2025 Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 26-29, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
• Psych Sheet
• Eligible Relays
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Day 4 Prelims Heat Sheet

“And now the end is near…”

Well folks where we are, about to embark on the final prelims session of the 2025 NCAA Championships. A meet like no other. It is the first since the conference realignemnt and it is the last with athletes granted an extra year of eligibility.

We start the session with the 200 backstroke. Top-seeded Hubert Kos will be hunting for his third title of the week, having previously tasted victory in the 200 IM and 100 back. He eeked out narrow wins over Destin Lasco and Jonny Marshall, both of who are in this event and hungry for the top of the podium. Danger also lurks in the form of his former teammate at ASU, Owen McDonald. McDonald finished 3rd last year and returns this year looking to not only improve upon that placing but also to help his new team, Indiana, gain as many points as possible against rivals Cal, Texas, and Florida.

The 100 free, my personal least favorite event to swim, is going to be fast, vicious and will take no quarter. Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks and Florida’s Josh Liendo have had a stranglehold on the sprint event these last few years and look to again as they come in as the top two seeds, entered at 40.26 and 40.45. Cal’s Jack Alexy, the #3 seed, will look to break up the SEC pair as he seeks to help CAL win the title, but he’ll have Olympic teammate and Texas Longhorn Chris Guiliano right next to him in the prelims. After a strong showing yesterday in the 400 Medley, ASU will be hoping for a strong showing from Jonny Kulow and Elite 90 winner Patrick Sammon as the Sun Devils are chasing a top 5 finish in the team battle.

The 200 breast,  my favorite event to swim, sees a new cast of characters take to the forefront as Ivy League rivals Matthew Fallon of Penn, the top seed,  and Jack Kelly of Brown, the #3 seed will look for the win. Last year’s 3rd place finisher Carles Coll Marti won’t make it easy, nor will Indiana’s pair of Josh Matheny and Jassen Yep, each of whom are looking to knock Cal out of their stranglehold on a top-two team finish.

The last individual event of the morning is the 200 fly. Georgia’s Luca Urlando, absent from this meet for two years, returns as the top seed. The runner-up from 2022, Urlando broke the NCAA record earlier this season, scaring the sub-1:37 barrier, going 1:37.17. ASU, who sits just 5.5 points back will look to Ilya Kharun, the #2 seed, to try to prevent Urlando from winning his first NCAA title. The pair finished 3rd and 2nd in the 100 fly, respectively.

I now turn over the preview to SwimSwam’s diving expert, a two-time All-American and a member of the 2021 NCAA National Championship team, Noah Duperre

Diving concludes at these championships with the platform event. Just like on the three-meter, Indiana has three real contenders to make the A final and have a legitimate chance for their team to sweep all the diving titles here in Federal Way. Carson Tyler is the two-time defending champion but will face stiff competition from reigning Big Ten champion Jordan Rzepka of Purdue. Last year, Cal went 1 up/1 down in the platform event, a huge moment for the Bear diving team. Both of those men return this year, so Geoffrey Vavitsas and Joshua Thai will help the Golden Bears try to chase down the Longhorns. Texas freshman Jacob Welsh has had a breakout performance at these championships and could be one to watch on Saturday in what is arguably his strongest event.

Men’s 200 Backstroke – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, Cal (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, Cal (2024)
• American Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, Cal (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:35.37 – Destin Lasco, Cal (2024)
• 2024 Champion: Destin Lasco, Cal – 1:35.37
• 2024 Time to Final: 1:38.36/1:39.92

Top 16

1. Hubert Kos (TEX) – 1:36.08
2. Destin Lasco (CAL) – 1:36.40
3. Gabriel Jett (CAL) – 1:36.69
4. Ruard Van Renen (UGA) – 1:37.08
5. Mewen Tomac (CAL) – 1:37.26
6. Owen McDonald (IU) – 1:37.67
7. Will Modglin (TEX) – 1:38.04
8. Jonny Marshall (UF) – 1:38.07
9. Kai Van Westering (IU) – 1:38.62
10. Aaron Sequeira (STAN) – 1:39.14
11. Keaton Jones (CAL) – 1:39.25
12. Humberto Najera (CAL) – 1:39.30
13. Pietro Ubertalli (COR) – 1:39.36
14. Daniel Diehl (NCST) – 1:39.39
15. Tommy Hagar (BAMA) – 1:39.43
16. Cornelius Jahn (OSU)/Kyle Peck (TEX)/Josh Zuchowski (STAN) – 1:39.61

NC State’s Kyle Ponsler put up a strong performance in the first heat of the session, dropping 2.47 seconds to take the win in 1:41.15. Ponsler was the last entrant in the field, coming in with a 1:43.62.

