2025 U.S. Nationals: Day 3 Finals 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 (Updated 6/02)
• Live Results
• How To Watch (USA Swimming Network)
• Prelims Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
• Finals Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2

Day 3 Finals Heat Sheets 

Good evening all and welcome to the third night of finals at the 2025 U.S. National Championship! The first two days have seen some incredible swims, and we’re expecting more fireworks from Indianapolis, Ind., tonight. This evening, there are finals of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 50 breaststroke, and 50 backstroke.

The 100 butterfly races project to be the highlight of the session. Gretchen Walsh has been strong in Indianapolis and lowered her 50 butterfly American record last night, taking a couple more steps toward Sarah Sjostrom‘s legendary record. This morning in the 100 butterfly–where she already owns the world record–Walsh set herself up for success this evening with a 55.29. She’s over two seconds ahead of the rest of the field, which is led by Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske (57.80).

The men’s 100 butterfly prelims saw teenager Thomas Heilman take control. The Paris Olympian lowered the 17-18 National Age Group record this morning with a 50.78. He’s still looking for a spot on the World Championship team but has positioned himself well against a strong field that contains Dare Rose (51.15), Shaine Casas (51.46), and Luca Urlando (51.51).

Two-time Olympic medalists Emma Weyant and Katie Grimes aim to qualify for the women’s 400 IM tonight. Leah Hayes is the top seed coming into finals and is looking to return to the World Championship roster. On the men’s side, Carson Foster and Bobby Finke are the top two qualifiers for the championship final. Finke said last month that he won’t swim this event at Worlds if he qualifies (because of the conflict with the 1500 freestyle) adding another wrinkle into a final that looks quite different than it has in the past.

There’s always potential for drama in a 50 and that’s compounded by wide open races on the men’s side. Veteran Michael Andrew and teenager Campbell McKean are tied for top seed in the men’s 50 breaststroke, while Quintin McCarty isn’t far behind Casas, who has yet to be at his best in Indianapolis and has a double tonight. Lilly King leads the women’s 50 breaststroke field while behind her there’s a mix of Virginia Olympians and swimmers aiming for their first senior international teams. U.S. Open record holder Katharine Berkoff wasn’t far from that standard with a 27.15 this morning. But, breaking back onto the U.S. senior international roster last night in the 200 backstroke could be the start of a snowball effect for Claire Curzan.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – Final

• World Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, Canada (2024)
• American Record: 4:31.12 – Katie Hoff (2008)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:26.98 – Summer McIntosh, Canada (2025)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Winner: Katie Grimes – 4:35.00
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 4:43.06

Final: 

1. Emma Weyant (FLR) — 4:34.81
2. Katie Grimes (CA-Y) — 4:37.22
3. Leah Hayes (CA-Y) — 4:38.46
4. Teagan O’Dell (PLS) — 4:41.31
5. Audrey Derivaux (JW) — 4:41.39
6. Emily Brown (TNAQ) — 4:43.38
7. Zoe Dixon (FLOR) — 4:44.18
8. Kayla Han (RMDA) — 4:44.49

This was a textbook race for Emma Weyant. Katie Grimes and Audrey Derivaux were out in front after the butterfly leg with Weyant trailing in fourth. She moved into third after 50 meters of backstroke and made her move on breaststroke with a 1:18.57 split.

Weyant pulled into the lead after the first 50 meters of breaststroke, touching .01 seconds ahead of Derivaux. She never trailed again, splitting 1:03.26 on the freestyle leg to stop the clock for the national title in 4:34.81. It’s slightly off the 4:33.95 she swam in Fort Lauderdale (her fastest time since the Tokyo Olympics) and though Weyant made a face when she saw the scoreboard, she said during the post-race interview that she’ll take it.

Weyant and Leah Hayes went by Grimes during the breaststroke leg. But Grimes battled back from a 1:24.18 breaststroke split with a 1:02.02 on the freestyle, which was enough to get in front of her Hayes, her Virginia teammate, and touch second. Grimes clocked 4:37.22, with Hayes touching third in 4:38.46.

