2015 NCAA Championships SEC Roundup: Georgia’s Matias Koski Rips Sub 4:12 500 Freestyle From The Consolation Final

2015 MEN’S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, March 26 – Saturday, March 28
• University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Prelims 11AM/Finals 7PM (Central Time)
• Defending Champion: California – results
• NCAA Championship Central
• Prelims Live feed: Hawkeye Sports
• Finals Live feed: ESPN3 (Friday & Saturday)
• Live results

DAY ONE SEC RANKINGS

• 2. Florida (108)
• 5. Alabama (79)
• 8. Auburn (67)
• 9. Georgia (61.5)
• 12. Missouri (49)
• 20. Tennessee (12)
• 26. South Carolina (2)

Matias Koski of Georgia has qualified for the championship final in the 500 freestyle for two years straight, however he missed the mark this year, but managed to make up for it with an incredible performance in the consolation final.

Koski, a two time fourth place NCAA finisher in the race, was kept just out of the championship final during day one prelims after putting up a 4:13.72 in the heats. The cutoffs for finals were a 4:13.65, leaving Koski ninth overall.

The Georgia junior took full advantage of the situation, and took absolute control of the consolation final right from the get-go. At the first 100 he was a 48.06, over half-a-second faster than he split on the first 100 in prelims.

He continued on his pace, turning in 1:38.74 at the 200. Koski kept moving, maintaining over a body-length lead on the field as he trudged to the wall and eventually touched in with a time of 4:11.83. That time won the consolation final by a wide margin, as second place finisher Anton Ispen of NC State was almost two seconds behind him.

That time for Koski would have been good enough for a bronze medal in the championship final, beating out USC sophomore Reed Malone’s time of 4:12.67. He would have been just off a silver medal performance as well, coming within a few tenths of a second off Dan Wallace’s 4:11.62.

Koski will have two more shots at individual medals this weekend. He’ll be swimming the 200 freestyle and the 1650. In the 1650, he’s seeded second overall behind Northwestern’s Jordan Wilimovsky. Koski will also likely be a member of Georgia’s 4×200 freestyle relay.

Koski has been on a serious come-up since his freshman year. The 4:11.83 stands as his best time. Prior to this meet, Koski was a 4:12.01 at the SEC Championships to break his previous best time of 4:13.36 from the 2014 UGA Invite. The best time at the UGA invite marked his first personal best in the event since he went a 4:13.59 at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Koski’s 500 Free Splits

• 48.06
• 1:38.74
• 2:29.64
• 3:20.79
• 4:11.83

Other notable SEC Performances

• Caeleb Dressel broke the age-group record in the 50 freestyle en route to an NCAA title and the second fastest performance ever done by an American. Read about it here.
• The Auburn team earned themselves a bronze medal in the 200 free relay. Going into the meet they were seeded third meaning they maintained their positioning. They bettered their entry time with a 1:16.04 with the most notable split coming from sophomore Kyle Darmody at 18.72.
• Dan Wallace led the pack in the 500 free for a while, but ultimately was beaten to the wall by Clark Smith of Texas. Wallace was able to hold on for the silver medal however, claiming that for Florida.