Men’s NCAA Division I Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

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

Day Three Finals Heat Sheet

The third finals session of the 2022 men’s NCAA Division I Championships projects to be full of highlights, with the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 3 meter diving and the 400 medley relay set to take place. Texas and Cal are projected to be in a dead heat, with the Bears making up significant projected ground on the Longhorns during this morning’s prelim session. The finals session kicks off at 6 PM EST.

Top 10 team rankings after day 2:

1. Texas: 180
2. Florida: 159
3. Cal: 158
4. NC State: 124
5. Arizona State: 111
6. Georgia: 100
7. Stanford: 94
8. Indiana: 78
9. Virginia: 70.5
10. Virginia Tech: 69

The session will open with the 400 IM, which carries some of the most interesting storylines of the meet. Carson Foster blasted a huge new lifetime best of 3:33.79 in prelims, less than a half second off of Chase Kalisz‘ American Record. Hugo Gonzalez also swam a lifetime best of 3:34.88 in the prelims, and Arizona State’s Leon Marchand, who swam the fastest 200 IM ever last night, is lurking in lane 2.

Stanford’s Andrei Minakov comes in as the top seed in the 100 fly after breaking the pool record in 43.77 this morning, but Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan and Luca Urlando should push him this evening after swimming 44.2s this morning.

Texas senior Drew Kibler holds the top seed in the 200 free as the only person under 1:31 this morning, but Georgia’s Matt Sates, who won the 500 last night, and Arizona State’s Grant House, the top seed coming into the meet, are close on his heels. Florida’s Kieran Smith will race in lane 7, while LSU’s Brooks Curry, last night’s 50 free champ, will race in lane 8.

Minnesota senior Max McHugh comes in as the heavy favorite in the 100 breast, as she had the top time by 7 tenths this morning and was the only swimmer under 50 seconds. He will be chasing Ian Finnerty‘s NCAA record of 49.69 this evening. The 100 back projects to be a very tight race, with the top 7 swimmers all seeded within .22 of each other after the prelims. Brendan Burns will swim in lane four after posting the top qualifying time of 44.36.

The session will wrap up with the 400 medley relay, where Indiana comes in as the top seed with a 3:00.95. Texas will race in lane 7 of the final heat, while Cal will swim in heat 3 after coming in as the 10th seeded team.

400 IM

• NCAA Record: Chase Kalisz (UGA): 3:33.42
• NCAA Meet Record: Chase Kalisz (UGA): 3:33.42
• American Record: Chase Kalisz (UGA): 3:33.42
• US Open Record: Chase Kalisz (UGA): 3:33.42
• Pool Record: Carson Foster (TEX): 3:33.79

Top 8 finishers:

1. Hugo Gonzalez (CAL- Senior): 3:32.88
2. Leon Marchand (ASU- Freshman): 3:34.08
3. Carson Foster (TEX- Sophomore): 3:35.69
4. Bobby Finke (FLOR- Senior): 3:36.83
5. Jake Foster (TEX- Junior): 3:38.24
6. Brooks Fail (ZONA- 5Y): 3:38.55
7. David Johnston (TEX- Sophomore): 3:40.05
8. Sean Grieshop (CAL- 5Y): 3:40.12

Cal’s Hugo Gonzalez led wire to wire in the 400 IM final, turning first at the 50 and never looking back to win in 3:32.88, the fastest time in history. Gonzalez led  Texas sophomore Carson Foster slightly at the 2o0 turned, but Gonzalez used a a massive 58.90 breaststroke leg to pull away from the field. Arizona State’s Leon Marchand ran down Carson in the freestyle.

Notably, all three Texas swimmers in this final dropped from their seeds out of prelims, while Cal Gonzalez moved up. Texas lost 7 points vs seed in the event, while Cal gained 7, meaning a net 14 point swing in Cal’s favor vs seed coming into the final.

Cal’s Jason Louser is the winner of the B final in 3:38.23 after dropping a massive breaststroke split to overtake Georgia’s Ian Grum, who led at the halfway point. Louser came into the heat as the 12th finisher this morning but now finishes ninth, a +4 net for Cal in the B final.