They were the only three swimmers under 4:40 as 18-year-old Teagan O’Dell swam 4:41.31 for fourth. It’s O’Dell’s second PB of the day as she swam 4:44.40 in prelims after coming to Indianapolis with a 4:46.34 lifetime best. Derivaux’s 4:41.39 for fifth is a lifetime best for her as well, knocking almost a tenth from the 4:41.48 she swam in March.

National 200 butterfly champion Caroline Bricker won the ‘B’ final with a 4:41.65, dropping 4.03 seconds from her lifetime best.

MEN’S 400 IM – Final

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, France (2023)
• American Record: 4:03.84 – Michael Phelps (2008)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:05.25 – Michael Phelps, United States (2008)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Winner: Carson Foster – 4:07.64
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 4:17.48

Final:

1. Bobby Finke (SPA) — 4:07.46
2. Carson Foster (UN) — 4:07.92
3. Rex Maurer (TXLA) — 4:09.65
4. Baylor Nelson (TXLA) — 4:16.54
5. Luka Mijatovic (PLS) — 4:16.75
6. Mason Laur (FLOR) — 4:17.21
7. Tommy Bried (UOFL) — 4:17.52
8. Mitchell Schott (PRIN) — 4:21.55

Bobby Finke is making a habit of chasing down the 400 IM Paris Olympic medalists in their own event. He chased down Leon Marchand to win at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, and he just closed on Carson Foster to win the 2025 U.S. National title.

Finke was 1.12 seconds behind Foster–who had controlled most of the race–at the breaststroke-to-freestyle exchange. He ate into that lead over the first 50 meters of freestyle, splitting 28.75 to close the gap to .31 seconds.

With Rex Maurer chasing behind as well, Finke had another gear down the closing stretch. He split 27.44 on the way home (for a 56.19 freestyle split) and hit the wall in 4:07.46. That’s a lifetime best for Finke by over two seconds, improving on the 4:09.55 he swam two years ago. It’s also the second fastest time in the world this year behind Marchand’s 4:07.11.

Finke now has to face the scheduling issues with the 1500 freestyle and 400 IM. He did not reaffirm his plan to scratch during the post-race interview, instead saying he had to talk to his coaches, “but kinda have a plan in mind.”

Foster held on for second against Maurer’s 57.31 closing split, clocking 4:07.92, the third fastest time in the world this season. The Longhorns were out in force in this race as Maurer swam a lifetime best 4:09.65 for third and Baylor Nelson was fourth in 4:16.54.

Women’s 100 Butterfly – Final

• World Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, United States (2025)
• American Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh (2025)
• U.S. Open Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, United States (2025)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Gretchen Walsh – 55.31
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 58.33

Final:

1. Gretchen Walsh (NYAC) — 54.76
2. Torri Huske (AAC) — 56.61
3. Alex Shackell (CSC) — 57.71
4. Charlotte Crush (LAK) — 58.09
5. Leah Shackley (WOLF) — 58.22
6. Ella Welch (UOFL) — 58.57
7. Beata Nelson (WISC) — 58.73
8. Tess Howley (LIAC) — 59.35

Gretchen Walsh continued to show that she’s in a different dimension from everyone else in the women’s 100 butterfly. She was out in a blistering pace, making the turn in 25.19. The crowd collectively gasped at the split—she was out under her world record pace and faster than any woman (other than herself) in the individual 50 butterfly so far this season.

Walsh couldn’t quite maintain that speed down the stretch and fell off her own world record pace. Still, her winning time of 54.76 is the second-fastest swim of her career and gives her the top seven performances in event history.

Olympic champion Torri Huske hit the wall second in 56.61. Her swim is two-hundredths from the 56.59 she swam at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim. While Walsh was almost two seconds ahead of her, Huske in turn was over a second ahead of Alex Shackell, the third-place finisher (57.71).

