NCAA Update: College Stars Play Key Roles, Earn 800 Free Relay Medals

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Swimming: August 6-13
  • Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Barra Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro
  • Prelims – 9:00 a.m/12:00 p.m PST/EST (1:00 p.m local), Finals – 6:00 p.m/9:00 p.m PST/EST (10:00 p.m local)
  • SwimSwam previews 
  • Live Stream (NBC)

We’ll be checking occasionally over the course of the week to provide an update for how your favorite NCAA teams are fairing at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

As this is designed to give a snapshot of how the top schools are represented in Rio, we’re using a pretty wide definition of who will count in our hypothetical medal tables.  Essentially we’ll consider anyone who will represent a particular school in 2016 as contributing to that school’s medal table.  So, we’re including swimmers who chose to sit out this past NCAA season and redshirt, those who chose to defer matriculation for a year and will start in this fall, and those who have just graduated.  Again, the intent is not to “assign credit” to a particular coach or program.  We’re well aware that NCAP’s Bruce Gemmell coaches Katie Ledecky, not Stanford coach Greg Meehan.  Rather, we’re trying to give a quick snapshot of major college programs by seeing how swimmers who have competed for them recently, or will be competing this fall, are faring on the swimming’s world’s biggest stage.

Since our last update a few days ago, two current and one future NCAA swimmers picked up individual gold medals: Indiana’s Lilly King won the 100 breast, Cal Golden Bear Ryan Murphy took the 100 back, and Ledecky, who will swim fall for Stanford this fall, won the 200 freestyle.  NCAA swimmers also played key roles in both prelims and finals of the USA’s gold medal men’s and women’s 4×200 free relay.

Gold Medalists

Silver Medalists

  • Chase Kalisz, Georgia, 400 IM
  • Katie Ledecky, Stanford, 4×100 Freestyle Relay
  • Simone Manuel, Stanford, 4×100 Freestyle Relay
  • Lia Neal, Stanford, 4×100 Freestyle Relay (Prelims)
  • Abbey Weitzeil, California, 4×100 Freestyle Relay
  • Kathleen Baker, California, 100 Back
  • Josh Prenot, California, 200 Breast

Bronze Medalists

  • Leah Smith, Virginia, 400 Freestyle
  • Chantal van Landeghem, Georgia, 4×100 Freestyle Relay
  • Brittany MacLean, Georiga, 4×200 Freestyle Relay
  • Kennedy Goss, Indiana, 4×200 Freestyle Relay (Prelims)

Other Finalists

  • Santo Condorelli, USC, 4×100 Freestyle Relay & 100 Free
  • Beryl Gastaldello, 4×100 Freestyle Relay
  • Jay Litherland, 400 IM
  • Brittany MacLean, Georgia, 400 Freestyle
  • Townley Haas, Texas, 200 Freestyle
  • Olivia Smoligia, Georgia, 100 Back
  • Caeleb Dressel, Florida, 100 Freestyle
  • Hali Flickinger, Georgia, 200 Fly
  • Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M, 200 IM

Medal Count by School

  • Stanford: 3/3/0 = 6 total
  • Texas: 3/0/0 = 3 total
  • Indiana: 2/0/1 = 3 total
  • California: 1/3/0 = 4 total
  • Georgia: 1/1/2 = 4 total
  • Virginia: 1/0/1 = 2 total
  • Florida: 1/0/0 = 1 total
  • NC State: 1/0/0 = 1 total
  • Wisconsin: 1/0/0 = 1 total

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Swim Mom Yo
8 years ago

How about NCAA swimmers representing other countries?

OhioStateBuckeyeFan
8 years ago

Michelle Williams from Ohio State won a bronze medal for women’s 4×100 freestyle relay- with Team Canada. She swam in the prelims.

Link:
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/w-swim/spec-rel/080716aaa.html

Gator
8 years ago

Robert, this appears to be an insidious attempt to prop up Stanford even though Katie hasn’t joined the team and whatshername has already disavowed swimming in favor of a glory job at a vastly overstated US consulting firm, because she implies being a life long swimmer is beneath her.how about excluding relay results and only including people on the team?

Teacher and Coach
8 years ago

Regardless of the success of NCAA competitors in big LCM meets, there will always be those who say “Well, they’d be EVEN BETTER if they trained exclusively long course.” And honestly, it’s one of those arguments that can never be settled.

It seems to me that the benefits of great turns, underwaters, race experience, and familiarity with double tapers that come from NCAA competition have at least balanced out the benefits of training LC all the time.

Attila the Hunt
Reply to  Teacher and Coach
8 years ago

This.
Not to mention the racing toughness.

ERVINFORTHEWIN
8 years ago

So happy to see those guys stepping up – it was about time and perfectly fitting the needs of Team Usa .

NickH
8 years ago

Some other NCAA swimmers:
K Goss, 4×200 relay prelims, bronze, Indiana.
S Pickrem, 200 IM, 5th, Texas A&M.
K Smith, 200 breast, finalist (tonight), Minnesota.

swim dawg
8 years ago

New generation! Especially when considering the older swimmers who will retire after these games. Great to watch as a fan!

Kristen
8 years ago

Leah Smith swam in the finals of the 4×200 freestyle relay, not the prelims.

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