2017 NCAA DI Men's Swimming & Diving Championships

NCAA Day Three Prelims: Dressel Uncorks 17.71 On Florida 200 Medley Relay

NCAA Day Three Prelims: Dressel Uncorks 17.71 On Florida 200 Medley Relay

Full recap from day three prelims at the 2017 NCAA Division I men's swimming & diving championships features the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and 200 medley relay.

Mar 24, 2017 by Maclin Simpson
NCAA Day Three Prelims: Dressel Uncorks 17.71 On Florida 200 Medley Relay
Day three prelims are in the books here from Indianapolis. Friday's morning session at the NCAA DI Men's Swimming and Diving Championships provided plenty of excitement but more importantly set up potential record-breaking swims for tonight. On the docket for an action-packed finals at the IUPUI Natatorium includes the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and 200 medley relay. Catch up on all of the prelims action below.

400 IM

NCAA Record: 3:34.50 (Chase Kalisz - Georgia, 2014)
Meet Record: 3:34.50 (Chase Kalisz - Georgia, 2014)
American Record: 3:34.50 (Chase Kalisz - Georgia, 2014)
US Open Record: 3:34.50 (Chase Kalisz - Georgia, 2014

​Seven guys under 3:40? Five guys at 3:38? The depth of the 400 IM has improved dramatically, at least in the short course pool, over the last five years. Put this in perspective -- in 2012, it took a 3:39.15 to win this event. Regardless, ​Chase Kalisz​ of Georgia takes the top seed with a 3:37.28. Kalisz sat pretty steadily over the first 200 yards and then made his move, splitting 59.53 on the breaststroke leg to take command of his heat. His Georgia and Olympic teammate ​Jay Litherland​ took the second seed with a 3:38.39, and ​Mark Szaranek ​of Florida will be the third seed tonight with a 3:38.55. Kalisz is certainly the favorite as he holds the fastest time in history with a 3:34.50, but with a field this tight anything can happen

​1.) Chase Kalisz (Georgia): 3:37.28
2.) Jay Litherland (Georgia): 3:38.39
3.) Mark Szaranek (Florida): 3:38.55
4.) Gunnar Bentz (Georgia): 3:38.62
5) Jonathan Roberts (Texas): 3:38.91
6.) Robert Owen (Virginia Tech): 3:38.97
7) Abrahm Devine (Stanford): 3:39.44
8.) Andrew Seliskar (California): 3:40.64
16.) Sam McHugh (Tennessee): 3:43.64

100 BUTTERFLY

NCAA Record: 44.01 (Joseph Schooling - Texas, 2016)
Meet Record: 44.01 (Joseph Schooling - Texas, 2016)
American Record: 43.84 (Tom Shields, 2016)
US Open Record: 43.84 (Tom Shields, 2016)

Just like the 400 IM, the 100 butterfly has some serious depth -- 20 guys in this field were 45 seconds or faster, with ​Jack Conger ​of Texas taking the top seed in 44.44. ​Caeleb Dressel ​of Florida, Thursday night's champion in the 50 free, claimed the second seed with a 44.49. Both of these guys turned on the jets the last 37.5 yards to win their heats and post solid times. ​Sitting in third is the favorite, ​Joseph Schooling ​of Texas, with a 44.97, and right behind him in fourth is ​Ryan Held​ of NC State. Certainly expect this to be a battle of race strategy in the middle of the pool tonight. Conger has the back-end speed. Dressel and Held have the front-end speed. Schooling has both. These guys can realistically be out 20.2 or faster tonight, and we have a legitimate chance of seeing a 43-second swim.

1.) Jack Conger (Texas): 44.44
2.) Caeleb Dressel (Florida): 44.49
3.) Joseph Schooling (Texas): 44.97
4.) Ryan Held (NC State): 45.21
5.) Zheng Quah (California): 45.27 
6.) Matthew Josa (California): 45.31
7.) Andrew Sansoucie (Mizzou): 45.45
8.) Vini Lanza (Indiana): 45.47
16.) Brett Ringgold (Texas): 45.87
 

200 FREESTYLE

NCAA Record: 1:30.46 (Townley Haas - Texas, 2016)
Meet Record: 1:30.46 (Townley Haas - Texas, 2016)
American Record: 1:30.46 (Townley Haas - Texas, 2016)
US Open Record: 1:30.46 (Townley Haas - Texas, 2016)

As expected, ​Townley Haas ​-- the defending NCAA champion and fastest man in history in this event -- took the top seed with a seemingly smooth 1:31.97. Haas was the only man under the 1:32 barrier this morning, but there are ​a lot​ of swimmers bunched up in the 1:32 range after him. ​Dylan ​Carter​ of USC claims the second seed with a 1:32.17, and ​Blake Pieroni ​of Indiana picks up the third spot in 1:32.42. Haas is certainly the favorite, but Pieroni and Carter will fight him to the end. Both Pieroni and Carter swam under the 1:31 barrier to lead off their teams' 800 freestyle relays on Wednesday night -- dropping the second- and third-fastest performances of all time, respectively.

