2024 Minnesota Invite
- December 4-7, 2024
- Prelims: 10 am CST/ Finals: 6 pm CST
- SCY (25 Yards)
- University of Minnesota
- Participating Teams: Minnesota (host), University of California- Berkley, University of Nevada- Las Vegas, Harvard, Rutgers, University of Denver
- 2025 NCAA Championship Standards
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Psych Sheets
- Prelims Live Recaps: Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
- Finals Live Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
Gabriel “Don’t Call Him Gabe” Jett hit a major evolution at the 2024 Minnesota Invitational last week. The Cal senior was just okay in his primary middle-distance freestyle events, but he posted electric results in the 100 and 200 yard backstrokes – albeit in both instances in off-beat scenarios.
Jett split 44.54 leading off a 400 medley relay in the 100 backstroke, and later added a 1:38.31 in the 200 backstroke – the best time of the meet, but swum out of the B-Final.
Jett has raced the same lineup at each of his three NCAA Championship meets: the 200 free, the 500 free, and the 200 fly. He has had mixed results in those swims: he has hit a personal best in at least one event at all three NCAA Championship meets and has seven out of a maximum nine A-Final finishes, but slipped a spot or two in each race last season as a junior.
His work over the weekend wasn’t a full-scale shift in focus; he still swam his three primary events. He was pretty-far off his best times in the 200 free and 500 free finals, though he still won both of those races. In the 200 fly, he swam 1:43.46 in prelims before skipping the A-Final in favor of the 200 back B-Final.
Best Times at the Minnesota Invite
| 2024 Minnesota Invite | PB Entering the Meet | NCAA Rank | |
| 200 free | 1:32.13 | 1:30.32 | 13th |
| 500 free | 4:16.63 | 4:09.66 | 34th |
| 100 back | 44.54 | 46.99 | 3rd |
| 200 back | 1:38.31 | 1:43.16 | 5th |
| 200 fly (Prelims) | 1:43.46 | 1:39.27 | 39th |
| 200 IM (prelims) | 1:41.89 | 1:45.59 | 9th |
He swam his pretty-usual schedule in his only other meet this season, the 200 free and 500 free with a 200 IM rider thrown in, but without a hint of a shift in backstroke focus. His best times in those other events have come in dual meets or pentathlon meets previously.
He now has top 10 ranks in the three “secondary” events he swam at the Minnesota Invite, while his times from the same meet in his three “primary” events all fall outside of the top 10.
“Gabriel is an extremely competitive individual that has a high belief in his abilities no matter what stroke he’s racing,” Cal associate head coach Josh Huger told SwimSwam. “He’s always had strong underwaters and he’s continuing to learn how to use that skill more and more.
“The backstroke crew is also always helping each other with little things like hand entry and how they get through the catch as well as what they’re looking for through their breakout.”
Huger added: “It also helps that they all like to talk trash to each other about how fast they can go.”
It’s not uncommon for backstrokers and butterfliers to have overlapping skill, especially in short course. Among others, we famously saw that from another Cal Golden Bear Tom Shields in the early 2010s – he was a butterflier and 200 freestyler, but won an NCAA title in the 100 back as a sophomore in 2011.
This opens the door for some questions about what Jett might go after internationally. He’s on the doorstep of making a big international team, but his best finish at the Olympic Trials in June was 10th in the 400 free.
He has best times of 55.40 and 2:01.46 in the 100 back and 200 back (the latter done at the 2021 Olympic Trials – so this isn’t totally foreign for him). American men’s backstroke remains relatively-weak in the new quad (as it does around the world), so there is some opportunity there.
Gabriel came into college with moderate, but not spectacular, prospects for success. I’d say he’s overproduced for Cal every year he’s been there, even if it hasn’t quite translated to international accolades yet. No doubt a career to be proud of even if he was done today.
Jett is a beast. He will be a 4year ncaa a-finalist and a cal legend. Swimmers like Hobson, Marchand, and Lasco have overshadowed him but now he’s showing just how versatile he can be. He has all the tools and just needs to execute when necessary. Hear he’s continuing his career after he graduates cal, will be fun to watch him between now and 2028
So glad he’s continuing swimming, he has really fast LC PBs I hope he can make the 2028 team.
Since he is on his senior year, he should swim the 100/200 back. Drop the 200 fly and 500 free. Is he qualified for 5th year?
Wow, this guy continues to throw down year after year. Not many guys on his level (Not named Marchand) in the last several years when it comes to sheer versatility.
Hot take. This thread will have a whole bunch thoughtful comments of wow and congratulations and then one dude named Andrew coming up with mean things to say since this is a Cal swimmer.
Wishing Jett success in the future. He has a bright future ahead for sure.
My guess is that the dirty little Internet trolls like Andrew will chime in first here with some narrative about any Cal swimmer “ not getting it done at the big meets” like he always does….. so if that happens, I think I will post my take.I think if Jett was a two event athlete like so many of these guys get to be, the metrics would be different. Guys like Hobson, Aiden Hayes, or your typical breast stroker, are asked to be great in two events and maybe OK in a third. Jett has been so elite in so many different events that I’m sure his lineup has something to do with some off swims. A guy like him… Read more »
And he’ll just bomb out in LCM in the summer like every year, if he doesn’t bomb out at NCAAs
“Andrew” has daddy issues. Who waits around looking for Cal posts to pop up so he can be mean to college guys on an Internet forum?
Cal ain’t special anymore, he shits on everyone now.
Immensely talented swimmer. I really hope he’s able to achieve success in LCM.
It’s a shame that an otherwise incredible breakout meet for his backstroke ability doesn’t help his team all that much with the depth that they already have; his Mid D and Butterfly are much more impactful for Cal from a team race perspective.
He’s going to be such an intriguing guy to watch at the end of the season with times in 5-6 events that are easily A Final worthy.
Is this the year that he puts it all together and finally has a complete meet? As of right now he’s in the Shaine Casas-led category of “insanely talented but just can’t figure it out when it really matters”. Hoping that he does, he’s a great talent and… Read more »
Where is this narrative coming from that he doesn’t deliver when it matters? Dude has been an absolute hammer at NCAAs the last two years.
Jett swam faster in a dual meet in the rain than NCAAs in the 500…
Yep. Showing world class talent while training. And still scoring more points at NCAA’s than 90% of the other athletes. Andrew, you are a sad little man. You need another hobby. Go Bears!
In LCM at least, his PBs put him in Olympic contention but he hasn’t followed through.
In SCY, yes, he’s scored a lot of points at NCAAs, but saying that he’s performed to his potential in individual events would be incorrect
Just look at Olympic Trials.
The original comment was “is this the year he finally puts it all together and has a complete meet?” Not, “is this the year he has a LCM breakout?”
He scored 41 (with a best 200 time in the 800 free relay, leading to an NCAA record) and 49 individual points at NCAAs the last two years. How do those not qualify as putting it together for a complete meet? It’s insane to expect someone with his event schedule to put up best times in all three events in the same meet.