2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet

His time didn’t last long, as the first of the circle-seeded heats saw the #6 seed, Will Modglin, surpass his season best by .19 as the sophomore hit the wall in 1:40.45. The Longhorn used a strong last 50 of 24.18 to pass last year’s 5th-place finisher, Gal Groumi. Groumi, a senior from Michigan, had the lead at the 150 but was out-touched at the finish as he hit the wall in 1:40.52. Texas A&M’s Baylors Nelson was 8th last year but has a nervous wait as his 1:41.14 was just 3rd in the heat.
Cal is not here to mess around. They mean business. Sophomore and US Olympian Keaton Jones, jumped on the 2nd heat, attacking it from the get-go. Jones entered the meet as the 45th seed with an entry time of 4:16.76 but easily was under that, going 4:13.62, passing Miroslaw, and posting the fastest time of the morning.
Top 16
We don’t often see big drops in the 50 free that have impacts on the composition of the finals; Indiana’s Finn Brooks jumped from his spot at the #32 seed with a PB of 19.12 all the way into the B-final with a new school record of 18.86. The .26 second drop makes Brooks, who is the #2 seed in the 100 breaststroke tomorrow, the 10th fastest swimmer this morning.
The last heat saw American record holder Rex Maurer copy his teammate Hobson’s strategy of taking it out and not looking back. Maurer was out a tad slower than Hobson and Henveaux, going 1:37.61. Whereas Hobson put the brakes on a little towards the end, Maurer kept up the pace, closing in a last 100 of 48.97 to secure lane 4 tonight, with his time of 4:07.55.  Jake Magahey and Charlie Hawke weren’t too far behind at the 300 turn, each within a second of the leader, but couldn’t match his turn of pace and ultimately finished in 4:09.19 and 4:09.52. The time each secured them a return to the A-final, but it was close as David Johnston‘s 4:09.54 was 9th.
The speed of these guys has made live recaps nigh impossible, so apologies.
Up through the circle-seeded heats, the top time belonged to Cal’s Mewen Tomac. Listed as a fifth-year, but in his first year in the NCAA, the French Olympian posted a time of 1:41.40, cutting a second and a half off his seed time of 1:42.96.

Men’s 500 Freestyle – Prelims

• NCAA Record: 4:02.31 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• Championship Record: 4:02.31 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• American Record: 4:04.45 – Rex Maurer, Texas (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 4:02.31 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• 2024 Champion: Leon Marchand, Arizona State – 4:02.31
• 2024 Time to Final: 4:11.11/4:13.00

In the 500 Free, only NCAA record holder and last year’s Champion Leon Marchand is absent. However, Rex Maurer, who finished 31st last year, is more than eager to pick up that mantle, as he is comfortably the first seed by over three seconds. Maurer’s comfort shouldn’t extend much beyond the psych sheet, however, as there are a number of dangerous floaters in the field. Teammate Luke Hobson, last year’s runner-up, is seeded just 15th. The pair would love to make the top 8 together, and being joined by last year’s 7th place finisher, Coby Carrozza, and this year’s #6 seed David Johnston would be all the sweeter, but both the Cal pair of Lucas Henveaux and Gabriel Jett as well as the Georgia duo of Jacob Magahey and Tomas Koski stand in their way.

1. Rex Maurer (TEX) – 4:07.55
2. Lucas Henveaux (CAL) – 4:07.98
3. Luke Hobson (TEX) – 4:08.32
4. Jovan Lekic (LSU) – 4:08.55
5. Tomas Koski (UGA) – 4:09.01
6. Jacob Magahey (UGA) – 4:09.19
7. Zalan Sarkany (IU) – 4:09.22
8. Charlie Hawke (BAMA) – 4:09.52
9. David Johnston (TEX) – 4:09.54
10. Noah Millard (Yale) – 4:09.94
11. Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC) – 4:10.16
12. Carson Hick (UK) – 4:10.27
13. Coby Carrozza (TEX) – 4:10.62
14. Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR) – 4:12.17
15. Tyler Kopp (CAL) – 4:12.84
16. Daniel Matheson (ASU) – 4:13.15

In the 500 Free, only NCAA record holder and last year’s Champion Leon Marchand is absent. However, Rex Maurer, who finished 31st last year, is more than eager to pick up that mantle, as he is comfortably the first seed by over three seconds. Maurer’s comfort shouldn’t extend much beyond the psych sheet, however, as there are a number of dangerous floaters in the field. Teammate Luke Hobson, last year’s runner-up, is seeded just 15th. The pair would love to make the top 8 together, and being joined by last year’s 7th place finisher, Coby Carrozza, and this year’s #6 seed David Johnston would be all the sweeter, but both the Cal pair of Lucas Henveaux and Gabriel Jett as well as the Georgia duo of Jacob Magahey and Tomas Koski stand in their way.

1. Hubert Kos (TEX) – 1:38.89
2. Destin Lasco (CAL) – 1:39.23
3. Owen McDonald (IU) – 1:39.81
4. Carles Coll Marti (VT) – 1:39.82
5. Julian Smith (FLOR) – 1:39.85
6. Ron Polonsky (STAN) – 1:40.03
7. Will Modglin (TEX) – 1:40.45
8. Gal Groumi (MICH) – 1:40.52
9. Colin Geer (MICH) – 1:40.77
10. Luke Barr (IU) – 1:40.93
11. Baylor Nelson (TAMU) – 1:41.14
12. Mewen Tomac (CAL) – 1:41.40
13. Camden Taylor (TEX) – 1:41.58
14. Gianluca Urlando (UGA) – 1:41.61
15. Tristan Jankovics (OSU)/Louis Dramm (UNC) – 1:41.73

In the 500 Free, only NCAA record holder and last year’s Champion Leon Marchand is absent. However, Rex Maurer, who finished 31st last year, is more than eager to pick up that mantle, as he is comfortably the first seed by over three seconds. Maurer’s comfort shouldn’t extend much beyond the psych sheet, however, as there are a number of dangerous floaters in the field. Teammate Luke Hobson, last year’s runner-up, is seeded just 15th. The pair would love to make the top 8 together, and being joined by last year’s 7th place finisher, Coby Carrozza, and this year’s #6 seed David Johnston would be all the sweeter, but both the Cal pair of Lucas Henveaux and Gabriel Jett as well as the Georgia duo of Jacob Magahey and Tomas Koski stand in their way.

