Joshua Zuchowski Drops 1:41.68 200 Back at NCSA Invite, Rattles Murphy NAG

2021 NCSA SPRING INVITE

• March 16-20, 2021
• Orlando, Florida
• Short course yards (SCY)
• Psych sheets
• Meet information
• Live stream
• Results on Meet Mobile

In the second event of the night at the 2021 NCSA Spring Invite, we nearly saw a National Age Group record in the boys 200 back.

16-year-old Joshua Zuchowski of Flood Aquatics dropped a lifetime best 1:41.68, pulling very hard on the final 50 to come back on leader through the 150, Sam Powe of McCallie GPS Aquatics.

ZUCHOWSKI SPLITS

• 23.84
• 26.01 (49.85)
• 26.32
• 25.51 (51.83)

Zuchowski really upped his tempo on the fourth 50, and while Powe was still 26-plus on the final 50 to go 1:42.39 at the touch, it was all Zuchowski down the final stretch.

Now, Zuchowski becomes the #3 performer in history, behind only age group phenoms Ryan Murphy and Carson Foster.

TOP 200 BACKSTROKE PERFORMERS, 15-16 HISTORY

1. Ryan Murphy – 1:40.93
2. Carson Foster – 1:41.66
3. Joshua Zuchowski – 1:41.68
4. Destin Lasco – 1:41.77
5. Michael Taylor – 1:41.94
6. Luca Urlando – 1:42.11
7. Brendan Burns – 1:42.17
8. Sam Powe – 1:42.39
9. Keaton Jones – 1:42.81
10. Nick Simons – 1:42.94

Zuchowski is only .02 behind Foster, and less than a second behind Murphy, the NAG record-holder. He also becomes the fifth 15-16 age grouper to break 1:42 in this event, joining Foster, Murphy, Lasco and Taylor.

Powe, meanwhile, surged into the historical top 10 with a 1:42.39. Tonight’s swim was Powe’s first time under 1:45.