Schooling Splits 43.3 Fly En Route To Texas NCAA Relay Record

2016 MEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, March 23 – Saturday, March 26
• McAuley Aquatic Center – Atlanta, GA
• Prelims 10AM/Finals 6PM (Eastern Time)
• Defending Champion: Texas (results)
• Championship Central
• Live stream: Wednesday/Thursday prelins & finals, Friday/Saturday prelims / Friday/Saturday finals on ESPN3
• Live results

Winning their third relay and fifth NCAA title of the weekend, the Texas Longhorns fought back to overtake California on the back half of the 400 Medley relay. California’s Ryan Murphy broke the American record in the 100 backstroke, giving them a significant lead, but it wasn’t too much for Joseph Schooling to handle.

Schooling dove in for the butterfly leg of the relay nearly two second behind California’s Justin Lynch. He made up a full second on the first 50 alone, taking his swim out in 19.83 and then brought it home in 23.51 to finish with a final time of 43.34. That split is now the fastest split in history, surpassing Tom Shields‘ legendary relay split from the 2013 NCAA Championships of 43.48. 

Take a look at the comparative butterfly splits below:

• Tom Shields – 2013 NCAA Championships: 43.48
  • 19.68 – 23.80
• Joseph Schooling – 2016 NCAA Championships: 43.34
  • 19.83 – 23.51

On the final leg of the race, Jack Conger cemented their victory with a strong 41.29 anchor split, although it a was a little slower than he was last year. Their final time of 3:00.68 lowers their own NCAA and US Open Records set last year at the NCAA Championships of 3:01.23. California finished second tonight with a final time of 3:01.28.

Take a look at the comparative relay splits below:

• Texas – 2015 NCAA Championships: 3:01.23
  • Kip Darmody – 45.39
  • Will Licon – 50.93
  • Joseph Schooling – 43.95
  • Jack Conger – 40.96
• Texas – 2016 NCAA Championships: 3:00.68
  • John Shebat – 45.35
  • Will Licon – 50.69
  • Joseph Schooling – 43.34
  • Jack Conger – 41.29