NCAA Men’s Championships: Josh Liendo Sprints to 100 Free Title
The sprinters geared up for one more showdown, this time in the 100 freestyle on the final night of the 2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships from Minneapolis.
The final included the defending champion, a freshman phenom, a couple of stars on the rise, an NCAA title holder in another event and a few veterans.
The win went to the freshman phenom as Florida’s Josh Liendo led at the turn and held off a pair of Cal veterans to win in 40.28.
“I knew I could attack the 100 free, so that is exactly what I did,” Liendo said. “The only thing in my head was going out fast, because everything else wasn’t really working. It was a best time by a lot and I am looking forward to seeing how fast I can go. It works. I am going to try to go out faster every time.”
He is the first freshman to win an individual title at this meet. He had finished second in the 50 free and 100 butterfly.
“It definitely added more motivation (to be second). I definitely wanted to win and be on top,” he said. “I just wanted to go out there and know when I hit the wall that I gave it everything I had. I was locked in and my details were on point, but at a certain point, it was just get my head down, grit my teeth and get home. My level of focus has definitely gotten better. In this meet, there is no room for error. It can be the difference between 16th and fourth. Florida prepared me for moments like this.”
Cal sophomore Jack Alexy took second in 40.92 and teammate Bjorn Seeliger was third in 40.83.
Ohio State junior Ruslan Gaziev was fourth in 40.98, followed by Tennessee sophomore Jordan Crooks (41.03), the winner of the 50 free and defending champion Brooks Curry of LSU, who tied for fifth at 41.03.
Indiana’s Van Mathias was seventh in 41.39 and Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan, the 100 fly champion, was eighth (41.61).
Tennessee’s Guilherme Santos won the B final with a 51.54.
Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Meet: M 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
American: A 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
U. S. Open: O 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool: P 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Liendo, Josh FR Florida 41.25 40.28 20
r:+0.59 19.14 40.28 (21.14)
2 Alexy, Jack SO California 40.88 40.92 17
r:+0.66 19.72 40.92 (21.20)
3 Seeliger, Bjorn JR California 41.17 40.93 16
r:+0.68 19.24 40.93 (21.69)
4 Gaziev, Ruslan JR Ohio St 41.34 40.98 15
r:+0.64 19.80 40.98 (21.18)
5 Crooks, Jordan SO Tennessee 40.92 41.03 13.5
r:+0.62 19.59 41.03 (21.44)
5 Curry, Brooks SR LSU 41.17 41.03 13.5
r:+0.63 19.37 41.03 (21.66)
7 Mathias, Van 5Y Indiana 41.33 41.39 12
r:+0.64 19.99 41.39 (21.40)
8 Ramadan, Youssef JR VT 41.15 41.61 11
r:+0.58 19.89 41.61 (21.72)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Santos, Guilherme FR Tennessee 41.51 41.54 9
r:+0.58 19.84 41.54 (21.70)
10 Guiliano, Chris SO Notre Dame 41.48 41.64 7
r:+0.65 20.01 41.64 (21.63)
11 Kulow, Jonny FR ASU 41.86 41.66 6
r:+0.61 19.77 41.66 (21.89)
12 House, Grant 5Y ASU 41.83 41.90 5
r:+0.66 20.08 41.90 (21.82)
13 Chaney, Adam JR Florida 41.75 41.93 4
r:+0.64 20.18 41.93 (21.75)
14 McDuff, Macguire SO Florida 41.92 41.97 3
r:+0.61 19.92 41.97 (22.05)
15 Krueger, Danny 5Y Texas 41.95 42.22 2
r:+0.71 20.36 42.22 (21.86)
16 Dolan, Jack SR ASU 41.85 42.56 1
r:+0.70 20.38 42.56 (22.18)
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 17
1. California 400 2. Arizona St 358
3. Texas 324 4. NC State 302.5
5. Florida 291 6. Indiana 271
7. Tennessee 168.5 8. Stanford 115.5
9. Virginia Tech 107 10. Auburn 105
11. Georgia 90 12. Ohio St 81.5
13. Louisville 71 14. Virginia 67
15. Texas A&M 65 16. Missouri 62.5
17. Notre Dame 62 18. Lsu 53.5
19. Alabama 40 20. Southern California 31
21. Wisconsin 27 21. UNC 27
23. Michigan 24 24. Minnesota 20
25. Utah 14 26. Kentucky 13
26. Siuc 13 28. Columbia 12
29. Arizona 10 30. Miami 9
31. Penn St 4 31. Pittsburgh 4
31. Princeton 4 34. Georgia Tech 3
35. Air Force 2 35. Towson 2
37. Purdue 1