There was a phrase going around the SwimSwam staff at the Olympic Trials, “Death, Taxes, and Ryan Murphy +1 in the 200 back.” While Murphy has obviously exhausted his collegiate eligibility, CAL somehow continues to produce 200 backstrokers. In heat 2, the #32 seeded Humberto Najera of Cal produced a swift 1:39.30 to take the win from lane 1. Out in 48.56, Najera dropped 1.19 from his seed and became the first swimmer under 1:40. For reference, that time would have easily made the B final last year, and there are still 24 swims left.

See above.

No, really. In the very next heat, Cal’s Destin Lasco and Mewen Tomac continued the Cal=2 back trend, going 1-2. Lasco, seeded 6th this year, is the defending champion and was out in 47.42, trailing Owen McDonald‘s 47.27 and Tomac’s 47.07. But Lasco used his strong underwaters and great backhalf to power through the field and take the heat win in 1:36.40. Tomac, swimming out of lane 8, took 2nd in a new PB of 1:37.26, with McDonald nabbing 3rd in 1:37.67.

Heat 4 saw the #2 seed and last night’s runner-up in the 100 back, Johnny Marshall, open in a swift 46.92, the only swimmer under 47.00. The Gator paid for his speed on the back half coming home in 26.01 in the last 50, a result which nearly cost him as he qualified just 8th for the A-final. fellow sophomore Will Modglin of Texas, who closed in 25.52, nabbed the heat win from Marshall going 1:38.04.

The last heat was a fast affair. Kos, the new NCAA record holder in the 100 back, was out in 47.49, trailing Georgia’s Ruard Van Renen’s 47.74, but Kos, who has been on fire this week, didn’t panic and used a 24.11 last 50 to grab control of the heat and event posting the top time of 1:36.08. Cal’s Gabriel Jett, 47.74 at the 100, too, used a strong backhalf to pass Van Renen in the closing yards to nab 2nd behind Kos in 1:36.69.

The three-way tie for 16th, requiring the weekend’s 2nd swim-off, will go off at 11;15 local. OSU’s Cornelius Jahn, Texas’s Kyle Peck, and Josh Zuchowski of Stanford all tied at 1:39.61. Only one will advance to the B-Final. Results Below

Virginia’s David King, a first-year, entered the meet as the #7 seed but no-showed the event.

Men’s 100 Freestyle

• NCAA Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• Championship Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• American Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• 2024 Champion: Josh Liendo, Florida – 40.20
• 2024 Time to Final: 41.29/41.71

Top 16

1. Jordan Crooks (TENN) – 39.83 ***NEW NCAA, US OPEN RECORD***
2. Josh Liendo (FLOR) – 40.28
3. Jack Alexy (CAL) – 40.45
4. Guilherme Caribe (TENN) – 40.51
5. Chris Guiliano (TEX) – 40.70
6. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 40.83
7. Jere Hribar (LSU) – 40.94
8. Matthew King (IU) – 41.14
9. Patrick Sammon (ASU) – 41.17
10. Bjorn Seeliger (CAL) – 41.41
11. Luke Hobson (TEX) – 41.45
12. Youssef Ramadan (VT) – 41.50
13. Lamar Taylor (TENN) – 41.51
14. Remi Fabiani (CBU) – 41.52
15. Matthew Jensen (CAL) – 41.61
16. Brendan Whitfield (VT) – 41.62

Is nothing sacred anymore? A morning prelims swim that breaks the NCAA record, a record set by Caeleb Dressel. Well, I did not see that coming, and if you did well then Kudos.

39.83.

Its not a typo. Swimming in the last heat, Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks, the winner of the 50 free on Day 2 exploded off the start. Out in 9.02, Crooks was 18.98 to the feet at the 50 and, going 10.46 and 10.39 on the last 25s, came to the wall in 39.83, breaking the old record by .07. With such a swim, Crooks is clearly the fastest swimmer on the planet right now.