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: Andrei Minakov (STAN): 43.77

Top 8 finishers:

1. Andrei Minakov (STAN- Freshman): 43.71
2. Luca Urlando (UGA- Sophomore): 43.80
3. Youssef Ramadan (VT- Sophomore): 43.90
4. Nyls Korstanje (NCST- Junior): 44.17
5. Tomer Frankel (IU- Sophomore): 44.56
6. Nicolas Albiero (LOU- 5Y): 44.61
7. Aiden Hayes (NCST- Freshman): 44.75
8. Umit Gures (HARV- Junior): 44.88

Stanford’s Andrei Minakov defended his top seed, winning in 43.71 to clip his own pool and Pac 12 record that he set this morning. Minakov was out in 20.12 to lead the field at the halfway mark and timed his finish the best to win at the touch. Georgia sophomore Luca Urlando came on strong on the back half but was a little long into his finish, touching second in 43.80. Virginia Tech sophomore Youssef Ramadan rounded out the top three in 43.90 to set the ACC record.

NC State freshman Aiden Hayes, who finished second, set a new 17-18 NAG record with a 44.75.

The B final went to IU junior Brendan Burns, who touched first in 44.54. Burns led at the 50 turn and had the fastest second 50 in the field. Texas went 4-7 in the heat to move up one point vs. seed, but Cal’s Dare Rose moved up from 8th to 5th, a +3 point difference. That is another event “win” for Cal as they net +2 vs. seed against Texas.

200 free

• NCAA Record: Dean Farris (HARV): 1:29.15
• Meet Record: Dean Farris (HARV): 1:29.15
• American Record: Dean Farris (HARV): 1:29.15
• US Open Record: Dean Farris (HARV): 1:29.15
• Pool Record: Townley Haas (TEX): 1:30.46

Top 8 finishers:

1. Drew Kibler (TEX- Senior): 1:30.28
2. Grant House (ASU- Senior): 1:30.68
3. Matt Sates (UGA- Freshman): 1:30.72
4. Luke Miller (NCST- Sophomore): 1:31.16
5. Kieran Smith (FLOR- Senior): 1:31.27
6. Brooks Curry (LSU- Junior): 1:31.45
7. Trenton Julian (CAL- 5Y): 1:31.80
8. Murilo Sartori (LOU- Freshman): 1:32.90

Texas senior Drew Kibler used a strong back half to win the 200 free in 1:30.68. Arizona State’s Grant House, who came into the meet as the top seed, was out fast and led at the 100, but both Kibler and Georgia’s Matt Sates made their move on the 3rd 50 to draw even with the senior. House ended up second in 1:30.68 and Sates finished third in 1:30.72. Defending champ Kieran Smith fell to fifth in 1:31.27.

Overall in this event, Cal was -5 vs. seed while Texas held their seeds, the first Longhorn event “win” vs. seed this evening.

Ohio State’s Ruslan Gaziev took the home the B final title in 1:32.24, just ahead of Indiana’s Rafael Miroslaw. Texas held their seeds of 4th and 8th (although the swimmers switched places), while Cal dropped 2 places for a Bear net loss of 2 vs. B final seed

100 breast

• NCAA Record: Ian Finnerty (IU): 49.69
• NCAA Meet Record: Ian Finnerty (IU): 49.69
• American Record: Ian Finnerty (IU): 49.69
• US Open Record: Ian Finnerty (IU): 49.69
• Pool Record: Max McHugh (MINN): 49.95

Top 8 finishers:

1. Max McHugh (MINN- Senior): 49.90
2. Caspar Corbeau (TEX- Junior): 50.49
3. Liam Bell (CAL- Junior): 50.50
4. Reece Whitley (CAL- Senior): 50.84
5. Trent Pellini (USC- 5Y): 50.93
6. Dillon Hillis (FLOR- Senior): 51.24
7. Derek Maas (BAMA- Junior): 51.34
8. Jarel Dillard (TENN- Senior): 52.00

The heavy favorite coming in, Max McHugh of Minnesota took home the 100 breast title in 49.90, the only swimmer under 50 seconds and breaking his own pool record from this morning. Texas’ Caspar Corbeau outtouched Cal’s Liam Bell by .01 to finish second in 50.49. Reece Whitley held his fourth seed for Cal, resulting in a net 2 point gain for Texas vs. seed.

