Texas A&M sophomore Shaine Casas, fresh off an SEC Championships where he won two individual titles, swam a 3:37.59 in the 400 IM at the American Short Course Championships in Austin, Texas. Casas moved himself up to 14th all-time in the 400 IM SCY with his swim and he is now second this season in Division I behind only Kieran Smith of Florida (3:37.31).
Casas moved ahead of Conor Dwyer (3:37.75) on the all-time list in the 400 IM. His best time before this year was a 3:42 at last year’s American Short Course Championships.
Shaine Casas might end up swimming this event at NCAAs in 19 days as it would be between the 400 IM and 100 back. Currently, the 100 back is extremely stacked this season with Alabama’s Zane Waddell (44.10), NC State’s Coleman Stewart (44.04) and Arizona State’s Zachary Poti (44.14). Casas, despite the fact he was top ten in the world in 2019 in long course, is ranked behind all those guys with a 44.48.
We are still unsure if Kieran Smith will do the 400 IM or 200 free as he has a big chance to win NCAA titles in both events. If he elects to do the 200 free, then the 400 IM will be wide open and it may be the perfect opportunity for Shaine Casas, who has never even swam in an NCAA A-Final.
Casas made a big jump in his sophomore season as A&M coaches Jay Holmes and Jason Calanog have helped shape him into one of the most versatile swimmers in Division I. He is currently ranked number one in Division I in the 200 IM (1:39.91) and 200 back (1:37.20).
After Smith and Casas, the top time in Division I in the 400 IM is Virginia’s Ted Schubert at 3:40.01.
Congratulations