1. Jordan Crooks (TENN) – 18.00
2. Josh Liendo (FLOR) – 18.30
3. Guilherme Caribe (TENN) – 18.34
4. Ilya Kharun (ASU) – 18.44
5. Jack Alexy (CAL) – 18.48
6. Jonny Kulow (ASU) – 18.56
7. Quintin McCarty (NCST) – 18.62
8. Chris Guiliano (TEX) – 18.73
9. Jere Hribar (LSU) – 18.76
10. Finn Brooks (IU) – 18.86
11. Matthew King (IU) – 18.87
12. Matthew Klinge (OSU) – 18.89
13. Drew Salls (NCST) – 18.90
14. Connor Foote (TAMU) – 18.91
15. Alexander Painter (FLOR)/Bjorn Seeliger (CAL)– 18.92

ASU joined Tennessee as the only school to put two swimmers into the A-final as Ilya Kharun and Jonny Kulow will be next to each other tonight with their 18.44 and 18.56, both of which are new PBs for the pair of Sun Devils.
Cal’s anchor last night on their NCAA record-breaking 800 free, Lucas Henveaux, had a tight battle on his hands in the penultimate heat. Swimming out of lane 5, the Bear had a duel with Indiana’s Zalann Sarkany, who was in lane 2. The pair were 1:37.48 and 1:38.40, respectively, with Sarkany closing the gap to just .37 at the 400, but Henveaux’s next gear was too much as he pulled away and hit the wall in 4:07.98, overtaking Hobson for the top time.
While McDonald wound up in Bloomington, last year’s 3rd place finisher Hubert Kos found himself in Texas and ranks as the 4th seed. He is joined among the top 8 seeds by fellow Longhorn Will Modglin, who ranks 6th. While tied with two swimmers apiece in the top 8, Texas has an Ace in hole, as last year’s 7th place finisher Nate Germonprez, is ranked dangerously low at 22. He’s not the only one, however, looking dangerous.
NCAAs are always going to be an exciting meet. However, the NCAA records, the drama, and the team battle from last night have only seemingly made this morning all the more vital for teams like Texas, California, and Indiana to get themselves as many swimmers into the finals tonight.
That’s what the 50 Free is all about, and boy, does Jordan Crooks have them both. Entering the meet with a 17.85 seed time, his 18.00 is a very good sign as last year Crooks was just 18.49 in prelims and was the 4th seed heading into the final. Tonight, Crooks will have the middle lane as his 18.00 leads the field by .30. He’ll have familiar faces on either side of him as teammate and training partner Gui Caribe will be in lane three courtesy of his new PB of 18.34. SEC rival and defending champion Josh Liendo of Florida will be above him in lane 5.
That said, it’s going to be no easy task as nearly all of the A-finalists from last year return. As it is the last year where COVID fifth years can participate, it’s not unusual to see a good number of returners, but of the 24 A-finalists from last year, a whopping 20 appear in the psych sheets this morning.

Men’s 1 Meter Diving

• 2024 Champion: Lyle Yost, Ohio State – 433.55

No sitting around this morning. Krzysztof Chmielewski of USC wasted no time. The sophomore was out in 1:37.84 and continued to hold sub-51 to drop 6.09 seconds from his seed, ultimately hitting the wall in 4:10.16. It is a big swim, not just because it’s a PB by over three seconds, but it also is faster than what it took to make the A-final last year. We can expect, naturally, for swimmers to be faster than 8th place last year, but its a little unusual when there are still 32 swimmers left to go. Last year’s 6th place finisher (4:12.65), Jack Hoagland of SMU, hasn’t been quite to form this year and was 4:14.48 in the 3rd heat.
The last heat saw top seed Julian Smith go head-to-head with Hubert Kos. Kos had the advantage from the get-go, blitzing to a 44.74 opening 100, the only swimmer under 45.00. Smith was a bit more reserved opening in 46.07 but had the fastest 50 breaststroke split of 28.57. However, it wasn’t enough to close the gap as Kos’s 1:38.89 guaranteed him the middle lane in tonight’s final. Smith was a little off his seed, going 1:39.85, but it was enough to make it back.
Defending champ Destin Lasco ranks just 17th and, based on his 200 split from yesterday (1:29.10), appears to be in stellar form. So to is Georgia’s Luca Urlando. Urlando hasn’t competed at this meet since 2022, but he did place 3rd at that edition. Perhaps getting lost in the shuffle of all these returners is the top seed, Julian Smith. Smith was 11th last year, finishing with a time of 1:42.22, but he looks ready to defend his 1:39.38 entry time as he, too, was 1:29 on the relay last night.
Crashing home in a 23.44, faster than his finish in the final last year, Cal’s Destin Lasco picked up exactly where he left off last night, as he moved up from 4th to 1st in the penultimate heat, hitting the wall in 1:39.23. Lasco passed the #2 seeded Owen McDonald and the #5 seed Luke Barr to take the win, with the Indiana teammates having to settle for 2nd and 4th in the heat, going 1:39.81 and 1:40.93.