2025 U.S. Nationals: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Day 1 Prelims Heat Sheet

One year after the 2024 U.S. Olympic swimming team was assembled in Lucas Oil Stadium, we’re back in Indianapolis–but this time, swimmers are aiming to qualify for the 2025 World Aquatic Championships. There are other international rosters on the line as well, mainly the World Junior Championships and World University Games.

Plenty has changed since last year and this post-Olympic year sees many Paris Olympians taking this year to recharge, whether that means focusing on non-primary events or prioritizing other areas of their life and skipping U.S. Nationals entirely. That leaves plenty of opportunity for new names to emerge and for familiar faces to take on new roles on the national team.

All that gets started today. There’s a busier finals session ahead that includes the fastest heat of the women’s 800 freestyle and men’s 1500 freestyle but since those events do not do prelims/finals, that leaves us with just two events on tap this morning: the 200 butterfly and 100 freestyle relay.

All four of last year’s Olympic qualifiers in the 200 butterfly are back in the water in Indianapolis this year. Regan Smith and Alex Shackell lead the women’s 200 butterfly, aiming to hold off a charge from teen phenom Audrey Derivaux. We got a preview of this matchup at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, where Smith and Shackell did touch first and second. On the men’s side, Luca Urlando and Thomas Heilman are in the driver’s seat. Urlando threw down a 1:52.37 at the Sacramento Pro Swim; his first lifetime best in the event since 2019 that made him the fourth-fastest performer in event history.

Then, we’ll turn our attention to the 100 freestyle, where relay selections are on the line as well as individual event slots. Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske pushed the boat out in Fort Lauderdale, throwing down times of 52.90 and 52.95, respectively. Huske is the Olympic silver medalist in this event and Walsh has been unstoppable recently and her nation-leading time this season marked her first sub-53 second swim. Then, there’s last year’s Olympic Trials champion Kate Douglass and the American record holder Simone Manuel. They made up the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay in Paris and are the favorites coming into the week, but teenager Rylee Erisman leads a charge looking to upset this stable-seeming top four.

Things seem more unpredictable on the men’s side, where gaps left by Caeleb Dressel and Hunter Armstrong mean there’s an opportunity for new swimmers to step up. Olympic finalists Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy appear to have a solid grip on the top two spots, but Shaine Casas aims to get a potentially big meet started on the right note. Olympians Matt King, Brooks Curry, and Kieran Smith should be in the mix too, along with Jonny Kulow, Patrick Sammon, and Destin Lasco.

Women’s 200 Butterfly — Prelims

• World Record: 2:01.81 — Liu Zige, China (2009)
• American Record: 2:03.84 — Regan Smith (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:03.87 — Regan Smith, United States (2023)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Regan Smith — 2:05.70
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:09.21

Championship Final Qualifiers:

1. Regan Smith (TXLA) — 2:06.25
2. Caroline Bricker (ALTO) — 2:07.37
3. Tess Howley (LIAC) — 2:08.22
4. Alex Shackell (CSC) — 2:08.47
5. Audrey Derivaux (JW) — 2:09.15
6. Lindsay Looney (TXLA) — 2:09.61
7. Carli Cronk (ND) — 2:11.09
8. Campbell Stoll (TXLA) — 2:11.47

Emily Thompson earned the first heat win of the meet. The Stanford sophomore swam a 2:13.89, taking almost a second from her lifetime best to establish the first mark of the morning. Carli Cronk blew by that with her winning time in heat two, swimming 2:11.09. Cronk just had a strong season at Notre Dame and that showed here; 2:11.09 is the second-fastest swim of her career at the closest she’s been to her 2:11.06 lifetime best since she swam it in 2022.

Lindsay Looney won the first circle-seeded heat in 2:09.61, becoming the first swimmer to crack the 2:10 barrier. Looney was a 2023 World Championship qualifier in this event and finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials. It was a 1-2 in the heat for Texas, as Campbell Stoll held off Kelsey Zhang to touch second. Stoll swam a lifetime best 2:11.47, dropping over a second. Zhang, a Cal commit, was a hundredth behind Stoll in 2:11.48.

Paris Olympic finalist Alex Shackell was out fast in heat four, hitting the 100-meter mark in 59.46. Virginia’s Tess Howley ate into her lead on the back half, splitting 32.76 on the third 50 then coming home in 34.63. Howley was able to out-touch Shackell for the heat win, 2:08.22 to 2:08.47. 2024 Worlds finalist Rachel Klinker was third in the heat with a 2:11.60, putting her seventh with one heat to go.

American record holder Regan Smith did what she needed to go in the final heat, swimming a 2:06.25 to get her meet started by qualifying first for the women’s 200 butterfly championship final.

Behind her, reigning 400 IM champion Caroline Bricker continued to impress this season. Bricker shattered her former lifetime best of 2:09.12 from last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials with a 2:07.37. That was a 1.75 second drop for Bricker, who touched second in the heat and secured lane five for tonight’s final.

Teen speedster Audrey Derivaux was third in the last heat with a 2:09.15. She’s already swum a lifetime best of 2:06.46 this season at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim. She’ll get a chance to get closer to that time in the championship final.