Charlotte Crush knocked a tenth off her personal best with a 58.09 for fourth. Leah Shackley was three-tenths from the 57.92 lifetime best she swam in May, placing fifth in 58.22. Shackley is one of the swimmers with a 100 butterfly/50 backstroke double this evening.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Final

• World Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel, US (2021)
• American Record: 49.45 – Caeleb Dressel (2021)
• U.S. Open Record: 49.76 – Caeleb Dressel, United States (2021)
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Caeleb Dressel – 50.19
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 51.77

Final:

1. Shaine Casas (TXLA) — 50.51
2. Thomas Heilman (CA-Y) — 50.70
3. Dare Rose (CAL) — 51.06
4. Luca Urlando (DART) — 51.44
5. Trenton Julian (MVN) — 51.53
6. Kamal Muhammad (SPAC) — 51.89
7. Matthew Klinge (OSU) — 52.15
8. Jack Dahlgren (AQJT) — 52.24

Shaine Casas didn’t waste any time in this 100 butterfly. He jumped out to the lead with a 23.40 on the first 50 meters, with his fellow Paris Olympian Thomas Heilman following in second place. Heilman, who made the Olympic team in the 100 and 200 butterfly, made a huge push in the middle of the final 50 meters and Fukuoka Worlds medalist Dare Rose tried to make a move as well.

But Casas would not be denied and he split 27.11 to hold off all the moves and claim his first national title of the weekend. This will officially confirm his spot on the worlds team after placing sixth in the 100 freestyle on the first day of the meet. Casas won in 50.51 which is the second-fastest swim of his career and just .11 seconds from his 50.40 lifetime best. The time moves him to fourth-fastest in the world this year, behind Noe Ponti, Ilya Kharun, and Hubert Kos (Kharun and Kos are tied for #2).

Heilman touched second, swimming his second lifetime best of the day. He swam 50.70, chopping eight-hundredths off the boys’ 17-18 National Age Group record he set this morning. The 18 year old will need to wait for the “magic number” of doubles, but he’s likely just booked a spot on another senior international team.

After winning the 50 butterfly last night, Dare Rose finished third with a 51.06, ahead of Luca Urlando’s 51.44.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke – Final

• World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• American Record: 29.40 – Lilly King (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 29.62 – Lilly King, United States (2018)
• 2023 U.S. Nationals Champion: Lilly King – 29.77
• 2025 World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 30.75

Final:

1. Lilly King (ISC) — 29.88
2. Emma Weber (CA-Y)/McKenzie Siroky (TNAQ) — 30.43
3. (tie)
4. Skyler Smith (NCAC) — 30.47
5. Alex Walsh (NYAC) — 30.54
6. Piper Enge (TXLA) — 30.86
7. Lucy Thomas (ALTO) — 31.02
8. Rachel McAlpin (MMST) — 31.34

Lilly King has been swimming in this pool for more than a decade, but it’s clearly still special for her. She unleashed a big celebration as she won the women’s 50 breaststroke, qualifying for her final World Championship team in front of a hometown crowd.

As she’s done for years, King broke the 30-second barrier to qualify for the senior international roster, firing off a 29.88. That makes things real interesting at the top of the event’s global rankings this season. King slots it at number two in the world this season, a hundredth behind Benedetta Pilato and a hundredth ahead of Eneli Jefimova.

If you like parsing selection criteria, this really is the meet for you. After the tie for fourth in the women’s 200 freestyle, we’ve got another tie on our hands. McKenzie Siroky and Emma Weber tied for second place in the event, both stopping the clock at 30.43. Siroky, who just finished her freshman year at Tennessee, was 30.27 this morning, while this is a lifetime best for Weber, the Paris Olympian.

This should go to a swim-off to break the tie, though it may not happen this evening.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke – Final

• World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2017)
• American Record: 26.45 – Nic Fink (2022)
• U.S. Open Record: 26.52 – Michael Andrew, United States (2022)
• 2023 U.S. Nationals Champion: Nick Fink – 26.74
• 2025 World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 27.33

Final:

1. Campbell McKean (BEND) — 26.90
2. Michael Andrew (SUN) — 26.92
3. Brian Benzing (ISC) — 27.40
4. Travis Gulledge (TFA) — 27.46
5. Nate Germonprez (TXLA) — 27.55
6. Alexei Avakov (ISC) — 27.70
7. Jake Wang (BULL) — 27.79
8. Ben Cono (TOC) — 27.86

Coming into this season, Campbell McKean held a 50 breaststroke lifetime best of 28.55, which was an opening 50 split from his silver-winning swim at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships. Now, he’s the 2025 U.S. National champion and the fifth-fastest American in event history.

