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1650 Free
Some people may say that the mile is boring. Well tonight’s final might have changed that feeling for many swim fans. PJ Ransford from Michigan, a freshman, came out and made a statement after the 500. Ransford bringing the Michigan distance legacy out for all to see pulled 4 body lengths away from the field out of lane 8. Matias Koski of Georgia never backed down and with 500 left began to chip away at Ransford’s lead. With 150 to go Koski caught Ransford and pulled away for the win. Koski (14:32.38) Ransford (14:34.36)
200 Back
With the most impressive swim of evening Ryan Murphy of Cal not only won but dominated. With 100 to go Murphy continued to build on his lead out of every turn and looked stronger as the race went on. The result: a new American record (1:36.77). Sean Lehane of Tennessee (1:39.20) was 2nd and David Nolan of Stanford (1:39.59) was 3rd. It is fair to say that Murphy will most likely win swimmer of the meet with 2 new American records and dominating performances in the backstroke events.
100 Free
Crimson Tide rolled as Kris Gkolomeev of Alabama took the 100 FR final (41.56). Gkolomeev touched out Simonas Bilis of NC State (41.78). Crist Quintero of USC was third (42.18). The biggest difference from this morning was having at least two swimmers in the field go 41 where this morning the fastest time was 42.18 from Bilis. Look for the 400 FR Relay to provide some fireworks with NC State looking to capture their first relay title of the meet.
200 Breast
In a race that featured the top three performers of all time, the showdown between the three did not fail to excite. Chuck Katis of California entered the race as 3rd all time with his time from prelims of 1:50.71. Will Licon of Texas became the second swimmer to ever swim faster than 1:50 this morning with his time of 1:49.54. Kevin Cordes of Arizona came into the meet as the American record holder, the NCAA record holder, and the U.S. Open record holder with his time of 1:48.66 from NCAAs last year. Tonight, with Will Licon in lane 4, Cordes in lane 5, and Katis in lane 3 the pool exploded with fireworks. Cordes would take it out fast early with his 24.3 first 50 and Katis was right there with him at 24.7. At the 100 mark it was still Cordes at 52.04 but Licon moved in front of Katis with his 52.17. Cordes would maintain his lead to the 150 mark but that was when Licon made his move. With a 25 left in the race, Licon came out of his underwater breakout ahead of Cordes and went on to out touch Cordes at the finish. Licon’s finishing time of 1:49.48 wouldn’t be a new record, but it would give Licon his second victory against an American record holder in two nights. Cordes would finish with a time of 1:49.53 and Katis took 3rd with a time of 1:50.54.
200 Fly
Some of the “Texas 6 Shooters” were out to show that if you are going to swim fly then you are going to have to mess with Texas this weekend. Jose Schooling and Jack Conger went 1-2 in the 200 fly, (1:39.62) and (1:39.74). Dylan Bosch of Michigan was third (1:40.12). The race heated up at the 100 as Bosch went out ahead (48.03). But with the NCAA record holder Bosch, and the American record holder Conger in the mix, Schooling came out of the last turn determined to make his own history. Schooling, only a freshman has emerged this weekend a future star for years to come. Texas leaves this meet with one of the most dominant performances for one single stroke that has ever been seen in NCAA history and may never be repeated.
400 Free Relay
NC State went for it one last time but USC had just a little bit more in the end. Similar to last night’s finish in the 800 FR Relay, USC caught NC State on the last 50 and just touched out the Wolfpack for the win. USC (2:47.06) NC State (2:47.14). Cal finished 3rd (2:48.15) with a huge anchor leg by Ryan Murphy (41.14) who was named Swimmer of the Year.
From start to finish this year’s NCAA Championships didn’t disappoint and the 400 FR Relay was no different. Next year look for Texas to be fighting it out again at the top and NC State to continue to build on what they started this year.