Men’s 200 Butterfly — Prelims

• World Record: 1:50.34 — Kristof Milak, Hungary (2022)
• American Record: 1:51.51 — Michael Phelps (2009)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:52.20 — Michael Phelps, United States (2008)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Thomas Heilman — 1:54.50
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 1:56.51

Championship Final Qualifiers:

1. Luca Urlando (DART) — 1:54.57
2. Gabriel Jett (CAL) — 1:54.87
3. Mason Laur (FLOR) — 1:54.97
4. Carson Foster (UN) — 1:55.11
5. Jack Dahlgren (AQJT) — 1:55.18
6. Trenton Julian (MVN) — 1:55.33
7. Thomas Heilman (CA-Y) — 1:55.51
8. Mitchell Schott (PRIN) — 1:55.86

Heat two saw Hayden Vicknair apply early pressure from lane eight. He was still in the lead with 50 meters to go, but then Matthew Judkins and Josh Zuchowski went to work. Judkins split 31.55 on the final 50 to get the heat win. He stopped the clock at 2:00.41, which was a lifetime best by 2.47 seconds. Zuchowski took second in 2:00.87 while Vicknair touched third in 2:00.99. Arizona’s Haakon Naughton won heat three in 2:00.56, slotting into second overall behind Judkins.

Grant Sanders won heat four with a 1:59.91, taking over the top time and becoming the first swimmer to break 2:00 in the event this morning. It’s also the first time that Sanders has been under that barrier in his career; he brought a 2:00.37 lifetime best to Indianapolis.

Heat five saw a great battle between Trenton Julian, Carson Foster, and Gabriel Jett. Jett, who just wrapped his collegiate career at Cal, used an explosive final underwater to pull even with the other two swimmers, then went by them with a 30.44 final split.

Jett grabbed the heat win in 1:54.87, which shoots him up to fourth in the world this season. It also would’ve been second in the U.S. Olympic Trials final last season, thereby qualifying him for the Olympics. Jett’s lifetime best is a 1:54.37 from July 2022. Behind him, Carson Foster touched second in 1:55.11 with Julian third in 1:55.33. Foster’s time ranks 6th fastest in the world this season

In the next heat, Jack Dahlgren moved into the top 10 in the world this season as well. He swam a 1:55.18, undercutting his 1:55.65 lifetime best from last June. He used a 30.56 closing split to hit the wall ahead of Paris Olympian Thomas Heilman, who checked in with a 1:55.51, about three-tenths ahead of Princeton’s Mitchell Schott‘s big lifetime best (1:55.86).

Luca Urlando had dominated the 200 butterfly this season in both the short-course yards and long-course meters pool. His 1:52.37 lifetime best from the Sacramento Pro Swim leads the world rankings this year. He now leads the way into the championship final tonight as he pulled away from the field with a 1:54.57.

Florida’s Mason Laur was second in the last heat, swimming 1:54.97. That’s his first sub-1:55 swim, as his lifetime best stood at 1:55.05 from U.S. Olympic Trials. That makes three men sub-1:55 in what was, overall, a very quick morning for the men’s 200 butterfly. Today, it took a 1:55.86 to make the top eight, faster than the 1:56.73 it took to make the Olympic Trials final.

Women’s 100 Freestyle — Prelims

• World Record: 51.71 — Sarah Sjöström, Sweden (2017)
• American Record: 52.04 — Simone Manuel (2019)
• U.S. Open Record: 52.54 — Simone Manuel, United States (2018)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Kate Douglass — 52.56
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 54.25

Championship Final Qualifiers:

1. Gretchen Walsh (NYAC) — 52.99
2. Torri Huske (AAC) — 53.32
3. Kate Douglass (NYAC) — 53.51
4. Simone Manuel (TXLA)/Erin Gemmell (TXLA) — 53.61
5. —
6. Anna Moesch (GSCY) — 53.69
7. Claire Weinstein (SAND) — 53.95
8. Claire Curzan (TAC)/Maxine Parker (CA-Y) — 54.00 *swim-off required

Georgia’s Helena Jones was the early leader in the clubhouse, but Ohio State’s Rachel Bockrath took over the leaderboard in heat four with a 55.48, out-touching World Junior medalist by a hundredth.

In the next heat, Julia Dennis brought the top time of the morning under 55 seconds. She chopped over a second off Bockrath’s leading time with a 54.56. The swim was a lifetime best for Dennis, dropping from the 55.43 she swam in June 2023. Dennis made big drops during the yards postseason and has carried them through to the long-course pool, which she began to showcase at the Sacramento Pro Swim.

Dennis had the top time heading into the circle seeded heats. The top time in the clubhouse saw another big drop in the next heat. It was the first circle-seeded heat and Gretchen Walsh dropped the hammer early. She was out under her lifetime best pace with a 25.10 and came home in 27.89. She qualified with a 52.99, just nine-hundredths off the lifetime best she swam in Fort Lauderdale (which was her first sub-53 second swim).