He began his personal best demolition in Fort Lauderdale with a 27.40. Then, he swam 27.14 in prelims to tie with Andrew for the top seed. In the final, McKean stunned the veteran Andrew by two-hundredths thanks to a well-timed finish, stopping the clock at 26.90.

Fastest U.S. Performers, Men’s 50 Breaststroke (LCM) 

1. Nic Fink — 26.49 (2024)
2. Michael Andrew — 26.52 (2022)
3. Kevin Cordes — 26.76 (2015)
4. Mark Gangloff — 26.86 (2009)
5. Campbell McKean — 26.90 (2025)

McKean is now tied for ninth-fastest in the world this season. He will get a chance to test himself against the world’s best as this swim qualifies him for the 2025 World Aquatic Championships, his first senior international team.

Andrew touched two-hundredths behind McKean with a 26.92, dipping under 27 seconds for the first time this season.

Women’s 50 Backstroke – Final

• World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• American Record: 27.10 – Regan Smith (2023)
• U.S. Open Record: 27.12 – Katharine Berkoff, United States (2022)
• 2023 U.S. National Champion: Katharine Berkoff – 27.13
• 2025 World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 28.22

Final:

1. Katharine Berkoff (WOLF) — 26.97 *American, U.S. Open Record* 
2. Regan Smith (TXLA) — 27.20
3. Claire Curzan (TAC) — 27.26
4. Leah Shackley (WOLF) — 27.43
5. Isabelle Stadden (CAL) — 27.78
6. Kennedy Noble (WOLF) — 27.86
7. Rhyan White (WOLF) — 27.92
8. Kaitlyn Owens (TAMU) — 28.04

Katharine Berkoff took the American record back in thrilling fashion, becoming the first American woman to break the 27-second barrier. Berkoff first broke this American record in 2022 with a 27.12 and held it until Regan Smith swam 27.10 a year later in Fukuoka.

Now, Berkoff reclaims the American record with a lifetime best by .15 seconds. She takes over the top of the global rankings this season from Kaylee McKeown, who was 27.06 in March. Berkoff is now just .11 seconds from McKeown’s world record of 26.86 and the second-fastest swimmer in history.

All-Time Top 3, Women’s 50 Backstroke (LCM)

1. Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 26.86 (2023)
2. Katharine Berkoff, United States — 26.97 (2025)
3. Liu Xiang, China — 26.98 (2018)

Regan Smith earned another second-place finish for her haul this week. She was a tenth off her lifetime best with a 27.20 and touched six-hundredths ahead of last night’s 200 backstroke champion Claire Curzan. Curzan keeps the lifetime bests rolling this week with a 27.26, which improves on the 27.43 PB she swam in this event at the 2024 World Championships on her way to a backstroke sweep.

Men’s 50 Backstroke – Final

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2023)
• American Record: 23.71 – Hunter Armstrong (2022)
• U.S. Open Record: 23.71 – Hunter Armstrong, United States (2022)
• 2023 U.S. National Champion: Justin Ress – 24.10
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 25.11

Final:

1. Quintin McCarty (WOLF) — 24.34
2. Shaine Casas (TXLA) — 24.44
3. Will Modglin (TXLA) — 24.76
4. Jack Dolan (SUN) — 24.84
5. Grant Bochenski (UMIZ) — 24.86
6. Jack Wilkening (MICH) — 24.88
7. Jack Aikins (SA) — 24.91
8. Joe Hayburn (LOYO) — 25.26

Make it a sweep for the Wolfpack backstroke crew. Not ten minutes after Berkoff won the women’s 50 backstroke in American record time, Quintin McCarty won the event on the men’s side.

McCarty is perhaps best known on the NCAA scene for his sprint freestyle abilities, but he really began to show his backstroke skill this season. The improvements he made in yards translated quickly to meters; he dropped from a 25.62 to 24.45 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim a month ago. Now, another nine-hundredth drop has earned him a spot on his first senior World Championship team.

Casas executed well on his double. After winning the 100 butterfly earlier in the session, he grabbed second in the men’s 50 backstroke with a 24.44. He’s been as fast as a 24.23 this season, which he logged at the Westmont Pro Swim.

The Texas men continued to perform well this session as Will Modglin swam a lifetime best 24.76 for third.