His SEC rival, Josh Liendo of Florida, winner of the 100 fly, will take lane 5 tonight as he was 40.28 this morning, a time that equals his winning time from 2023. Liendo was out .01 faster to the first 25, but was 19.15 at the 50 and continued to lose ground to Crooks from their going 10.58 and 10.55 on the last 25s.

Jack Alexy kept things to form as the #3 seed on the psych sheets will be the #3 seed tonight as well, having a prelims swim of 40.45. Not keeping to seed, however, was Indiana’s Matt King. King, who entered the meet as the 20th seed (41.73) dropped a hammer of a swim setting a new PB of 41.14, having a previous best of 41.34. It was a massive swim for the Hoosiers as they were seeded to score no points in this event.

Texas also gained an advantage in the team race as Chris Guiliano dropped one place to be the 5th seed tonight (50.70), and Luke Hobson, yesterday’s 200 free winner, jumped from the #39 seed (42.19) to being seeded 11th tonight (41.45).

Men’s 200 Breaststroke

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• American Record: 1:47.91 – Will Licon, Texas (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:46.35 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• 2024 Champion: Leon Marchand, Arizona State – 1:46.35
• 2024 Time to Final: 1:51.65/1:52.71

Top 16

1. Carles Coll Marti (VT) – 1:49.23
2. Jassen Yep (IU) – 1:49.39
3. Matthew Fallon (PENN) – 1:49.85
4. Caspar Corbeau (IU) – 1:50.07
5. Jack Kelly (BROWN) – 1:50.09
6. Jacob Eccleston (LOU) – 1:50.19
7. Denis Petrashov (LOU) – 1:50.23
8. Yamato Okadome (CAL) – 1:50.35
9. Josh Matheny (IU) – 1:50.41
10. Ben Delmar (UNC) – 1:50.51
11. Aleksas Savickas (FLOR) – 1:50.84
12. Will Scholtz (TEX) – 1:51.30
13. Chris O’Grady (USC) – 1:51.35
14. Ron Polonsky (STAN) – 1:51.39
15. Nate Germonprez (TEX) – 1:51.44
16. Daniel Li (STAN) – 1:51.83

The top 15 swimmers all would have qualified for the A-final last year, showing that across-the-board events have been much, much faster. Last year’s 3rd place finisher, Carles Coll Marti of Virginia Tech, posted a new PB of 1:49.39 to reserve lane 4 tonight in the A-final. The 5th year will not have an easy time of it, however, as both Jassen Yep and Matt Fallon join the Hokie under the 1:50 barrier, with the Hoosier going 1:49.39 and Fallon 1:49.85.

Fallon, the top seed entering the morning, added exactly a second to his seed time but is not only the fastest returner from last year, but he also was the only swimmer to close in under 28.50, coming home in 27.82, so if he is close to the lead, expect him to be in it at the end.

Outside the top three, the biggest threat to take the win may come from Indiana’s Caspar Corbeau. A 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in the event, Corbeau has a PB of 1:49.15 from his runner-up finish in 2023.

In the team battle, Cal’s Yamato Okadome secured 8th in tonight’s final and, barring a DQ, will give Cal 11 points. Meanwhile, Indiana is 2 Up 1 down, and Texas’s Nate Germonprez added nearly a second to his seed time and will swim in the B final with teammate Will Scholtz.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

• NCAA Record: 1:37.17 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• Championship Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• American Record: 1:37.17 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:37.17 – Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• 2024 Champion: Ilya Kharun, Arizona State – 1:38.26
• 2024 Time to Final: 1:40.40/1:41.38

Top 16

1. Gianluca Urlando (UGA) – 1:37.35 ***TIED CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD***
2. Ilya Kharun (ASU) – 1:38.81
3. Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC) – 1:39.09
4. Martin Espernberger (TEN) – 1:39.61
5. Colin Geer (MICH) – 1:39.65
6. Dare Rose (CAL) – 1:39.78
7. Jake Magahey (UGA) – 1:39.90
8. Andrei Minakov (STAN) – 1:39.93
9. Bjoern Kammann (TEN) – 1:39.95
10. Haakon Naughton (ARIZ) – 1:40.24
11. Logan Robinson (FSU) – 1:40.51
12. Frank Applebaum (CAL) – 1:40.61
13. Gal Groumi (MICH) – 1:40.72
14. Jacob Johnson (MINN) – 1:40.86
15. Cooper Lucas (TX) – 1:40.86
16. Gibson Holmes (STAN) – 1:40.89

