Men's NCAA Champs: 1650 Freestyle

1650 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 14:24.08 (Martin Grodzki - Georgia, 2012) 14:22.41 (Clark Smith - Texas, 2017)
Meet Record: 14:24.08 (Martin Grodzki - Georgia, 2012) 14:22.41 (Clark Smith - Texas, 2017)
American Record: 14:23.52 (Connor Jaeger, 2014) 14:22.41 (Clark Smith - Texas, 2017)
US Open Record: 14:23.52 (Connor Jaeger, 2014) 14:22.41 (Clark Smith - Texas, 2017)

If that race does not get you fired up, then you likely don't have a pulse.​ The top four guys just swam the four fastest times in history. ​PJ Ransford ​of Michigan set the pace early out of lane one going 8:43.37 to the feet at the 1000, but the rest of the field caught him with about 500 yards to go. At that point it was a game of cat and mouse between ​Clark Smith​ of Texas, ​Jordan Wilimovsky ​of Northwestern, ​Akaram Mahmoud​ of South Carolina, and ​Felix Auboeck​ of Michigan. They all paced off of one another until the last 50 where they shifted into another gear and went into an all out sprint. In the end, Smith took the win with a time of 14:22.41 -- a new NCAA, Meet, American, and US Open record. Auboeck touched for second in 14:22.88, Mahmoud grabbed the bronze in 14:22.99, and Wilimovsky snagged fourth in 14:23.45. Unbelievable.​
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1.) Clark Smith (Texas): 14:22.41 (NCAA, American, & US Open Record)
2.) Felix Auboeck (Michigan): 14:22.88 
3.) Akaram Mahmoud (South Carolina): 14:22.99
4.) Jordan Wilimovsky (Northwestern): 14:23.45
5.) Matt Hutchins (Wisconsin): 14:31.19
6.) PJ Ransford (Michigan): 14:32.35
7.) Anton Ipsen (NC State): 14:34.85
8.) Grant Shoults (Stanford): 14:35.82