Josh Liendo, Jordan Crooks Highlight Cadre of Men’s Sprinters in Action This Week
During the first four college swimming seasons after Caeleb Dressel exhausted his eligibility at the University of Florida, no one seriously challenged the legendary records he left behind in the short course yards sprint events. That all changed in the spring of 2023 when new Gator Josh Liendo swam his first championship season while Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks emerged as a force.
Crooks is the only man aside from Dressel to swim under 18 seconds in the 50 freestyle, with Crooks having posted a mark of 17.93 that is just three tenths shy of Dressel’s best. Crooks took down Liendo to win the NCAA title in the 50 free, but in the other four finals in which the two men have faced off, Liendo has earned national titles at Crooks’ expense.
In 2024, Liendo completed the so-called “Dressel triple” with individual titles in all three events. His times of 40.20 in the 100 free and 43.07 in the 100 butterfly made him the second-fastest man ever in both events, while his two-hundredth win over Crooks in the 50 free in 18.07 moved him to No. 3 all-time.
This year, all the serious contenders in the sprint events return to the college level, and they will spend the next four months jockeying for position on the national level but more importantly preparing to be at their respective bests for the final showdown in March. Those efforts begin in earnest this weekend when most of the big names race at one of several invitationals.
Jordan Crooks — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Liendo, who has captured Olympic silver in the 100-meter fly since his most recent signature collegiate win, will race alongside his Florida teammates in Athens, Ga., at the University of Georgia Invite, while Crooks and teammate Gui Caribe will compete at home. While Crooks remains the Volunteers’ top performer in the 50 free, Caribe has come on in the 100, coming in second to Liendo at last year’s NCAAs in the yards event in 40.55 before finishing 10th in the 100-meter race in Paris, three spots and seven hundredths ahead of Crooks.
Also in the competition pool this weekend are the Arizona State Sun Devils, racing in Greensboro, N.C., at the NC State Invite. Jonny Kulow returns after making the final in both sprint events last year while Ilya Kharun has become a major national contender in the 50 free, in addition to his signature butterfly events, after clocking a season-best time of 18.59 this spring.
However, three men expected to contend in the 50 and 100 come March will not be in action in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Cal swimmers Jack Alexy and Bjorn Seeliger will wait for two weeks until the Golden Bears head to Minnesota for invitational action while Chris Guiliano, fresh off a breakout summer in which he qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the 50, 100 and 200-meter free, is not yet part of the Texas roster after transferring from the suspended Notre Dame team.
While the top times will improve significantly in the coming days, any analysis of the sprint events on the national level will be incomplete until the Cal duo and Guiliano get their racing chances.
Meanwhile, the competition Liendo and Crooks will face in the 100 fly is nearly identical to last season, with every A-finalist from the college national meet still racing this year. In fact, the top-seven national finishers are all racing this weekend. Liendo and Crooks should not have any major challenges at their meets, but in Greensboro, Kharun will be swimming against 2023 NCAA champion Youssef Ramadan and the NC State duo of Luke Miller and Aiden Hayes.
No one will be winning any titles this weekend, but the various invitationals taking place across the country will give valuable insights into who is trending in the right direction in advance of championship season.