Blake Pieroni: “My goal was to go 1:31 low” (Video)

^{Reported by Jared Anderson.}

2017 MEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 22 – Saturday, March 25
• IUPUI Natatorium – Indianapolis, IN
• Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Defending Champion: Texas (results)
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live stream: Wednesday/Thursday Prelims & Finals, Friday/Saturday Prelims / Friday/Saturday finals on ESPN3
• Event Previews
• Live Results

The first event of the men’s NCAA Championships came with plenty of fireworks. Indiana’s Blake Pieroni and USC’s Dylan Carter put up the second- and third-fastest 200 freestyles of all-time leading off for their teams.

Carter took over the #2 time first, swimming out of the second timed final heat. The senior was 1:30.95, staking the Trojans to a huge lead and becoming the second man ever to break 1:31 in the event. Carter is coming off of a redshirt season last year, but was just 1:32.78 from a relay start when he last swam this relay at the 2015 NCAA Championships.

He comes into the individual event seeded at 1:31.98.

But one heat later, Indiana’s Blake Pieroni topped even that, going 1:30.87 on his leadoff leg to take over the #2 spot all-time and move Carter back to third. That’s two full seconds faster than his leadoff a year ago, and about a second faster than the 1:31.83 he went at Big Tens a month ago.

Carter and USC held on for 5th place overall, beating out all but four teams from the final heat. Indiana finished 9th in the final standings.

Carter and Pieroni will go head-to-head with each other and with the #1 swimmer all-time, Texas’s Townley Haas, on Friday. Haas anchored for Texas, putting up the fastest 200 free split in history at 1:30.42. Here’s a look at the new top 5 in history in the 200 free:

1. Townley Haas, Texas – 1:30.46 (2016)
2. Blake Pieroni, Indiana – 1:30.87 (2017)
3. Dylan Carter, USC – 1:30.95 (2017)
4. Simon Burnett, GBR – 1:31.20(2006)
5. Ricky Berens, USA – 1:31.31 (2013)