The first of the circle-seeded heats will wind up being the last of them, as from my perspective watching the stream, Arizona’s Haakon Naughton did not hear the start and did not dive into the water upon the sound. That heat will be swum at 11:30. Up to that point, the top time belonged to Heat 1’s Gal Cohen Groumi. The Michigan Wolverine and Israeli Olympian, who finished 7th last year in 1:40.05, was the last entrant this year but dropped 3.19 seconds to record a mark of 1:40.72.

Heat 5, the first of the completed circle-seeded heats, saw Ilya Kharun cruise to the win in 1:38.81. Out in 47.30, the 2024 Olympic medalist came home in 51.51 to touch the wall in 1:38.81. The Big 12 champion has a PB of 1:37.93 and swam a PB in the 100 last evening, so he could be in for a drop in this event.

However, it will have to be a big drop if he has any hope of winning the NCAA title, as UGA’s Luca Uralando looked to be in fine form. The NCAA record holder, a record he broke earlier this year, blitzed to a 46.24 opening first 100 and then closed in 51.11 to post the only sub 1:38.80 time of the morning, recording a time of 1:37.35. The time ties Jack Conger’s 2017 meet record.

While there is still a heat to swim, two other swimmers currently sit with times under 1:40 as Tennessee’s Martin Espernberger and Georgia’s Jake Magahey were 1:39.61 and 1:39.90 in heat 5.

Heat 4 take two:

With massive team battle implications and after a starter malfunction, Heat 4 got off the blocks without a hitch. Cal’s Dare Rose, the #6 seed overall, quickly made his way to the front of the pack, opening up in 47.12 ahead of Haakon Naughton’s 47.57 (Naughton was the swimmer who was left on the blocks). Rose hoped to try to pull his teammate Frank Applebaum into the A-final with him, but it was Krzysztof Chmielewski, Rose’s former PAC-12 rival, who surged forward and stole the win, hitting the wall in 1:39.09

The USC sophomore was over half a second back at the 150 turn, but his 25.76 easily passed the flagging Rose (27.11). Rose’s early speed, however, was enough to earn him a spot in the A-final as he ultimately landed in 6th with a time of 1:39.78. His teammate Applebaum had a strong swim as well, finishing 12th overall.

While each swimmer was afforded the same amount of rest, Indiana’s Tomer Frankel visibly swam the most in the first attempt to complete the heat and wound up finishing last in the heat and tied for 20th overall with a time of 1:41.29. It should be noted, however, that Frankel was the 21st seed, so it ends up exactly where he was seeded to be, albeit .34 slower.

200 Back Swim-OFF Results

1. Josh Zuchowski (STAN) – 1:40.08
2. Cornelius Jahn (OSU) – 1:40.09
3. Kyle Peck (TEX) – 1:40.58

All three tied this morning at 1:39.61 and for one of the few times in prelims swimming the end times did not matter, as only the winner would advance. John, a first-year at OSU, took the race out fast, opening in 48.93, faster than his 49.15 in the prelims. Zuchowski, a junior at Stanford, was .64 back, and Peck, a first-year Longhorn, was back even further, opening in 49.89, much slower than his original 100 of 48.09.

On the back half, Zuchowski and Peck closed the gap on Jahn, but it was Zuchowski who used a great last 25 and perfectly executed finish to nab the win in 1:40.08, just .01 ahead of Jahn.

Men’s Platform Diving

• Championship Record: 548.90 – Nick McCrory, Duke (2011)
• 2024 Champion: Carson Tyler, Indiana – 515.75
• 2024 Scores to Final: 383.85/343.60

Round 1/6 Update:

After Cal’s great morning, they also need their divers to step up today if they want a shot at grabbing that team title. Luckily for the Bears, they have two returning scorers on this event from the 2024 Championships, Joshua Thai and Geoffrey Vavitsas. Thai put up a very strong 69.00 and Vavitsas put up a solid 55.50. Texas also has two in this event, both freshman, so it’ll be interesting to see how they perform with the pressure of the team result in the back of their minds. IU is strong as always in this event and has the opportunity to put three up for the second day in a row.

