NCAA Men’s Championships: Julian Smith Goes 49.5 Again for 100 Breast Title
Julian Smith put the nation on notice with his NCAA record at the SEC Championships. Notice received Friday night.
Smith went 49.55, another sub-50 swim for the Florida senior to win his first individual NCAA title. His time was just .04 off his NCAA record and .02 behind the meet record set by Liam Bell last year.
It’s a fitting finale for Smith, who is billing this as his last meet. He goes out with a bang, which he compounded by helping the Gators win the 400 medley relay to cap the session.
“It’s one of those nights that I had circled,” he said. “Coming out of SECs, I knew it could be a special night for not just me, but for the University of Florida and just my whole swimming career as well. I was excited for this night, and I could not be happier with this result.”
Louisville’s Denis Petrashov surged up to second in 50.27, .02 ahead of Nate Germonprez. Finn Brooks finished fourth for Indiana in 50.50, one of six Hoosiers swimming in the finals of the event.
One of the primary stories of the conference championships was the sudden profusion of sub-50-second times. Only three swimmers before this season had broken the 50-second mark in the 100 breast. The club acquired two new members when Smith went 49.51 at the SEC Championships to take down Bell’s 49.53 from NCAAs last year. Brooks followed along by going 49.94 at Big Tens. (Leon Marchand, if you’re wondering, never swam a postseason 100-yard breaststroke; his best time, from Jan. 2023, is 51.01. Marchand split 48.73 on the 400 medley relay for Arizona State last year at NCAAs, for what that’s worth.)
Smith wore that pressure like a badge of courage.
“I think it definitely put a target on my back,” he said. “But my parents, they always remind me that pressure is a privilege, and it’s a good thing to have that target on your back. I kind of embraced that throughout this whole year, after midseason going 49. I knew it wouldn’t really matter until the end, until I got here, and I had to replicate that. And I’m just happy I was able to do it.”
Smith left little doubt Friday. He was out in 23.09, already .27 up on Germonprez. He had the fastest third 25 of the race and the second-fastest final 25.
Petrashov was fifth at the wall but closed hard in 26.70. Ron Polonsky got fifth in 50.60. Caspar Corbeau’s sixth place result helped Indiana solidify its grasp on third in the team standings.
Indiana’s breaststroking stable dominated the B final. Jassen Yep got his hand to the wall first in 50.89, .06 ahead of Josh Matheny and .10 up on Brian Benzing, last year’s silver medalist. Luke Barr was 15th overall. Aleksas Savickas was fourth in the B final.
Smith’s journey is not the usual one. He didn’t swim at NCAAs as a freshman, going 52.73 in the 100 to finish 12th at SECs, then was 14th in NCAAs as a sophomore in 2023. He stands on a relay team alongside guys like Josh Liendo, who’s won from Day 1 of his college career, and Jonny Marshall, the sophomore backstroker who is 4-for-4 in SEC titles in two seasons and was the runner-up in the 100 back Friday.
“It’s pretty impressive to watch what he’s done,” Liendo said, while admitting that he’s fielding messages from those who’d love to see Smith swim on past NCAAs. “That’s not something that happens every day. I don’t know if he’s even realized how impressive what he’s doing is, but it’s definitely inspiring to see.”
Event 11 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
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NCAA: N 49.51 2/21/2025 Julian Smith, Florida
Meet: M 49.53 3/29/2024 Liam Bell, California
American: A 49.51 2/21/2025 Julian Smith, Florida
U. S. Open: O 49.51 2/21/2025 Julian Smith, Florida
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Smith, Julian SR Florida 50.30 49.55 20
r:+0.63 10.43 23.09 (12.66)
36.06 (12.97) 49.55 (13.49)
2 Petrashov, Denis 5Y Louisville 50.57 50.27 17
r:+0.65 10.82 23.67 (12.85)
36.82 (13.15) 50.27 (13.45)
3 Germonprez, Nate SO Texas 50.46 50.29 16
r:+0.69 10.63 23.36 (12.73)
36.62 (13.26) 50.29 (13.67)
4 Brooks, Finn SR Indiana 50.28 50.50 15
r:+0.62 10.42 23.38 (12.96)
36.74 (13.36) 50.50 (13.76)
5 Polonsky, Ron SR Stanford 50.47 50.60 14
r:+0.67 10.82 23.70 (12.88)
36.92 (13.22) 50.60 (13.68)
6 Corbeau, Caspar 5Y Indiana 50.33 50.62 13
r:+0.65 10.48 23.73 (13.25)
37.04 (13.31) 50.62 (13.58)
7 Okadome, Yamato FR California 50.62 50.69 12
r:+0.61 10.86 23.87 (13.01)
37.02 (13.15) 50.69 (13.67)
8 Kelly, Jack SR Brown 50.64 50.77 11
r:+0.66 10.64 23.62 (12.98)
37.05 (13.43) 50.77 (13.72)
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