NCAA Men’s Championships: Josh Liendo Goes No. 2 All-Time with 43.07 in 100 Fly

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

NCAA Men’s Championships: Josh Liendo Goes No. 2 All-Time with 43.07 in 100 Fly

Josh Liendo is on a hot streak. It’s not a bad place to be with an Olympics four months away.

Liendo added to his 50 free and two relays titles with the 400 butterfly crown Friday night at the NCAA Championships. His time of 43.07 seconds is the second fastest in history, trialing on fellow Floridian Caeleb Dressel’s American and U.S. Open record of 42.80.

Liendo was out under that pace in 19.90. He ended up .78 ahead of the field in a dominant performance.

Liendo had gone 43.30 in the morning, which had been the fourth best time in history. All Liendo was left to lament at night was that his turn execution could’ve been a little better, though that was a product of how fast he was moving.

“That’s the fastest I’ve ever gone and the fastest I’ve been moving so my counts were just off,” Liendo said. “So that’s why I didn’t hit the walls the way I wanted to, but I’m pretty happy with that swim and the way I felt and the way my fly’s been feeling.”

The best of the pack was Tomer Frankel of Indiana, who went 43.85. Luke Miller went 43.90 for bronze, while reigning champion Youssef Ramadan was fourth in 43.95.

NCAA Record: Caeleb Dressel, Florida 42.80 (2018)
2023 Champion: Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech 43.15

Ilya Kharun boosted Arizona State’s title hopes with a fifth-place result.

Liendo finds himself in an enviable position: The only man faster than him over 100 yards of butterfly is his training partner, Dressel. While being worried that Dressel might have some critiques of his walls waiting for him in Gainesville, Liendo is both honored but putting that kind of history out of mind. It’s only be doing the latter that he can broach those times.

“He’s probably going to roast me because of my turns, honestly,” Liendo said. “But I get to train with him every day. Having the record holder beside you is always going to help. I think it’s made Scotty (Buff, who was 12th) improve a lot, too. He’ll be really good, that’s somebody to watch out for. But we battle every day and at this point, I try not to think about the records because they’re fast. They’re really fast.

“To me, it’s just about hitting my details. Yes, I know the record is a possibility, but thinking about the record and missing my turn and not hitting finishes, it’s thinking about my own race and doing what I can to help the team win.”

Jordan Crooks, who finished fifth this year, opted for the 200 free. That helped Miller get into the A final. He was 17th in the 200 free in Day 3 of last year’s meet, though Miller sure looked like he belonged. He helped the Wolfpack, who entered the day sixth in the team standings, score big, with a little help. Aiden Hayes was sixth in 44.39.

Kacper Stokowski, eighth last year, swam like he was angry to be in the B final. So he went out fast and held on for second in 44.57, though he was originally disqualified for a 15-meter violation. That was overturned on review, which led to NC State going 1-2 in the B final. Arsenio Bustos led the B final in 44.49.

Prelims brought at least one surprise in the 100 fly: Andrei Minakov, the 2022 champion in this event, missed out on a second swim. The Stanford junior went 45.11 to finish 20th. He had won the race in 2022 in 43.71. Minakov was fourth last year.

 Event 9  Men 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Meet: M 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     American: A 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
   U. S. Open: O 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Pool: P 43.30  3/29/2024 Josh Liendo, Florida
    Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points 
=========================================================================
                       === Championship Final ===                        
 
  1 Liendo, Josh           SO Florida             43.30      43.07P  20  
     r:+0.59  9.08        19.90 (10.82)
          31.21 (11.31)       43.07 (11.86)
  2 Frankel, Tomer         SR Indiana             43.90      43.85   17  
     r:+0.55  9.18        20.39 (11.21)
          31.74 (11.35)       43.85 (12.11)
  3 Miller, Luke           SR NC State            44.06      43.90   16  
     r:+0.61  9.19        20.43 (11.24)
          31.69 (11.26)       43.90 (12.21)
  4 Ramadan, Youssef       SR VT                  44.58      43.95   15  
     r:+0.56  9.29        20.46 (11.17)
          31.96 (11.50)       43.95 (11.99)
  5 Kharun, Ilya           FR ASU                 44.50      44.26   14  
     r:+0.67  9.42        20.50 (11.08)
          32.19 (11.69)       44.26 (12.07)
  6 Hayes, Aiden           JR NC State            44.63      44.39   13  
     r:+0.61  9.28        20.63 (11.35)
          32.39 (11.76)       44.39 (12.00)
  7 Cohen Groumi, Gal      JR Michigan            44.62      44.46   11.5
     r:+0.54  9.38        20.71 (11.33)
          32.34 (11.63)       44.46 (12.12)
  7 Rose, Dare             SR California          44.52      44.46   11.5
     r:+0.62  9.25        20.63 (11.38)
          32.32 (11.69)       44.46 (12.14)

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