Round 2/6 Update:

After a slight round one miss, last night’s champion Carson Tyler pulled out a big 80.00 point dive to get himself all the way up to second place behind his teammate, Max Weinrich. Cal’s Vavitsas is holding steady at the moment adding 62.40 to his total this round. The other Golden Bear, Joshua Thai missed his dive and has moved from 3rd place after round one to 29th. There is still a lot more diving to come, though and a lot will change over the next four rounds.

Round 3/6 Update:

IU’s duo of Tyler and Weinrich continue to roll, still holding the top two spots. Their teammate, Quinn Henninger, is currently in position to make to consolation final. If Indiana still wants a chance at the team title, they will need all three of their divers in the A final. Freshmen Misha Andriyuk of Stanford and Kaden Springfield of Purdue make up the remainder of the top four at the halfway point, giving themselves a good shot at that championship final tonight. Texas’ Welsh had a good third dive, adding 66.00 to his total and moving him up to 11th. Cal’s Vavitsas moves up from 17th place to 13th with his good third round dive. Unfortunately for the Bears, Joshua Thai missed again this round and looks to be completely out of the scoring race, falling back to 35th place.

Round 4/6 Update:

The big story from this past round was the miss by Hoosier diver, Carson Tyler. He now finds himself on the outside of the A final looking in, sitting at 10th place. He should be able to claw his way back up to the top eight, but has no more room for error. Texas’ Welsh and Cal’s Vavitsas are now only separated by 0.10 as they sit in 15th and 16th and will both need to be solid from here on out to stay in scoring position. It’s looking like the Longhorn and the Bear are both out of A final contention as of now, barring any super huge misses from any of the top ten.

Round 5/6 Update:

After leading through each of the first four rounds, Indiana’s Max Weinrich missed his last dive, only notching 37.50. This moves him down to 7th place, but still has a 16 point cushion over 9th at the moment. It continues to be a close race between the Texas and Cal diver for spots in the consol final. Usually, the handful of points that can be earned from a consolation final appearance isn’t very impactful this late into the meet, but it’s looking to be a close battle between the two teams for the title and any extra points earned are extremely valuable. Stanford’s freshman, Misha Andriyuk is having a great afternoon and finds himself in the lead heading into the final round of prelims.

Round 6/6 Update:

Indiana was looking like they were staking their claim in the three-team race, but Weinrich faltered again in this last round and now finds himself relegated to the B final. The Hoosiers are still going to score massive points in this event, as they have two up, but they certainly left points on the table here. The Texas Longhorns catch a break here as Jacob Welsh sneaks into the consolation final in 15th place. A less than ideal prelim for California ends with Geoffrey Vavitsas finishing with his lowest scoring dive and dropping himself to 18th place. After earning 21 points in this event last year, the Golden Bears will come away with zero this time around. Texas A&M divers had a great session, finishing first and seventh and qualifying both divers to the championship final.

Top 16

1. Jaxon Bowshire (Texas A&M) – 426.15
2. Jordan Rzepka (Purdue) – 415.90
3. Carson Tyler (Indiana) – 410.40
4. Misha Andriyuk (Stanford) – 409.00
5. Quinn Henninger (Indiana) – 388.40
6. Max Flory (Miami) – 385.65
7. Rhett Hensley (Texas A&M) – 381.20
8. Kaden Springfield (Purdue) – 375.95
9. Carson Paul (LSU) – 367.45
10. Andrew Bennett (Minnesota) – 364.30
11. Max Weinrich (Indiana) – 355.95
12. Maxwell Spencer (South Carolina) – 355.25
13. Laurent Gosselin-Paradis (USC) – 353.70
14. Tommaso Zannella (Mizzou) – 351.50
15. Jacob Welsh (Texas) – 349.20
16. Nigel Chambers (Alabama) – 341.35

Men’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• Championship Record: 14:12.52 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2021)
• American Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• U.S. Open Record: 14:12.08 – Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• 2024 Champion: Zalan Sarkany, Arizona State – 14:30.57
• 2024 Time to Score: 14:41.87/14:47.66