From our Thursday recap, courtesy of SwimSwam’s Lauren Neidigh:
MEN’S 800 FREE RELAY
- NCAA record: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- American record: 6:10.16, Texas, 2009
- U.S. Open record: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- 2016 NCAA Champion: 6:08.03, Texas, 2016
- NC State- 6:06.53
- Texas- 6:08.61
- Florida- 6:09.30
In heat 2, USC’s Dylan Carter led off with a phenomenal 1:30.95, making him the 2nd fastest 200 freestyler of all time. Indiana’s Blake Pieroni topped that with a 1:30.87 leadoff in the next heat.
NC State exceeded all expectations tonight, pulling off the upset by a landslide with a new NCAA and U.S. Open Record of 6:06.53. Ryan Held led them off in 1:31.37, followed by teammates Andreas Vazaios (1:32.23), Justin Ress(1:32.26), and Soeren Dahl (1:30.67).
Texas followed, finishing just half a second shy of their former NCAA Record. The team of Jack Conger (1:31.54), Jeff Newkirk (1:33.25), Clark Smith (1:33.49), and Townley Haas (1:30.42) set a new American Record, breaking the former mark of 6:10.16 set by Texas in 2009.
Florida’s Mark Szaranek put up a 1:31.46 anchor split to help the Gators take 3rd, running down Cal’s Ryan Murphy(1:32.06). Andrew Seliskar had the fastest split for the Bears, turning in a 1:31.58 on the 2nd leg.
Harvard’s Dean Farris (1:31.31) and Stanford’s Tom Kremer (1:31.75) were also in the 1:31-range from a rolling start.
TEAM SCORES THROUGH DAY 1:
1. NC State 40 2. Texas 34 3. Florida 32 4. California 30 5. Southern Cali 28 6. Univ of Georgia 26 7. Stanford 24 8. Louisville 22 9. Indiana 18 10. Wisconsin 14 11. Michigan 12 12. Auburn 10 13. South Carolina 8 14. Harvard 6 15. Arizona State 4 16. Missouri 2
Photo Vault
All photos courtesy of Tim Binning.
Held, Ress, and Vazaios celebrate after 800 free relay
