2018 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 21 – Saturday, March 24
- Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Defending champion: Texas (3x) (results)
- Psych Sheet
- Live results
- Championship Central
- Live stream: Wednesday/Thursday Finals, All Prelims on BTN2GO; Friday/Saturday Finals on WatchESPN
Once upon a time, about three years ago to be precise, the men’s 200 yard freestyle appeared to be stuck in a rut. While Ricky Berens had set the American Record two years earlier, the overall record, a 1:31.20 by Simon Burnett, had been set in 2006, outlasting even the superuit era. Meanwhile, the 800 free relay was stuck as the final event on the second night of NCAA championships competition, meaning that quite a few of the swimmers in the lineups had already swam two 200 frees earlier in the day and were visibly gassed by the time the relay rolled around.
At the 2015 NCAAs, USC’s Christian Quintero won the individual 200 free with a 1:32.03, and NC State won the 800 free relay with a 6:11.64, with only two splits in the entire field under 1:32, and only a few more under 1:33.
Then, two things happened at the 2016 NCAA Championships that drastically altered the look of the 200 free at the college level. First, the 800 free relay was moved from Friday night to Wednesday, becoming the only event on that day, meaning that swimmers were much fresher, and giving coaches some more flexibility with their lineups. In a harbinger of things to come, Texas responded by obliterating the 800 free relay record. Second, Townley Haas descended on the scene. The then-freshman popped the fastest split ever as Texas obliterated the 800 free relay record, and then two days later Haas finally broke Burnett’s ten year-old mark in the individual event.
Individual 200 Free Winners, Men’s Division I NCAA Championships
| Year | Time | Swimmer |
| 2017 | 1:30.65 | Haas |
| 2016 | 1:30.46 | Haas |
| 2015 | 1:32.03 | Quintero |
| 2014 | 1:31.96 | De Lucca |
| 2013 | 1:31.51 | De Lucca |
800 Freestyle Relay Winners, Men’s Division I NCAA Championships
| Year | Time | Team |
| 2018 | 6:05.31 | NC State |
| 2017 | 6:06.53 | NC State |
| 2016 | 6:08.03 | Texas |
| 2015 | 6:11.64 | USC |
| 2014 | 6:13.09 | USC |
| 2013 | 6:13.27 | Florida |
Yes, there have surely been plenty of factors — increased emphasis on underwaters, for instance — but Haas’s swim was like the first pickle out of the pickle jar, and in the past two years we’ve seen an absolute explosion in both the individual 200 free and the 800 free relay.
Last year, NC State easily took down Texas’s record from the previous year, while Dylan Carter and Blake Pieroni joined Haas in the sub-1:31 club, and swimmers like Ryan Held, Jack Conger, Mark Szaranek, Andrew Seliskar, and Dean Farris started making 1:31s look commonplace.
Fast forward to tonight, and NC State broke its own record with a 6:05.31. That averages out to a 1:31.3 per swimmer. Let that sink in for a second. Andreas Vazaios, Ryan Held, Jacob Molacek, and Justin Ress averaged 1:31.3. That’s what the American Record was just three years ago (albeit on a flat start).
Not only that, but tonight Indiana’s Blake Pieroni beat Haas out to become the first man to dip under 1:30 on a flat start. Even then, if the collective wisdom of the SwimSwam comments was to hold true, Caeleb Dressel could probably match or beat that time, which would add a 6th U.S. Open Record to his ledger.
Whatever the reasons — and feel free to discuss them below — it seems clear that we have emerged from the Dark Ages of the 200 yard freestyle and are now in a Golden Age.
Given the nature of swimming, eventually this run of improvement will fade and we’ll hit another plateau. But in the meantime, sit back and enjoy the ride, folks.
Lastly, here are just a few of the swims tonight, good or bad, that stood out to us:
- Andreas Vazaios, NC State — 1:32.23 relay split last year, 1:31.32 leadoff tonight
- Justin Ress, NC State — 1:32.26 split last year, 1:30.77 tonight
- Mohamed Samy, Indiana — 1:33.65 split last year, 1:31.94 tonight
- Jonathan Roberts, Texas — 1:35.99 split at Big 12s, 1:32.36 tonight
- Maxime Rooney, Florida — 1:31.54 split at 2017 SECs, 1:33.26 tonight
- Gunnar Bentz, Georgia — 1:32.33 split tonight after breaking his collar bone earlier this season, 1:32.02 split last year
- Michael Jensen, Cal — 1:32.59 split last year, 1:34.44 tonight
- Abrahm DeVine, Stanford — 1:33.49 split last year, 1:32.77 leadoff tonight
- Dylan Carter, USC — 1:30.95 leadoff last year, 1:32.59 leadoff tonight
- Zach Apple, Auburn — 1:32.39 split last year, 1:30.74 split tonight
Hello swim swam, has NC STATE ever won an individual title in an event at NCAAs? They have a lot of good chances this weekend. Don’t know where I’d find old information but I’m sure someone could find it! Thank you
They have. 5, in fact.
