Texas Present & Texas Future Grab 8 Out of 16 Spots in Men’s 400 Free Final at the U.S. Open

• December 3-6, 2025
• Austin, Texas
• Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
  • Prelims: 10 a.m. EST
  • Finals: 7 p.m EST (Day 1: 5 p.m. EST)
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

Austin, Texas is becoming the center of the American swimming universe – and not just because this week’s U.S. Open is being raced there.

Of the top 16 finishers in the men’s 400 free finals on Thursday, half (8/16) are current, or future, members of the University of Texas/Longhorn Aquatics training group, and a ninth used to be.

1. Leon Marchand – 3:44.70 – Current Texas Pro
2. Luka Mijatovic – 3:45.30 – Future Texas Collegiate
3. Carson Foster – 3:45.73 – Current Texas Pro
4. Luke Hobson – 3:45.85 – Current Texas Pro
5. Aaron Shackell – 3:47.93 – (Indiana – Former Texas Collegiate)
6. Ilia Sibirtsev – 3:48.98 – (Louisville)
7. Luke Whitlock – 3:48.99 – (Indiana)
8. Jordi Vilchez – 3:51.49 – (Ohio State)
9. Cooper Lucas – 3:50.56 – Current Texas Collegiate
10. Bobby Finke – 3:52.12 – (Florida pro)
11. Charlie Clark – 3:53.13 – (Ohio State pro)
12. Jacob Wimberly – 3:53.69 – Current Texas Collegiate
13. Alexander Lyubavskiy – 3:54.59 – Current Texas Collegiate
14. Batuhan Filiz – 3:55.30 – (Texas A&M)
15. Ivan Kurakin – 3:57.02 – (UCSD pro)
16. Manning Haskal – 4:00.19 – Current Texas Collegiate

And that doesn’t include Rex Maurer, who isn’t swimming in this meet, but almost assuredly would have finished in the A final if he did so at full strength with a lifetime best of 3:43.

While the Bob Bowman ecosystem doesn’t get credit for Mijatovic, the re-minted 15-16 National Age Group Record breaker, he is scheduled to arrive in Austin no-later-than fall 2027. This re-emphasizes the significance of the Texas training group right now as the U.S., along with the world’s two best swimmers Marchand and Summer McIntosh, hurtle toward the Los Angeles Olympic Games.

While training groups don’t always move or succeed or struggle as a unit, it is becoming insurmountable that Bowman’s training plans could single-handedly make-or-break the 2028 Olympics. That’s the U.S., but it’s also France, and Canada, and Hungary, and increasingly-more countries in the next few years.

And as this group grows and inflates with even more talent coming in over the next 12 months, that not only ramps up pressure on Bowman as a coach, but his entire staff, because no one coach can possibly be primarily responsible for such a large and deep and broad training group.

So far, they’re rising to the challenge.