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
- Qualified relay teams
- Live stream link
100 FLY
- NCAA Record: Caeleb Dressel (FLOR): 42.80
- NCAA Meet Record: Caeleb Dressel (FLOR): 42.80
- American Record: Caeleb Dressel (FLOR): 42.80
- US Open Record: Caeleb Dressel (FLOR): 42.80
Pool Record: Joseph Schooling (TEX): 44.01
Top 8 finishers:
- Andrei Minakov (STAN- Freshman): 43.77
- Youssef Ramadan (VT- Sophomore): 44.21
- Luca Urlando (UGA- Sophomore): 44.24
- Tomer Frankel (IU- Sophomore): 44.38
- Nyls Korstanje (NCST- Junior): 44.43
- Nicolas Albiero (LOU- 5Y): 44.61
- Umit Gures (HARV- Junior): 44.63
- Aiden Hayes (NCST): 44.78
In another display of how fast NCAA swimming has gotten, even just in recent years, it took a 44.78 to qualify for the ‘A’ final this morning. That’s significantly faster than the 45.10 it took to make the ‘A’ final last year. Texas’ Zac Van Zandt was 15th this morning with a 45.07, meaning there were 7 guys who went faster than the time it took to make the ‘A’ final last year.
That’s a big bump in just one year, but we can do one better for you. Texas famously qualified 6 swimmers for the ‘A’ final of the 100 fly back at the 2015 NCAAs. It was an incredible feat to be sure, but what if we told you the 100 fly has gotten so fast in the past 7 years that none of those Longhorns would have made the top 8 this year. That’s right, zero.
Here are the ‘A’ finals qualifiers from prelims of the 100 fly in 2015:
- Joseph Schooling (TEX) – 45.04
- Jack Conger (TEX) – 45.17
- Tripp Cooper (TEX) – 45.33
- Will Glass (TEX) – 45.50
- Sam Lewis (UNC) – 45.60
- Matt McHugh (OSU) – 45.82
- John Murray (TEX) – 45.89
- Matt Ellis (TEX) – 45.92
Joseph Schooling led prelims that year with a 45.04. That time would have place Schooling 14th in this morning’s prelims, putting him solidly in the ‘B’ final. This morning, Cal’s Dare Rose placed 16th with a 45.16, meaning the 45.17 Jack Conger put up in 2015 would have put him just out of the ‘B’ final this year.
Incredibly, that means that not only would that famous Texas 100 fly squad not have put anyone in the ‘A’ final this year, they would have put one swimmer in the ‘B’ final, and that’s it.
The depth that has developed in the event is shocking. In 2015, Matt Ellis took 8th in prelims with a 45.92. This morning, that time would have placed him 34th. We can also see how much the sport has developed across the board based off this morning’s results. The 8 swimmers who qualified for the ‘A’ final tonight represent 7 different programs, a far cry from the 3 programs that were represented in the ‘A’ final in 2015.
A big part of the faster times is the international nature of the NCAA meet these days. It is not just American athletes any more. Colleges are casting a wider net and offering scholarships to international students. How many of the top 8 were born in America?
Originally I was disappointed that Ryan Hoffer didn’t use the 5th year, but it turns out he was really smart to walk out on top rather than deal with the storm of speed carnage that is the 2022 meet. Shaine Casas too, adding them to this meet would have boiled the pool and potentially killed hundreds.
Don’t get me wrong, the results are very impressive. However, I think any time you look at a 6-7 year period of time at the NCAA level you see similar results of overall improvement (the fastest times stand out, but the rest of the field improves and eventually passes what once was extraordinary).
As an easy example, 19.81 got you into the consolation finals of the 50 Free in 2002.
In 2009, that number was 19.27 (admittedly, tech suits might have played into this improvement a bit).
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A huge part of this remarkable comparison is how today’s depth requires going all out for even the fastest guys in prelims. Hugo’s 3:34 and almost all of UT’s morning swims Thursday are good examples.
A few years ago the top guys could save something for finals, but that’s risky now.
the year is 2030 and it takes a 43 to make the B-final in the 100 fly. Baeleb Dressel’s 17.6 still stands to this day. Eddie Reese still has not retired.
“Hey remember when that one team did something never before seen at a meet before? Yea, now we can tell them it’s worth nothing.”
This seems to focus more on devaluing what those swimmers did during that time period, rather than supporting the direction that the sport is going BECAUSE OF THEM. Smh.
OK so this isn’t just 5th years making this meet so fast.
Correct.