Texas Sophomore David Johnston Swims 14:32 Mile at American SC Champs

2022 AMERICAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS/LAST CHANCE MEET

• March 3-5, 2022
• University of Texas, Austin, Texas
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Full Results PDF

University of Texas sophomore David Johnston closed the 2022 American Short Course Championships with a new lifetime best of 14:32.40 in the 1650 free.

That jumps him to 2nd in the NCAA this season. While his 14:45 from the Big 12 Championships already had him qualified for the meet, that drop will move him into the fastest heat of the timed final event at the NCAA Championships. He’s also now in the top 25 in NCAA history in the event.

Johnston swam 14:40.13 at last year’s NCAA Championships, which earned him a 7th-place finish.

His was one of just a small handful of swims that impacted NCAA qualifying from this year’s Short Course Championships.

Historically, between 26-30 individual swimmers are invited to the men’s NCAA Division I Championships in each event.

Other Potential or Probable NCAA Qualifiers:

• Besides SMU’s Colin Feehery in a 400 IM time trial, which we previously reported, the Mustangs got another potential 400 IM qualifier when Cotton Fields swam 3:43.34 in the event final. That undercut his previous lifetime best of 3:44.94 from the AAC Championships, and he now ranks 26th in the NCAA this season. SMU hasn’t had multiple swimmers qualified for NCAAs since 2010, and this year they could have three.
• BYU’s Tanner Nelson was just .16 seconds behind in 3:43.50, but that leaves him in precarious shape: he is ranked 30th nationally in the event this season, tied with Johnston. At least one swimmer ahead of him, Georgia’s Matthew Sates, may not enter the race for NCAAs, though, which improves his chances. Texas A&M’s Munzy Kabbara was just another .07 seconds behind in 3:43.57, which ranks 32nd and is probably on the outside looking in.
• Texas A&M’s Vincent Riberio swam 1:52.93 in the 200 breaststroke. That now ranks him 22nd in the NCAA this season, including the Pac-12 Championships, and that should qualify him for the NCAA Championships.
• Three more Texas Longhorns picked up possible invite times. Junior Sam Artmann swam 1:42.06 in the 200 fly, which ranks him 29th in the NCAA this season, including Pac-12s. That’s squarely on the bubble, depending on the invite line and any other Last Chance swims.
• In the 200 back, Texas sophomore Chris O’Connor (1:40.47) moved to 19th, and junior Ethan Harder (1:40.85) moved to 26th. Those should both be in for NCAA Championship invites.