2023 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, February 14 – Saturday, February 18, 2023
- Rec Center Natatorium, College Station, TX
- Defending Champions:
- Women: Tennessee (1x)
- Men: Florida (10x)
- Championship Central
- Women’s Fan Guide
- Men’s Fan Guide
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Video
The beat goes on for Jordan Crooks, as the Tennessee sophomore continued his otherworldly performance at the SEC Championships with another standout swim on Thursday morning.
Crooks, coming off of entering rarefied air last night by becoming just the second man under 18 seconds in the 50 freestyle, powered his way to a massive best time in the preliminaries of the men’s 100 butterfly, breaking Caeleb Dressel‘s SEC Championship Record in a time of 44.04.
Crooks’ swim downs Dressel’s 2017 mark of 44.21, and it also erased a 14-year-old Rec Center Natatorium Pool Record, which was the legendary 44.18 performance from Austin Staab in 2009. Note that in 2018, the year in which Dressel set the NCAA and U.S. Open Records in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly at NCAAs, he swam the 100 breast and 200 IM at SECs instead of the 50 free and 100 fly (still setting all-time records that have since been broken).
Crooks entered the meet with a personal best time of 44.79, set at the Tennessee Invitational in November, which previously stood as the program record (he also went 44.82 in the prelims).
Last season, the Cayman Islands native swam his fastest time at SECs in 45.33, where he placed third to Georgia’s Luca Urlando (44.41) and Florida’s Eric Friese (44.86). The following month at NCAAs, Crooks clocked 45.54 and missed earning a second swim.
Crooks has shown marked improvement in the back half of his 100 fly this season, going from 24.72 at last season’s SECs to 24-flat in this morning’s prelims.
Split Comparison
| Crooks, 2022 SECs | Crooks, 2022 NCAAs | Crooks, 2022 Tenn Invite (prelims) | Crooks, 2022 Tenn Invite (final) | Crooks, 2023 SECs |
| 20.61 | 20.85 | 20.66 | 20.48 | 20.04 |
| 45.33 (24.72) | 45.54 (24.69) | 44.82 (24.16) | 44.79 (24.31) | 44.04 (24.00) |
Crooks became the first swimmer in history to split under 19 seconds for the 50 fly on Tennessee’s 200 medley relay Tuesday night (18.90), which begs the question of how much faster he can take his swim out tonight after turning in 20.04 in the heats.
The 20-year-old now ranks seventh all-time in the event, and is on the cusp of joining the sub-44 club in the final, one night after joining Dressel sub-18 in the 50 free.
All-Time Performers’ Men’s 100 Butterfly (SCY)
- Caeleb Dressel (FLOR), 42.80 – 2018 NCAA Championships
- Andrei Minakov (STAN), 43.71 – 2022 NCAA Championships
- Joseph Schooling (TEX), 43.75 – 2017 NCAA Championships
- Luca Urlando (UGA), 43.80 – 2022 NCAA Championships
- Tom Shields (USA), 43.84 – 2016 Winter Nationals
- Youssef Ramadan (VT), 43.90 – 2022 NCAA Championships
- Jordan Crooks (TENN), 44.04 – 2023 SEC Championships
- Nyls Korstanje (NCST), 44.17 – 2022 NCAA Championships
- Austin Staab (STAN), 44.18 – 2009 NCAA Championships
- Ryan Hoffer (CAL), 44.24 – 2021 NCAA Championships
Crooks also takes over the top spot in the NCAA this season, as Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan rattled off a time of 44.15 at the ACC Championships this morning to sit second. Ramadan came into the day ranked #1 at 44.42, with Crooks’ 44.79 having been second.
By the time Crooks graduates, I think he will have broken every Dressel NCAA record. It’s just a matter of how soon they’ll fall.
Judging how he’s split previous 100FL races I’d think Crooks has a few tenths to a half second to shave off that back half. Will be interesting to see if he has any additional speed on the front half too.
Who’s faster if we are only talking about underwaters, Shields or Crooks? Crooks obviously comes off the blocks better. I had always thought Shields is the fastest underwater kicker on the stomach, Stewart/Lochte the fastest on the back.
Pure speed on the stomach its Crooks. Crooks may be the fastest ever on his front. Where Shields excels and is probably the best ever at is holding speed underwater on the third and forth laps.
What I’ve always wondered is who has better pure speed underwater: Shields or Hoffer? Just imagine those two going at it in Cal practices
*The third lap. I think Hoffer is actually better at pushing all the way to 15 while maintaining speed on the last lap of a 100.
Crooks will break 43 in the 100 fly at NCAA’s He went 18.9 in the 50. That means he can break 43 with a 24 on the back half
This guy lacks critical thinking skills
Although I wish it was, that’s not really how swimming works
Dressel swam a 21.0 LCM 50 free. That means he can break 46 if he just comes back in 24.99.
It’s just not correct. An awesome thought…but it doesn’t work like this.
I mean if he does an open turn to get that breath in I think he could, right? That early speed will get his body nice and warmed up so he can come back fast.