​1.) Townley Haas (Texas): 1:31.97
2.) Dylan Carter (USC): 1:32.17
3.) Blake Pieroni (Indiana): 1:32.42
4.) Soeren Dahl (NC State): 1:32.55
5.) Cameron Craig (Arizona State): 1:32.84
6.) Maxime Rooney (Florida): 1:32.88
7.) Dean Farris (Harvard): 1:33.05
8.) Brett Pinfold (Wisconsin): 1:33.21
16.) Jeff Newkirk (Texas): 1:33.58


100 BREASTSTROKE

NCAA Record: 50.04 (Kevin Cordes - Arizona, 2014)
Meet Record: 50.04 (Kevin Cordes - Arizona, 2014)
American Record: 50.04 (Kevin Cordes - Arizona, 2014)
US Open Record: 50.04 (Kevin Cordes - Arizona, 2014)

Who said Will Licon can't swim a 100 breaststroke? Oh yeah, ​Eddie Reese... ​Licon was the 2016 runner-up in the 400 IM but dropped that event in favor of the 100 breaststroke. It seems that Licon proved Eddie wrong -- he can, in fact, swim a fast 100 breaststroke, as he is the top seed this morning in 50.87 and the only one under the 51-second barrier. After splitting 49.75 on Thursday night's historic 400 medley relay, it was evident Licon was going to pop something off this morning. ​Brandon Fiala​, the ACC champion in this event, had a solid swim to take the second seed in 51.30, and ​Connor Hoppe ​of Cal claimed the third spot going into finals with a 51.50. Licon certainly has to be the favorite, but there are a lot of guys bunched up in the 51-second range -- including the defending champion, ​Fabian Schwingenschloegl​ of Mizzou -- who will be lurking in the fifth spot tonight.​

1.) Will Licon (Texas): 50.87
2.) Brandon Fiala (Virginia Tech): 51.30
3.) Connor Hoppe (California): 51.50
4.) Michael Duderstadt (Auburn): 51.75
5.) Fabian Schwingenschloegl (Mizzou): 51.76
6.) Nils Wich-Glasen (South Carolina): 51.86
7.) Carsten Vissering (USC): 51.91
8.) Peter Kropp (Duke): 52.06
16.) Conner McHugh (Minnesota): 52.41

100 BACKSTROKE

NCAA Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
Meet Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
American Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
US Open Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)

​This morning's prelims of the 100 backstroke was ​tight: three guys under 45 and four through eight were only separated by two-tenths of a second. ​Connor Oslin ​of Alabama, the runner-up to ​Ryan Murphy​'s​ 43.49 last year, takes the top seed with a 44.59 -- a great swim for the Crimson Tide senior. Oslin was very aggressive, busting out the first 50 yards in 21.36 -- the fastest in the field. ​John Shebat​ of Texas was primed for a great race today after his 44.58 on Thursday night's 400 medley relay. The Longhorns sophomore takes the second spot with a 44.63. ​Ryan Murphy​, the defending NCAA champion and fastest man in history, has looked a little flat for his unearthly standards at the meet. The California senior takes the third seed going into tonight with a 44.78. Regardless, he is still the favorite -- no question about it. After getting out-touched in Thursday night's 200 IM, look for Murphy to make a statement tonight in the 100 backstroke and swing the momentum in the Golden Bear's favor going into the 200 medley relay.

1.) Connor Oslin (Alabama): 44.59
2.) John Shebat (Texas): 44.63
3.) Ryan Murphy (California): 44.78
4.) Ralf Tribuntsov (Southern Cal): 45.00
5.) Grigory Tarasevich (Louisville): 45.13
6.) Luke Kaliszak (Alabama): 45.25
7.) Andreas Vazaios (NC State): 45.26
8.) Shane Ryan (Penn State): 45.27 *swim-off required*
8.) Taylor Dale (Georgia): 45.27 *swim-off required*
16.) Ryan Dudzinski (Stanford): 45.87

200 MEDLEY RELAY

NCAA Record: 1:22.27 (Michigan, 2013)
Meet Record: 1:22.27 (Michigan, 2013)
American Record: 1:22.40 (California, 2015)
US Open Record: 1:22.27 (Michigan, 2013)

Talk about close... All eight teams that qualified for the championship final posted a 1:23 this morning. Texas leads the way with a 1:23.17 with splits from ​John Shebat​ (21.02), ​Will Licon ​(23.31), ​Joseph Schooling​ (20.03), and ​Brett Ringgold ​(18.81). California sits second with a 1:23.27, almost a full second slower then its 1:22.31 from Pac-12's earlier this month. Expect both of these teams to be much faster tonight and threaten the NCAA record of 1:22.27 by Michigan in 2013. Missouri sits third with a 1:23.29 thanks to a massive 22.90 from ​Fabian Schwingenschloegl​ on the breaststroke leg and strong 18.59 from ​Michael Chadwick​ on the anchor. The story of this race is hiding among the splits from Florida -- which sits fourth with a 1:23.37. ​Caeleb Dressel​, who tied ​Vlad Morozov's​ fastest split in history at SEC's with a 17.76, just unleashed a 17.71 -- officially the fastest 50-yard freestyle split in history. The most impressive thing about Dressel is his consistency. This guy never has an off swim on the biggest stage.​ The defending NCAA champion in this event, Alabama, is sitting in seventh with a 1:23.93.

1.) Texas: 1:23.17​ 
2.) California: 1:23.27​
3.) Missouri: 1:23.29​
4.) Florida: 1:23.37​
5.) NC State: 1:23.53​
6.) Louisville: 1:23.87​
7.) Alabama: 1:23.93

8.) Stanford: 1:23.97