NCAA Men’s Championships: Jordan Crooks Crowned Sprint Champ
The 50 freestyle all year has been about the sub-18 depths plumbed by Jordan Crooks. That’s where the gold medal is going, too.
Crooks went 18.32 to win the 50 freestyle at the NCAA Championships at Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center.
Crooks was .08 ahead of Florida freshman Josh Liendo. Bjorn Seeliger of Cal was third in 18.67. Brooks Curry, last year’s champion, finished fourth in 18.76.
Crooks’ win is the first NCAA men’s title for a Tennessee swimmer since 2001 (Michael Gilliam, 100 backstroke).
Crooks entered as only the second man, alongside Caeleb Dressel, to have covered 50 meters of freestyle in less than 18 seconds. That doesn’t, to the Caymanian’s mind, add any pressure.
“I think just trying to realize that it’s been a fun season,” Crooks said. “It’s only my second season here at UT, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I think just trying to relax and trust the training and know that you’ve done the work. It’s just trying to have fun now.”
The race got off to a weird start, literally, with the gun held for a palpably long time. It meant that only Youssef Ramadan, in Lane 8, got out in a reaction time of under .6 seconds. (He was at .56). It helped the Virginia Tech swimmer sprint to fifth in 18.82.
“It did feel a little long, but things happen, it is what it is and I’m still happy with the outcome,” Crooks said. “You can’t really change it.”
“That start, they held us a long time,” Liendo said. “I was prepared and I guess ready for it. … Everyone was talking about it after the race, but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it.”
Cal’s Jack Alexy, Arizona State’s Jack Dolan and Gui Caribe of Tennessee rounded out the A final.
NC State cashed in in the B final, with Nyls Korstanje winning it in 18.74 and Noah Henderson second in 18.89. David Curtiss tied for 14th overall. It bodes well for the 200 free relay later in the night, in which the Wolfpack are seeded second.
Indiana’s Van Mathias, reinvented as a sprinter this year, went 18.91 to lower the school record he took in the morning from Blake Pieroni.
Three of them medalists from last year were back in the A final: Curry the winner, Seeliger the runner-up and Crooks tied for third last year. (The co-bronze medalist, Virginia’s Matt Brownstead, finished 13th overall this time around.)
Event 5 Men 50 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Meet: M 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
American: A 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
U. S. Open: O 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool: P 17.63 3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Crooks, Jordan SO Tennessee 18.25 18.32 20
r:+0.74 8.98 18.32 (9.34)
2 Liendo, Josh FR Florida 18.54 18.40 17
r:+0.62 8.86 18.40 (9.54)
3 Seeliger, Bjorn JR California 18.46 18.67 16
r:+0.70 9.02 18.67 (9.65)
4 Curry, Brooks SR LSU 18.72 18.76 15
r:+0.73 9.02 18.76 (9.74)
5 Ramadan, Youssef JR VT 18.87 18.82 14
r:+0.57 9.10 18.82 (9.72)
6 Alexy, Jack SO California 18.77 18.87 13
r:+0.67 9.03 18.87 (9.84)
7 Dolan, Jack SR ASU 18.87 19.15 12
r:+0.73 9.21 19.15 (9.94)
8 Santos, Guilherme FR Tennessee 18.81 19.16 11
r:+0.70 9.14 19.16 (10.02)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Korstanje, Nyls SR NC State 18.94 18.74 9
r:+0.60 8.93 18.74 (9.81)
10 Henderson, Noah SR NC State 18.89 18.89 7
r:+0.60 8.95 18.89 (9.94)
11 Mathias, Van 5Y Indiana 18.89 18.91 6
r:+0.67 9.09 18.91 (9.82)
12 Brownstead, Matt JR Virginia 19.03 18.92 5
r:+0.60 8.96 18.92 (9.96)
13 Bell, Liam SR California 19.04 18.96 4
r:+0.61 9.14 18.96 (9.82)
14 Curtiss, David SO NC State 18.93 19.10 2.5
r:+0.62 9.22 19.10 (9.88)
14 Gaziev, Ruslan JR Ohio St 19.00 19.10 2.5
r:+0.64 9.10 19.10 (10.00)
16 Elaraby, Abdelrahman SR Louisville 18.96 19.30 1
r:+0.63 9.17 19.30 (10.13)
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 5
1. California 150 2. Arizona St 126
3. Texas 122 4. NC State 119.5
5. Florida 103 6. Indiana 64
7. Tennessee 57 8. Stanford 52
9. Louisville 43 9. Auburn 43
11. Georgia 36 12. Virginia 27
13. Alabama 26 14. Virginia Tech 24
15. Texas A&M 20 16. Wisconsin 19
17. Notre Dame 17 18. Lsu 15
19. Missouri 6 20. Ohio St 4.5
21. Michigan 4 21. Princeton 4
23. Georgia Tech 3
50 Meters of freestyle in less than 18 seconds 🧐 ?