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2022 NCAA Men’s Championship: Max McHugh Breaks 50 in 100 Breaststroke Prelims
The 2022 NCAA Men’s Division I Swimming and Diving Championships continued on Day 3 from the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Tech with the 100-yard breaststroke prelims.
The top seed heading into the meet was NCAA defending champion Max McHugh of Minnesota (50.58). The senior is the defending champion in both breaststroke events. He didn’t disappoint as he was the lone swimmer in the field to break 50 seconds in the prelims. In fact he was the second swimmer to ever break the 50-second barrier in the event.
The NCAA and American record is 49.69 set by Indiana’s Ian Finnerty in 2018 and McHugh put himself in position to challenge that mark in tonight’s finals.
In the final heat defending champion Max McHugh went a 48.95, the only swimmer under 50 seconds, just a couple of tenths away from the NCAA and American record.
Cal’s Liam Bell had a huge performance from Lane 8, going a 50.66 to win the fourth heat just ahead of Texas’ Caspar Corbeau. Bell’s mark broke the school record.
In the next heat, Cal’s Reece Whitley pulled away to win the heat in 50.87 and hold off Alabama’s Derek Maas, the SEC champion, as both swimmers made the final.
Cal put two up and Texas had one, which could be big in the team race, which continues to heat up between the two teams.
Meanwhile, a swim-off was required for the B final as Virginia Tech junior AJ Pouch and Louisville junior Denis Petrashov tied for 16th at 51.92.
In the swim off, Pouch had a narrow lead after the first 50. He continued his lead and pulled away in the final yards, touching in 51.92, the exact time that he swam earlier in prelims. Petrashov finished in 52.44.
The NCAA Finalists
1. Max McHugh, Minnesota, 49.95
2. Liam Bell, Cal, 50.66
3. Caspar Corbeau, Texas, 50.77
4. Reece Whitley, Cal, 50.87
5. Derek Maas, Alabama, 51.15
6. Dillon Hillis, Florida, 51.27
7. Trent Pellini, USC, 51.33
8. Jarel Dillard, Tennessee, 51.40
Event 11 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
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NCAA: N 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Meet: M 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
American: A 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
U. S. Open: O 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Pool: P 51.13 2/18/2022 Evgenii Somov, Louisville
Name Year School Seed Prelims
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=== Preliminaries ===
1 McHugh, Max SR Minnesota 49.95P
r:+0.68 23.50 49.95 (26.45)
2 Bell, Liam JR California 50.66P
r:+0.63 23.43 50.66 (27.23)
3 Corbeau, Caspar JR Texas 50.77P
r:+0.63 23.77 50.77 (27.00)
4 Whitley, Reece SR California 50.87P
r:+0.71 23.84 50.87 (27.03)
5 Maas, Derek JR Alabama 51.15
r:+0.69 23.97 51.15 (27.18)
6 Hillis, Dillon SR Florida 51.27
r:+0.65 24.04 51.27 (27.23)
7 Pellini, Trent 5Y USC 51.33
r:+0.69 23.75 51.33 (27.58)
8 Dillard, Jarel SR Tennessee 51.40
r:+0.61 23.91 51.40 (27.49)
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9 Benzing, Brian SO Towson 51.47
r:+0.61 23.97 51.47 (27.50)
10 Fallon, Matt FR Penn 51.51
r:+0.64 24.38 51.51 (27.13)
11 Somov, Evgenii 5Y Louisville 51.52
r:+0.68 24.15 51.52 (27.37)
12 Houseman, Kevin JR Northwestern 51.69
r:+0.58 23.94 51.69 (27.75)
12 Mikuta, Reid SO Auburn 51.69
r:+0.63 24.12 51.69 (27.57)
14 Pumputis, Caio 5Y GT 51.70
r:+0.65 24.10 51.70 (27.60)
15 Bottelberghe, Josh SR Notre Dame 51.74
r:+0.69 24.05 51.74 (27.69)
16 Pouch, AJ JR VT 51.92
r:+0.66 24.53 51.92 (27.39)
16 Petrashov, Denis JR Louisville 51.92
r:+0.74 24.44 51.92 (27.48)
Swim-Off Required ----------------------------------------------
18 Raisanen, Daniel JR Penn St 51.96
r:+0.66 24.31 51.96 (27.65)
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