FEDERAL WAY, Washington, March 29. IT took 17 years for it to be done, but Georgia's Gil Stovall erased Tennessee's Mel Stewart from the NCAA record book in the 200 fly at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships.
Stovall used a strong backhalf to race right by Stewart's time of 1:41.78 to touch in 1:41.33 – the second-fastest swim ever behind only Michael Phelps' American record of 1:39.70 set in 2006. Stovall also became the first Bulldog to win the event.
"It feels really cool but it's really humbling, getting up there with that crowd," Stovall said. "I give a lot of credit to our freshman, Mark [Dylla], because I couldn't have done it without him as a training partner. He's amazing. He pushes me every day. I'd gotten into a little rut in my training, but he snapped me back into it. He's an amazing guy and he's amazing to train with."
Teammate Mark Dylla, who initially was out under American-record pace in the early goings of the race, wound up second with a 1:42.08. That time made Dylla the fifth-fastest swimmer ever in the event. The time also stands as the eighth-fastest in the event.
Stanford's Danny Beal finished third in 1:42.79 to become the 12th-quickest ever.
Arizona continued to run away with its initial men's team title with 460.5 points, which is 95.5 points more than Texas' second-place 365. Stanford (314), California (300.5) and Auburn (261) stood among the top five.