David Fox – 1993/50 free – 19.14
Cullen Jones – 2006/50 free – 19.18
Ed Spencer – 1962/100 fly – 52.5 (didn’t time to the hundredths back then)
Richard Fadgen – 1956/200 fly – 2:16.3
Steve Gregg – 1976/200 fly – 1:47.00
Contributing factor: the Phelps Effect. Phelps made history by swimming everything, and as the generation of swimmers who grew up watching him come of age, we’re seeing more swimmers who refuse to specialize or focus down their event scope. Look at some of the names who stood out tonight: Seliskar is an IMer. Held is a sprinter. Ress is arguably a backstroker. Vazaios is an IMer/backstroker. Molacek is a breaststroker. Even Dressel is first and foremost a sprinter. The 800 free relay isn’t just 200 guys anymore. It’s the rise of the swimmer as opposed to the specialist, and it’s inspired by icons like Phelps.
Let’s not forget Finnery, whom I didn’t even know could swim a decent 200… or really anything outside of breaststroke for that matter!
Interesting perspective here. Come to think of it, the multi-stroke Olympians for team USA in 1996 were extremely rare. Basically Tom Dolan IM / 400 Free (which often backfired at big meets), and occasionally a sprint free chica would throw in a 100 fly. So much has changed in 20 years…
Agreed. And mostly for the better. Both international and domestically. Swimmers no longer place limits on themselves. While they can specialize, having more range appears to be norm now.
Which is surprising, given how seemingly everything else in the world is getting more competitive and specialized. (I read “Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials” and am pretty glad I was a kid 20 years ago as apposed to now.)
And, I almost want to castigate myself for this, but…maybe it’s a short-course thing? “We will see how these boys do with their versatility in the big pool!” But I mean for real, short course you can kinda get by with just having awesome walls, so it could be part of it.
I think the team aspect is a big part, too – lot of these guys might only ever swim their “bread and butter” events… Read more »
You are on point with the “walls”. Swimming a 200 SCY is awesome for swimmers who focus on their turns and breakouts, but is completely neutralized in LCM competition. On the other hand, most U.S. age group swimmers want a college scholarship, so it makes sense that there is so much focus on maximizing turns to gain that 1 second edge that would mean a difference between a scholarship or not!
As training and physiology science become more advanced, we will begin to discover specific training and techniques that is unique to 50, 100 or 200. As long as the athlete remembers which technique to use when, minute changes in technique means a .05 second difference here and there. I’m constantly debating with my son about the benefits of breathing every other stroke to maximize oxygen recovery over the drag reduced when breathing every 3rd, or the benefits of 4 dolphin kicks off a turn versus 2, etc.
I would love to see some progression in LCM as well. Someone needs to get close at to at least Agnel’s time from 2012.
It truly is incredible the progression of this event, I didn’t think we’d see a 1:29 for at least 5 years and BOOM!! I still think a 1:30 wins the individual 200 because everyone won’t be as fresh, but I hope I’m wrong!
NC State did not win in 2015. They got second to USC. Last year was NC State’s first NCAA title (ever?)
Absolutely correct on 2015. Got it fixed, thanks! NC State did win the 400 free relay in 2016, by the way.
They won the 400 free relay title in 2016, with Held, Bilis, Schiellerup, and Dahl. I believe that was their first relay title. The 800 last year marked the second, with this being their third. Surprisingly, given how the 200 free relay was the one that (arguably) brought NC State onto the national scene, that’s the one free relay they have yet to win at NCAAs.
Until this year!
Barring any DQs 😉
Maybe it’s just me, but swimmers on average look bigger, i.e. more muscular. I think there has been a shift away from pounding out yardage, which has allowed guys to put on more muscle and be stronger in the water. I know there have been some muscular swimmers, but that seemed to be rarer. Looking around on deck, most of the guys look pretty big. I would like to see average weights over the past several years.
Agreed. Finally going the way of track and field (quality over quantity, across the board), with coaches and swimmers more capable of procuring knowledge than in previous eras, and learning way more from each other than before.
Another point of focus is the “underwaters”. Given the speed/propulsion and energy required, it’s the highest efficiency stage of freestyle – the cost only being oxygen deprivation that may have to be paid later. But if a swimmer focuses on oxygen management and maximize their underwaters, this is another element in middle/long distance swims that was heretofore never exploited to its fullest. Our age group coach focuses underwater drills every day to build these oxygen reserves for competition.