2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
- March 26-29, 2025
- Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- SwimSwam Pick’Em Contest
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Psych Sheet
- Day 1 Heat Sheets
- Day 1 Live Recap
The University of California quartet of Jack Alexy, Gabriel Jett, Destin Lasco and Lucas Henveaux combined for a time of 5:59.75 in the 800 freestyle relay, becoming the first team under six minutes in the event. They broke the previous NCAA record time of 6:02.26 set at the 2024 NCAA championships also by the Golden Bears.
This win from Cal came despite a flubbed dive from Henveaux, who said in his post-race interview that his he slipped on his start, causing his streamline to break. He appeared to also have dove close to the bottom of the pool but didn’t mention it.
A view of Henveaux’s dive can be seen on Kyle Millis’ YouTube channel at around the 4:40 mark:
The Golden Bears battle it out with Texas in the final heat of the relay. The Longhorns led after the first 400 yards, but legs from Lasco and Henveaux put Cal ahead. Henveaux’s start allowed Texas anchor Coby Carozza to gain a brief advantage, but Henveaux was able to recover and rally his team to victory. Texas’s final time of 6:00.08 also went under the previous NCAA record and is an American record.
Both Cal and Texas were nearly six seconds faster than any other team.
Split Comparison:
| Cal, 2025 NCAAs (NCAA record) | Texas, 2025 NCAAs | Cal, 2024 NCAAs | |
| 200y | Jack Alexy — 1:30.02 | Luke Hobson — 1:28.90 | Gabriel Jett — 1:30.32 |
| 400y | Gabriel Jett — 1:29.16 | Chris Guiliano — 1:30.13 | Destin Lasco — 1:29.60 |
| 600y | Destin Lasco — 1:29.10 | Rex Maurer — 1:29.91 | Jack Alexy — 1:30.50 |
| 800y | Lucas Henveaux — 1:31.47 | Coby Carrozza — 1:31.14 | Robin Hanson — 1:31.84 |
| Total | 5:59.75 | 6:00.08 | 6:02.26 |
The difference between Cal’s 2024 and 2025 relays was the addition of Henveaux, who competed during the 2023 season, didn’t race collegiately in 2024 and but is back on Cal’s roster in 2025. Alexy, Jett and Lasco were also faster than they were last year.
While this relay is Cal’s first NCAA win, Texas previously took first in the 200 medley relay while Cal was third for that event.
It sure looked like he pushed off the bottom..only way he could get up..should have been a DQ.
Watch the other angle, he did a breaststroke kick it was totally legal.
Watch the reverse angle.
From the video above (view from lane 8), it looked to me that Henveaux did push off the bottom. The only way to find out for sure is to go to the underwater videos. The NCAA changed the rule this year to allow underwater cameras (not sure they are used in this meet) to confirm or overturn violations, but not to make calls. If the on-deck officials did not call it during the race, there will be no calls.
Incredible! Slow your video down to .25 on the flubbed takeover. He actually does a breaststroke kick in the middle of that dive. He definitely did not touch the bottom. When you slow it down you will see this. I guess the adrenaline from that fired him up. What a champion!
Unreal!
Lucas looked defeated after the race like he was expecting a dq. Looks defeated for awhile actually. I’m no Columbo, but it absolutely looked like he pushed off the bottom.
Or…he knew he messed up his dive in a very tight race between the two title contenders and swam thinking he blew it for the team (he was replacing Hanson from the current record holding team), and instead, gave everything to recover. Check the interview nod to Alexy’s 2023 finish in which Alexy said he just put his head down through the pain and didn’t breathe to secure the win.
Why is it that Cal swimmers have trouble holding their hands together on dives? Alexy had the same issue at the Olympics
In all my years swimming I never had my hands separate on a dive. My muscle memory still as a 40 year old forms the tightest streamline with my thumb locking my hands together, zero chance of coming apart
Agree. Thats what I coach my swimmers
Are they so jacked they can’t?
Ian Thorpe was never able to streamline.
They were teaching it for a while…not sure if that’s still the case.
They are way more powerful than a 40 year old man
Im happy. I predicted cal would beat Texas and got viciously downvoted by delusional Texas fans namely bob the builder rocks
You said they’d get smashed, .33 is not “smashing”
also said Texas 2 medley would add, so I guess you win some and lose some?
Andrew happy about a Cal win. What a time to be alive!
Paging Andrew.. 📢🔊
No one seems to be talking about how hard Jake Mitchell has fallen off
Seems like him and Emma Weyant would have been better off at Michigan and UVA, not UF
Or Carmel.
Meanwhile during all this debate, we’re over here very happy to have gotten a distant 3rd 🙂