2022 M. NCAA Division I Championships: Day 4, 1650 Afternoon Heats Live Recap

2022 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 23-26, 2022
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia (Eastern Daylight Time)
• Prelims 10AM /Finals 6PM
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Live Results
• Official Psych Sheets
• Virtual Championship Program
• SwimSwam Pick Em’s Contest

As the top-8 seeds in the men’s 1650 freestyle will swim with the rest of finals tonight, all other heats will compete in an afternoon session of their own. All heats, including this evening’s top-8, are timed finals, meaning anyone can jump up the ranks–and potentially even win–regardless of which heat they swim in. Below is a list of the men who will be racing alongside the other evening finals.

Heat 1 of the men’s 1650 freestyle is set to begin at 4:10 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Tonight’s Top-8, Men’s 1650 Freestyle

1. Bobby Finke (Florida – SR), 14:27.70
2. David Johnston (Texas – SO), 14:32.40
3. John Gallant (NCSU – SO), 14:33.40
4. Charles Clark (OSU – SO) – 14:36.02
5. Ross Dant (NCSU – JR), 14:36.71
6. Trey Freeman (Florida – JR), 14:39.74
7. Luke Hobson (Texas – FR), 14:40.50
8. Jake Magahey (UGA – SO), 14:40.20

Records, Men’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke, Florida, 2020
• NCAA Meet Record: 14:12.52, Bobby Finke, Florida, 2021
• U.S. Open Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke, Florida, 2020
• American Record: 14:12.08, Bobby Finke, Florida, 2020
• Pool Record: 14:29.43, Sebastien Rouault, Georgia, 2008

Heat 1

1. Tanner Nelson (BYU – FR), 14:59.73
2. Tyler Kopp (CAL – SO), 15:09.44
3. Filippo Dal Masso (VT – SR), DFA

BYU’s Tanner Nelson won the first heat, which was a one vs one swimmer affair between himself and Cal sophomore Tyler Kopp. Though Nelson and Kopp were almost even at the 100-yard mark, Nelson pushed a steady string of 54-second splits, with a few 55-second 100s mixed throughout, over the next 1400 yards. Nelson finished in a 26.60 for a total time of 14:59.73, nearly 10 seconds ahead of Kopp, who touched in 15:09.44, though split a 26.16 on the 33rd and final 50 of the race.

Nelson’s split at the 1000-yard turn was a 9:02.99, which according to the USA Swimming database is a new lifetime best for the freshman from Brigham Young. This marks Nelson’s first time under 15:00 and is a new lifetime best by nearly 4 seconds.

Heat 2

1. James Plage (NCSU – SO), 14:54.01
2. Chris Nagy (MINN – SO), 14:56.93
3. Sean Grieshop (CAL – 5Y), 15:00.65
4. Arik Katz (HARV – FR), 15:03.93
5. Jack Vandeusen (FLOR – SO), 15:10.85
6. Nicholas Hernandez-Tome (15:15.4), 15:15.85
7. Victor Johansson (USC – SR), 15:22.23

Cal 5th year Sean Grieshop turned first at the 500-yard mark of heat 2 with a 4:28.95, making him the only swimmer under 4:30 in the first 500. However, over the next 500 yards NC State’s James Plage and Minnesota’s Chris Nagy began to reel him in, and by the 1000-yard turn Plage had taken the lead, turning in 8:59.64. Grieshop, by this point, trailed at a 9:01.06 while Nagy was further behind with a 9:03.12.

Plage maintained his lead while Grieshop faded and was overtaken by Nagy. Though Grieshop shaved 0.25 from his seed time, his lifetime best from the 2019 NCAA Championships is a 14:35.82. Grieshop and Tanner Nelson, the winner of heat 1, are Cal’s only representatives in the 1650. Nelson, however, is still ranked 3rd now that the second heat is completed.

Texas, meanwhile, has 3 men yet to swim this event, two of whom will race in the top-8 during tonight’s finals session.

Heat 3

1. Alfonso Mestre (FLOR – JR), 14:39.82
2. Fabio Dalu (OSU – JR), 14:49.68
3. Oskar Lindholm (FLOR – FR), 14:51.62
4. Eric Knowles (NCSU – 5Y), 14:56.86
5. Shane Washart (HARV – FR), 14:58.80
6. Daniel Matheson (USC – FR), 15:04.43
7. Gordon Mason (ASU – SO), 15:07.13
8. Noah Millard (YALE – FR), 15:21.26

Florida and NC State are the prevailing teams through the first 3 heats of the men’s 1650, with Florida so far establishing the overall leader in Alfonso Mestre, who posted a 14:39.82, nearly 10 seconds faster than the next closest competitor, Ohio State’s Fabio Dalu.

Mestre took the race out quick, completing the first 500 in 4:21.74. By 1000 he was at 8:50.51, meaning his 2nd 500 was a 4:28.77. Mestre split a 5:49.31 over the final 650 yards, with a closing 50 of 25.41.

Though nearly 12 seconds behind Mestre, Florida freshman Oskar Lindholm finished in a 14.51.62, which should put him on the bubble for scoring in this event.

NC State, meanwhile, saw another strong swim from 5th year Eric Knowles, who now sits in 5th place right behind teammate James Plage, the winner of heat 2.

As it stands right now, Mestre’s time is fast enough to land him in the top-8, though with two heats yet to swim, including the fastest heat tonight, that is far from a guarantee, though he is, at present, one of only 7 men, himself included, with a time under 14:40.

Heat 4

1. Michael Brinegar (IU – JR), 14:33.76
2. Brooks Fail (AZ – 5Y), 14:35.33
3. Grant Shoults (STAN – 5Y), 14:38.18
4. Mert Kilavuz (GT – FR), 14:40.99
5. Tyler Watson (FLOR – JR), 14:46.95
6. Yigit Aslan (WISC – FR), 14:55.15
7. Michael Bronson (AUB – SO), 14:58.11
8. Alex Zettle (TEXAS – SR), 15:04.71

Indiana’s Michael Brinegar put up a huge time of 14:33.76 to win the final afternoon heat of the 1650 freestyle. Brinegar’s swim was the fastest of the afternoon by nearly 2 seconds, though Arizona 5th year Brooks Fail mounted a hard charge over the final 200 yards, though he ran out of room to catch Brinegar. Stanford’s Grant Shoults put up the 3rd fastest time of the day so far with a 14:38.18. Florida’s Alfonso Mestre, the winner of heat 3, currently sits in 4th place. Most likely, he will not finish in the top-8 overall when it’s all said and done, but will still score points for the Gators. Brinegar, meanwhile, is very likely to knock someone out of the top-8.

Texas senior Alex Zettle, who was seeded with a 14:41.04 and looked like a lock to score, finished in a 15:04.71 and will score 0 points in this race. However, with two more Longhorns yet to swim in the 5th and final heat, and with Cal not getting any points from Grieshop or Kopp, the results from the 1650 should still tip towards Texas’ favor.