald knocks .03 off of his, both set at Pac-12s.

Auburn’s Nate Stoffle gives the Tigers their first individual ‘A’ finalist of the meet as he comes within .04 of his best time to qualify sixth in 44.93, while his brother Aidan Stoffle (45.22) also earned a second swim in 13th.

Utah senior Andrei Ungur put himself into the first ‘A’ final of his career in a time of 45.05, having set a best of 45.00 at Pac-12s earlier this month.

We’ll see our second swim-off of the day in this event as Stanford’s Leon MacAlister and Notre Dame’s Tommy Janton put up matching times of 45.05 to tie for 16th.

200 FREESTYLE – SWIM-OFF

1. Patrick Sammon, Arizona State – 1:32.40
2. Rafael Miroslaw, Indiana – 1:34.29

Patrick Sammon took the early lead from Rafael Miroslaw and never looked back, rocketing to a time of 1:32.40 to book his ticket into tonight’s ‘A’ final of the 200 free, an impressive showing coming off swimming 1:32.28 earlier in the session.

Sammon’s best time sits at 1:31.82 from Pac-12s in early March.

Miroslaw lost ground on each turn and faded down the stretch to touch second nearly two seconds back in 1:34.29.

With Sammon getting into the championship final, the Sun Devils will now have three men in the 200 free ‘A’ final and went seven up on the session.

Updated Top 16

1. Luke Hobson, Texas – 1:30.78
2. Gabriel Jett, Cal – 1:30.86
3. Julian Hill, Arizona State – 1:31.74
4. Brooks Curry, LSU – 1:31.94
5. Coby Carrozza, Texas / Jack Dahlgren, Mizzou – 1:32.06
6. –
7. Grant House, Arizona State – 1:32.12
8. Patrick Sammon, Arizona State – 1:32.28
9. Rafael Miroslaw, Indiana – 1:32.28
10. Chris Guiliano, Notre Dame – 1:32.36
11. Luke Maurer, Stanford – 1:32.40
12. Charlie Hawke, Alabama – 1:32.42
13. Andrew Gray, Arizona State – 1:32.51
14. Jake Mitchell, Florida – 1:32.56
15. Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio State – 1:32.59
16. Wen Zhang, Air Force – 1:32.61

100 BACKSTROKE – SWIM-OFF

1. Tommy Janton, Notre Dame – 45.12
2. Leon MacAlister, Stanford – 45.59

Notre Dame freshman Tommy Janton dropped a sizeable best time under pressure to earn a second swim in his first NCAA Championships.

After bringing his month-old best time of 45.61 down to 45.54 in the prelims, Janton got out to a fast start with an opening 50 of 21.59 in a head-to-head swim-off showdown with Stanford’s Leon MacAlister, and held his counterpart at bay coming home to clock 45.12 and earn a lane in the consolation final.

Janton’s time would’ve placed ninth in the prelims.

MacAlister registered a time of 45.59 for second, with his 45.54 swim from earlier in the session having dipped under his season-best 45.58 from the Wolfpack Invite.

3-METER DIVING – PRELIMS

• Meet Record: 529.10 — Samuel Dorman, Miami (FL) (2015)
• 2022 Champion: Kurtis Mathews, Texas A&M — 466.85

Top 16