Leon Marchand Becomes Fastest Freshman Of All Time in 200 IM; Polonsky #3

2022 MEN’S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 2-Saturday, March 5, 2022
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Defending champions: Cal (4x)
• Start times: 11:00 am prelims / 6:00 pm finals (PST)
• Event Schedule
• Diving Results
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Live Stream

During Thursday night’s finals session of the Men’s Pac-12 Championships, Leon Marchand of Arizona State won the 200 IM (1:39.65) en-route to becoming the fastest NCAA freshman of all-time, and the fastest in the NCAA this year. His time also breaks the Pac-12 championship record, which was set by David Nolan of Stanford (1:40.07) in 2015. 

Marchand led the way for ASU going 1-2 in the event, with senior teammate Grant House touching 2nd (1:40.66), which is 2nd in the NCAA rankings this year. Taking 3rd was Stanford freshman Ron Polonsky (1:40.71), which is the 3rd fastest freshman performance in history, and the 4th fastest time in the NCAA this season. 

• Leon Marchand, #1 freshman of all time (1:39.65)
• Ron Polonsky, #3 freshman of all time (1:40.71)

Marchand now becomes the first freshman in NCAA history to break the 1:40-second barrier in the 200 IM. His time sits just ahead of Cal’s Destin Lasco, who was the previous fastest freshman in the event with his time from the 2021 NCAA Championships (1:40.01). Polonsky’s time sits behind Lasco’s in the freshman rankings. 

Updated Freshman Rankings:

1. Leon Marchand, Arizona State 1:39.65 (2022)
2. Destin Lasco, Cal,1:40.01 (2021)
3. Hugo Gonzalez, Auburn, 1:40.67 (2018)
4. Ron Polonsky, Stanford, 1:40.71 (2022)
5. Carson Foster, Texas 1:40.99 (2021)
6. Gal Cohen-Groumi, Michigan, 1:41.54 (2022)
7. Andrew Seliskar, Cal, 1:41.65 (2016)
8. Ryan Murphy, Cal, 1:42.24 (2014)
9. Kieran Smith, Florida, 1:42.26 (2019)
10. Shaine Casas, Texas A&M, 1:42.29 (2019)

Marchand also climbed into the top-performers rankings. His time from Friday now makes him the 8th fastest performer in history. Prior to the Pac-12 championships, he was the 22nd fastest performer in history.

Updated Top Performers Rankings:

1. Caeleb Dressel, 1:38.13, 2018
2. Andrew Seliskar, 1:38.14. 2019
3. Shaine Casas, 1:38.95, 2020
4. Andreas Vazaios, 1:39.35, 2019
5. David Nolan, 1:39.38, 2015
6. Jan Switkowski, 1:39.54, 2018
7. John Shebat, 1:39.63, 2019
8. Leon Marchand, 1:39.65, 2022
9. Hugo Gonzalez, 1:39.99, 2021
10. Destin Lasco, 1:40.01, 2021

In terms of all-time top performances, Marchand’s time is the 10th fastest swim in history.

Updated Top Performances Rankings:

1. Caeleb Dressel, 1:38.13, 2018
2. Andrew Seliskar, 1:38.14. 2019
3. Shaine Casas, 1:38.95, 2020
4. Shaine Casas, 1:39.26, 2021
5. Andreas Vazaios, 1:39.35, 2019
6. David Nolan, 1:39.38, 2015
7. Shaine Casas, 1:39.53, 2021
8. Jan Switkowski, 1:39.54, 2018
9. John Shebat, 1:39.63, 2019
10. Leon Marchand, 1:39.65, 2022