Erin Gemmell was out fast in the penultimate heat, flipping in 25.60. Kate Douglass, the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials champion, came on strong down the closing stretch and got her hand on the wall a tenth ahead of Gemmell, 53.51 to 53.61. Virginia teammates Claire Curzan and Maxine Parker tied for third with a 54.00.

It turns out that tie will need a swim-off, as when the dust settled after the final heat, Curzan and Parker were eighth.

The final heat went to Torri Huske, the reigning Olympic silver medalist in this event. She swam a 53.32 for the heat win, qualifying second for the final. The top four women from the U.S. Olympic Trials are the top four seeds here. American record holder Simone Manuel tied with her Texas training partner Gemmell with a 53.61 to tie for fourth overall this morning.

Meanwhile, Virginia freshman Anna Moesch broke 54-seconds for the first time in her career with a 53.69. It was a four-tenth drop for Moesch, who swam her lifetime best of 54.09 last summer. That means that half the final will be Virginia swimmers, as either Curzan or Parker will make it four.

Claire Weinstein joined Moesch in breaking the 54-second barrier for the first time this morning. Weinstein dropped .48 seconds from her lifetime best with a 53.95, qualifying for the final in seventh and giving her a strong shot at adding another relay event to her potential lineup in Singapore.

Men’s 100 Freestyle — Prelims

• World Record: 46.40 — Pan Zhanle, China (2024)
• American Record: 46.96 — Caeleb Dressel (2019)
• U.S. Open Record: 47.08 — Jack Alexy, United States (2024)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Chris Guiliano — 47.38
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 48.34

Championship Final Qualifiers:

1. Jack Alexy (CAL) — 46.99 *U.S. Open Record*
2. Destin Lasco (CAL) — 47.82
3. Jonny Kulow (SUN) — 47.84
4. Patrick Sammon (SUN) — 47.87
5. Chris Guiliano (TXLA) — 47.96
6. Henry McFadden (JW) — 48.15
7. Grant House (SUN) — 48.16
8. Shaine Casas (TXLA) — 48.24

Grant Bochenski and Daniel Baltes tied for the win in heat four with a 49.92, becoming the first men to break 50 seconds this morning. That time was quickly overtaken in the next heat as Camden Taylor (49.40), Hudson Williams (49.57), and Quin Seider (49.90) were all faster. Taylor’s 49.40 lifetime best remained the top time through the next heat, giving him the lead heading into the circle-seeded heats.

You’d be forgiven if heat seven gave you shades of an anchor leg at the NCAA Championships. This time, Olympic Trials finalist Destin Lasco chased down Arizona State’s Jonny Kulow. Lasco overcame Kulow’s early speed with a 24.81 closing split. He stopped the clock at 48.72, taking five-hundredths off his lifetime best. Kulow’s 47.84 was a lifetime best for him, marking his first sub-48 second effort. Olympian Brooks Curry was third in the heat was a 48.33.

In the next heat, Kulow’s teammate Patrick Sammon joined him under the 48-second mark for the first time. Sammon swam 47.87, pulling away from Olympic finalist Chris Guiliano down the stretch.

It was the Jack Alexy show to end the morning session, though. In the final heat Alexy became the seventh man to crack the 47-second barrier in the 100 freestyle. He threatened that barrier last summer with a U.S. Open record of 47.08 at the Olympic Trials and overtook that record with a 46.99 this morning.

Alexy opened the race in 22.45 and came back in 24.54, hitting the wall just three-hundredths behind Caeleb Dressel‘s American record (46.96) from 2019. He won silver in this race at the 2023 World Championships as part of his ascension in the swimming world and looks set to be a contender again this season. He’s now the fastest swimmer in the world this season, overtaking Gui Caribe‘s 47.10 from April.

Cal has the top two seeds in the event heading into the championship final with Alexy and Lasco, though Curry missed out as he finished ninth. Other notable names to miss out on the championship final include Matt King (11th, 48.39), who made this relay last year, along with Paris Olympians Kieran Smith (10th, 48.36) and Luke Hobson (12th, 48.83). Smith’s swim was a lifetime best for him by a tenth.

Texas has two swimmers as well with Guiliano qualifying fifth and Shaine Casas sneaking in at eighth (48.24). It’s the Arizona State sprint crew that leads the way with three qualifiers: Kulow, Sammon, and Grant House (48.16). Henry McFadden first made his name on the national scene in the 200 freestyle but turned in a 48.15 for a .44 second drop and the sixth-fastest time of the morning.

Women’s 100 Freestyle — Swim-Off

1. Maxine Parker (CA-Y) — 24.67
2. Claire Curzan (TAC) — 24.73

Rather than do a 100 freestyle for the swim-off, Virginia teammates Maxine Parker and Claire Curzan decided on a 50 freestyle to break the tie for eighth place. Parker and Curzan both went 54.00 in the 100 freestyle prelims this morning.

Parker won the swim-off with a 24.67 and will swim in lane eight this evening. That gives her a shot at getting back on the World Championship team after making it in 2023 as a relay swimmer in this event. Parker’s winning time knocked a hundredth off her lifetime best.