Georgia Freshman Matthew Sates Downs NCAA Meet Record in 500 Free with 4:06.61

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
• Championship Central
• Official Psych Sheets
• Thursday night finals heat sheet

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle – Finals

• NCAA Record: Kieran Smith(FLOR): 4:06.32
• NCAA Meet Record: Jake Magahey(UGA): 4:07.97
• American Record: Kieran Smith(FLOR): 4:06.32
• US Open Record: Kieran Smith(FLOR): 4:06.32
• Pool Record: Peter Vanderkaay (CW): 4:08.60

Top 8 finishers:

1. Matt Sates(UGA- Freshman): 4:06.61
2. Jake Magahey(UGA- Sophomore): 4:03.39
3. Luke Hobson (TEX- Freshman): 4:08.42
4. Kieran Smith(FLOR- Senior): 4:08.68
5. Brooks Fail (ZONA- 5Y): 4:10.05
6. David Johnston (TEX- Sophomore): 4:11.57
7. Alfonso Mestre (FLOR- Junior): 4:11.98
8. Ross Dant (NCST- Junior): 4:14.30

Matthew Sates, who only just joined the University of Georgia in January, won the 500 freestyle in a NCAA meet-record time of 4:06.61. Sates is still getting used to the yards format, although you would never know it the way he destroyed the field in his first NCAA final.

Sates negative-split his race by 1.5 seconds, going out in 2:04.07 and coming home in 2:02.25. In prelims, he split a pair of 24.4s between the 300 and 400-yard mark to take over the lead in his heat, and he swam the final in similar fashion.

Florida’s Kieran Smith paced the field over the first 350 yards. Texas freshman Luke Hobson took over the lead at the 400. Smith was in second place and Georgia teammates Sates and Jake Magahey, the defending champion and meet record-holder, were hovering in third and fourth place. The Bulldogs took off over the final 100 yards, with Sates splitting 23.9-23.8 and Magahey going 24.4-24.0. They touched 1-2 with 4:06.61 and 4:07.39, both going under the meet record. Hobson wound up finishing third (4:08.42), just ahead of Smith (4:08.68).

Sates went out a little slower than this morning, conserving his energy on the first 50. Each subsequent 50 put him ahead of his morning pace, but it was his final 100 that really made the difference:

Sates broke the meet record set by his teammate Magahey last year. He also broke the pool record that had stood since 2008 when Peter Vanderkaay went 4:08.60.