Auburn’s Reid Mikuta won the B final in 51.32, bettering his prelim time by three tenths. Penn’s Matt Fallon and Northwestern’s Kevin Houseman tied for second in 51.57.

100 back

• NCAA Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal): 43.49
• Meet Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal): 43.49
• American Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal): 43.49
• US Open Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal): 43.49
• Pool Record: Ryan Murphy (Cal): 43.49

Top 8 finishers:

1. Kacper Stokowski (NCST- Junior): 44.04
2. Brednan Burns (IU- Junior): 44.15
3. Adam Chaney (FLOR- Sophomore): 44.35
4. Destin Lasco (CAL- Sophomore): 44.36
5. Hunter Armstrong (OSU- Junior): 44.42
6. Nicolas Albiero (LOU- 5Y): 44.60
7. Dean Farris (HARV- Senior): 44.60
8. Bjoern Seeliger (CAL- Sophomore): 44.87

NC State’s Kacper Stokowski took home the win in a thrilling 100 back final, winning at the touch in 44.04. IU’s Brendan Burns, Florida’s Adam Chaney and Cal’s Destin Lasco all came under the flags together, but Stokowski got his hand on the wall first. Cal lost another point vs. seed in A final, with Bjoern Seeliger finishing 8th.

Alabama’s Matt Menke took it out fast in the B final and held on for the win the B final in 44.66. Texas senior Cam Auchinachie moved up from his seed to tie with Cal’s Daniel Carr for fourth, while Bryce Mefford fell one slot, a three point swing in Texas’ favor from seed.

This also marks the first point of the meet where Cal has held the lead over Texas, leading the meet now 280.5 to Texas’ 276.

400 medley relay

• NCAA Record: 2:59.22 (TEX- 2017)
• NCAA Meet Record: 2:59.22 (TEX- 2017)
• American Record: 3:01.51 (CAL- 2017)
• US Open Record: 2:59.22 (TEX- 2017)
• Pool Record: 3:00.68 (TEX- 2016)

Top 8 finishers:

1. Cal: 3:00.36
2. Indiana: 3:00.76
3. Florida: 3:01.00
4. Texas: 3:01.22
5. NC State: 3:01.53
6. Stanford: 3:01.70
7. Louisville: 3:02.03
8. Arizona State: 3:02.81

While top-seeded Indiana won the final heat, it wasn’t fast enough to overcome Cal’s 3:00.36 from heat three, making the Bears the NCAA champion in the event. This is the second time that Cal has won an NCAA relay after not racing in the final heat, after doing the same at last year’s meet in the 400 free relay.

Indiana was led by Brendan Burns‘ 44.45 leadoff and was followed by Josh Mathey (50.93), Tomer Frankel (44.19) and Rafael Miroslaw (41.19).

Texas, who notably scratched Alvin Jiang from the B final of the 100 back to seemingly save him for this relay, ended up leaving Jiang off the relay all together. The Longhorns instead opted to use Zachary Van Zandt on the fly leg, who split 44.79. While Van Zandt’s split probably justifies using him on the relay, it also means that Texas threw away guaranteed points in the 100 back.

Cal won the third heat in dominant fashion, touching first in 3:00.36, the fastest time with one heat to go. Destin Lasco led off in 44.64 and was followed by Reece Whitley (50.64), Trenton Julian (44.44) and Bjoern Seeliger (40.64).

The biggest storyline of heat three was Georgia’s Luca Urlando leading off in 43.35, breaking Ryan Murphy’s American Record and becoming the fastest 100 yard backstroker of all time. Urlando did not swim the 100 back individually, opting for the 20o IM instead of attempting the 100 fly/back double.

Team scores following day three:

1. Cal: 320.5
2. Texas 313
3. Florida: 272
4. NC State: 214
5. Indiana: 183
6. Arizona State: 167
7. Stanford: 169
8. Georgia: 150
9. Louisville/Ohio State: 108