Minnesota’s Max McHugh entered the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship aiming for a third consecutive title in the event, this time in his home pool as the meet is in Minneapolis.
That opportunity brought out more pressure but also more excitement.
McHugh pulled out to a narrow lead at the midway point. He kept building that lead and got to the wall in 50 seconds flat – four tenths from the NCAA and American record.
“It is hard to put into words. We have known this would be here for two years at least. It has been in the back of my head for a while. It means a lot for my family, friends and teammates,” McHugh said. “It was a special memory for a lot of people here and I am so grateful I could do it for them.”
The home crowd was electric as he was announced and kept it going.
“The team, the women’s team, my family. It is a very special moment that I will remember the rest of my life,” he said. “I heard them before the race. I tried to zone it out, but after the race, hearing them is a moment I will never forget.”
It was his third consecutive title in the event.
The NCAA and American record was set in the same pool five years ago by Indiana’s Ian Finnerty, who was the first man to go sub-50 and win in 49.69.
“Fifty flat was good. Not the time I wanted, but that’s alright. I wasn’t going for a time, I was going for the win,” McHugh said. “I could care less about the time. It was an awesome race.”
The race was completely full of seniors and fifth-year seniors.
McHugh won the race in 50.00, followed by Indiana fifth-year Van Mathias (50.60).
Louisville senior Denis Petrashov took third in 50.78, followed by Texas senior Caspar Corbeau (50.79) and Florida fifth-year Dillon Hillis (50.80).
Cal senior Liam Bell was sixth (50.88), followed by fifth-year teammate Reece Whitley (51.04) and Alabama senior Derek Maas (51.23), the NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient for the meet.
“Those guys are awesome and it was a great race. It provided a sense of comfort. I see those guys like Reece and Liam all the time. It is exciting to see what next year will bring (with younger swimmers),” he said.
McHugh said he isn’t sure whether he will continue swimming after this year.
“I will reflect the next couple weeks. It is nice that trials is just a year away, so that is definitely an option,” he said. “I will talk to the coaching staff and feel it out. Not sure just yet.”
Event 11 Men 100 Yard Breaststroke
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NCAA: N 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Meet: M 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
American: A 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
U. S. Open: O 49.69 3/23/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Pool: P 49.69 3/24/2018 Ian Finnerty, Indiana
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 McHugh, Max 5Y Minnesota 50.26 50.00 20
r:+0.66 23.37 50.00 (26.63)
2 Mathias, Van 5Y Indiana 50.57 50.60 17
r:+0.66 23.39 50.60 (27.21)
3 Petrashov, Denis SR Louisville 51.12 50.78 16
r:+0.68 23.83 50.78 (26.95)
4 Corbeau, Caspar SR Texas 50.82 50.79 15
r:+0.67 23.72 50.79 (27.07)
5 Hillis, Dillon 5Y Florida 50.88 50.80 14
r:+0.64 23.74 50.80 (27.06)
6 Bell, Liam SR California 50.76 50.88 13
r:+0.62 23.87 50.88 (27.01)
7 Whitley, Reece 5Y California 51.00 51.04 12
r:+0.69 23.74 51.04 (27.30)
8 Maas, Derek SR Alabama 51.05 51.23 11
r:+0.65 24.14 51.23 (27.09)
=== Consolation Final ===
9 Matheny, Josh SO Indiana 51.17 50.99 9
r:+0.61 24.02 50.99 (26.97)
10 Mikuta, Reid JR Auburn 51.66 51.06 7
r:+0.63 23.98 51.06 (27.08)
11 Patton, Ben SR Missouri 51.43 51.41 5.5
r:+0.61 23.93 51.41 (27.48)
11 Polonsky, Ron SO Stanford 51.14 51.41 5.5
r:+0.67 24.03 51.41 (27.38)
13 Savickas, Aleksas FR Florida 51.14 51.44 4
r:+0.66 23.69 51.44 (27.75)
14 Smith, Julian SO Florida 51.34 51.45 3
r:+0.61 24.14 51.45 (27.31)
15 Benzing, Brian JR Towson 51.30 51.48 2
r:+0.59 23.69 51.48 (27.79)
16 Van Der Laan, Cooper SR Pittsburgh 51.32 51.72 1
r:+0.60 24.07 51.72 (27.65)
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 11
1. California 264 2. Texas 250
3. Arizona St 245 4. Florida 196
5. NC State 193.5 6. Indiana 154
7. Tennessee 103 8. Stanford 100.5
9. Virginia Tech 72 10. Louisville 71
11. Auburn 64 12. Texas A&M 53
12. Virginia 53 14. Georgia 49
15. Alabama 38 16. Lsu 37
17. Ohio St 34.5 18. Missouri 32.5
19. Notre Dame 31 20. Wisconsin 23
21. Minnesota 20 22. Michigan 18
22. UNC 18 24. Southern California 14
25. Arizona 10 26. Miami 9
27. Penn St 4 27. Princeton 4
29. Georgia Tech 3 30. Towson 2
30. Pittsburgh 2 30. Air Force 2
