Cal’s Alexy, Lasco Break Through With 47s In 100 Free Prelims At Nationals

2023 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 27 – July 1, 2023
• Indianapolis, IN
• Indiana University Natatorium
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Heat 7 of the men’s 100 freestyle prelims at the 2023 U.S. National Championships produced two of the most notable swims of the morning.

The Cal duo of Jack Alexy and Destin Lasco swam in lanes 2 and 6, respectively, and went 1-2 in the heat. Alexy blasted his way to a time of 47.75 to win the heat, ranking him second overall for the morning, and Lasco was right behind in 47.87, good for third overall. The only man who swam faster than Alexy and Lasco was Ryan Held, who earned the top seed with a 47.63.

Alexy and Lasco both bust through the 48-second barrier for the first time, with Alexy’s previous best time sitting at 48.69 from 2021 (the current 17-18 NAG) while Lasco swam a PB of 48.75 last year.

Cal has a long history of producing some of the fastest sprinters in the NCAA and that remained true during the 2022-2023 season as Alexy rose to prominence in the 50 and 100 freestyle. He was the runner-up in the 100 free at the 2023 NCAA Championships in a time of 40.92 and also took sixth in the 50 free after putting a prelim PB of 18.77 (he also swam slightly faster in the heats of the 100 free, clocking 40.88).

Both of those swims marked significant improvements for Alexy, who entered the 2022-23 college season with respective best times of 19.27 and 41.77.

This morning’s prelims swim by Alexy is a major breakthrough in his long course career. The 47-second range is an important milestone for those hoping to make an impact on the world stage. It took 47.71 in order to win a medal at the 2022 World Championships and it has taken 47 to land on the podium at every Olympics since 2008.

While Alexy is known for his freestyle sprinting, Lasco has been considered a backstroker and IMer for the majority of his career.

He recently defended his national title in the 200 backstroke at the NCAA Championships, placed second in the 200 IM (with a new American Record), and placed third in the 100 back. That means that he didn’t even race sprint freestyle individually at NCAAs. He has certainly found some success in the yards pool as a freestyler, however, posting some blistering relay legs for Cal, including a 40.95 anchor leg on the 400 free relay at NCAAs.

Lasco was also 18.52 on the 200 free relay and 1:29.53 on the 800 free relay.

The two Bears will race in lanes 3 and 5 during tonight’s finals session and we will see if they keep the momentum as they vie for a spot on the Worlds team in 100 freestyle.

The top two swimmers will qualify individually for the World Championships, while finishers third through sixth will qualify for the relay (fifth and sixth-place pending roster numbers).

In addition to Held, Alexy, and Lasco, Matt King cracked 48 seconds in 47.93.

The field is relatively wide open after both American representatives from the 2022 World Championships, Caeleb Dressel and Brooks Curry, missed the final. Dressel and Curry also mark the only two active U.S. swimmers to have competed in the 100 free on the major international stage, so we’ll see two new names enter the fold in Fukuoka.

Men’s 100 Freestyle Prelims – 2023 World Championships Trials

1. Ryan Held (NYAC) — 47.63
2. Jack Alexy (CAL) — 47.75
3. Destin Lasco (CAL) — 47.87
4. Matt King (TFA) — 47.93
5. Macguire McDuff (FLOR) — 48.08
6. Justin Ress (MVN) — 48.14
7. Chris Giuliano (ND) — 48.17
8. Drew Kibler (CSC) — 48.37

Their morning swims bode well for the rest of the meet, at which Alexy is entered to race the 50 free and 50 back and Lasco is entered in the 50, 100, and 200 backstrokes along with the 200 IM.