200 FREESTYLE RELAY

NCAA Record: 1:26.20 (Arizona, 2009) 1:26.15 (Stanford, 2017)
Meet Record: 1:26.20 (Arizona, 2009) 1:26.15 (Stanford, 2017)
American Record: 1:26.20 (Arizona, 2009) 1:26.15 (Stanford, 2017)
US Open Record: 1:26.20 (Arizona, 2009) 1:26.15 (Stanford, 2017)

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Stanford resets the record books in yet another event at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Indianapolis with a blistering 1:26.15 in the 200 freestyle relay on Thursday morning. Is anybody surprised? The Cardinal's time breaks Arizona's 1:26.20 from the suit era in 2009. Also to no surprise, they were consistently great across the board with splits from ​Simone Manuel​ (21.44), ​Lia Neal​ (21.30), ​Janet Hu​ (21.78), and ​Ally Howe​ (21.63). Cal snagged second with a quick 1:26.67 led by ​Farida Osman ​(21.61), ​Amy Bilquist​ (21.68), ​Valerie Hull​ (21.63), and ​Kristen Vredeveld​ (21.75). The Georgia women touched in 1:26.79, led by ​Olivia Smoliga ​(21.43) on the lead-off and ​Chantal Van Landeghem​ (21.34) on the anchor, good for the third seed going into finals. Ohio State's ​Liz Li​ had the fastest split of the morning with a 21.19, leading the Buckeyes to 16th place and a spot in the consolation finals.

1.) Stanford: 1:26.15 (NCAA, American, US Open Record)
2.) California: 1:26.67
3.) Georgia: 1:26.90
4.) NC State: 1:27.32
5.) Auburn: 1:27.51
6.) Louisville: 1:27.65
7.) Arizona: 1:27.88
7.) Wisconsin: 1:27.88
16.) Ohio State: 1:28.78

500 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 4:25.15 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
Meet Record: 4:30.37 (Leah Smith - Virginia, 2016)​ 4:28.37 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
American Record: 4:25.15 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)
US Open Record: 4:25.15 (Katie Ledecky - Stanford, 2017)

​​Katie Ledecky ​is the top seed? Of course.​ She cruised to a solid 4:28.37 this morning, practically dragging her legs through the water with a minimal kick until the final 50 yards. She looked very steady and then turned on the jets that last 50 splitting a 25.81 to break ​Leah Smith's​ meet record of 4:30.37 from last year. Speaking of Smith, the Virginia senior took the second seed by dominating her heat with a 4:31.10. Make no mistake about it, Smith is a ​great​​ swimmer. After all, she is an Olympic medalist -- she just happens to swim the same events as the buzzsaw that is Ledecky, who is transcendent on every level. ​G Ryan​, the Big Ten champion in this event, grabbed the third seed with a 4:36.46. It took a 4:38.09 to make the championship final, which is faster than the 4:38.27 it took to make the final heat in 2016.

​​​1.)​ Katie Ledecky (Stanford): 4:28.37
2.) Leah Smith (Virginia): 4:31.10
3.) G Ryan (Michigan): 4:36.46
4.) Mallory Comerford (Louisville): 4:36.91
5.) Hannah Moore (NC State): 4:37.12
6.) Rose Bi (Michigan): 4:37.81
7.) Danielle Valley (Wisconsin): 4:38.07 
8.) Kennedy Goss (Indiana): 4:38.09  
16.) Genevieve Mille (Air Force): 4:39.97 (swim-off required)
16.) Lauren Case (Texas): 4:39.97 (swim-off required)

200 IM

NCAA Record: 1:51.65 (Ella Eastin - Stanford, 2016)
Meet Record: 1:51.65 (Ella Eastin - Stanford, 2016)
American Record: 1:51.65 (Ella Eastin - Stanford, 2016)
US Open Record: 1:51.65 (Ella Eastin - Stanford, 2016)

​​Madisyn Cox​, senior for Texas, takes the top seed this morning with a 1:53.38, breaking ​Caitlin Leverenz's ​IUPUI pool record of 1:53.39 in the process.​ It was a big race for the Texas A&M Aggies also as they claimed the second and third spots with ​Sydney Pickrem ​(1:53.69) and ​Bethany Galat​ (1:54.20), respectively. The defending NCAA champion from Stanford, ​Ella Eastin​, picked up the fourth seed with a 1:54.20.​ Look for her to be much faster tonight and challenge her own record of 1:51.65 to pick up major points for Stanford.

1.) Madisyn Cox (Texas): 1:53.38
2.) Sydney Pickrem (Texas A&M): 1:53.69
3.) Bethany Galat (Texas A&M): 1:54.20
4.) Ella Eastin (Stanford): 1:54.55
5.) Kathleen Baker (California): 1:54.61 
6.) Louise Hansson (Southern Cal): 1:55.01
7.) Alexia Zevnik (NC State): 1:55.30
8.) Asia Seidt (Kentucky): 1:55.59
16.) Siobhan Haughey (Michigan): 1:56.34

50 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 21.21 (Olivia Smoliga - Georgia, 2016)
Meet Record: 21.21 (Oliva Smoliga - Georgia, 2016)
American Record: 21.12 (Abbey Weitzel, 2016)
US Open Record: 21.12 (Abbey Weitzel, 2016)

​This is going to be one hell of a race tonight. ​Olivia Smoliga ​-- the NCAA record-holder -- is seeded second. ​Abbey Weitzel​ -- the American record-holder -- is seeded fourth. ​Simone Manuel​ -- the fastest 50 freestyle relay split in history -- is seeded third. But the leader of the pack this morning is ​Liz Li​ from Ohio State with a sterling 21.52.​ It wasn't a surprise that she had a great swim as she has already been 21.48 this season at Big Tens. But the surprise is that she took the top seed in a stacked field with all of the aforementioned names. With major implications in the team race, Cal put up three Bears in the A-final with Weitzel in fourth, ​Farida Osman​ in seventh​, and ​Maddie Murphy​ in eighth to Stanford's lone swimmer in Manuel.

1.) Liz Li (Ohio State): 21.52
2.) Olivia Smoliga (Georgia): 21.56
3.) Simone Manuel (Stanford): 21.57
4.) Abbey Weitzel (California): 21.62
5.) Caroline Baldwin (UNC): 21.80
6.) Chantal Van Landeghem (Georgia): 21.81
7.) Farida Osman (California): 21.83
8.) Maddie Murphy (California): 21.84
16.) Anika Apostalon (Souther Cal): 22.00 ​(swim-off required)
16.) Amy Bilquist (California): 22.00 (​swim-off required)

​​400 MEDLEY RELAY

NCAA Record: 3:26.14 (Stanford, 2016)
Meet Record: 3:26.14 (Stanford, 2016)
American Record: 3:26.14 (Stanford, 2016)
US Open Record: 3:26.14 (Stanford, 2016)

Tonight's A-final will be a fight between the top four teams. First through fourth place is only separated by less than three-tenths of a second, led by Cal in 3:27.97 with strong bookends from ​Kathleen Baker​ (50.81) and ​Abbey Weitzel ​(46.41). Georgia touched in second with a 3:28.00 paced by strong bookends as well from ​Olivia Smoliga ​(50.96) and ​Chantal Van Landeghem​ (46.61). ​Chelsea Britt ​threw down a great butterfly leg for the Bulldogs with a 50.88. Taking the third spot was Louisville led by, you guessed it, ​Mallory Comerford​ on the anchor leg. Comerford unloaded the fastest split in the field with a blazing 46.18 to lead the Cardinals past Texas A&M, which touched in fourth with a 3:28.26. The main story here with implications in the team race is Stanford placing fifth. The Cardinal certainly did not put their strongest four swimmers together this morning but can still change that for tonight. Not many other teams can "hold back" at NCAAs, but Stanford is great. Stay tuned.

1.) California: 3:27.97
2.) Georgia: 3:28.00
3.) Louisville: 3:28.24
4.) Texas A&M: 3:28.26
5.) Stanford: 3:29.14
6.) Texas: 3:29.50
7.) Southern Cal: 3:29.77
8.) Indiana: 3:30.18
16.) Minnesota: 3:42.47