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Written by Benny Liang, Swimming World College Intern
One year ago at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center, Texas freshman Townley Haas broke out into the NCAA Division I scene, winning the 500 free in a time of 4:09.00. He surprised all of us by knocking off several returning All-Americans, including defending champion Clark Smith. Little did we know that this was just a sign of greater things to come.
The next evening Haas tore apart the 200 free A-final, not only winning by over a second, but also breaking Simon Burnett’s legendary record of 1:31.20 in the process. It’s rare to see a freshman on the podium, even more so to be on top of it. This year brings three newcomers who will challenge returning veterans for top placings in the 200 freestyle.
Maxime Rooney (Florida)
Photo Courtesy: Singapore Swimming Federation
The youngest of the three, Rooney is a member of the US National Team and the Junior World Record-Holder in the 200 free. He is also the 17-18 NAG Record-Holder in the 200 free which he set at 1:32.18. This time, from the SEC Championships, puts Rooney as the sixth fastest seed going into the meet. Coming into college Rooney’s best time in the 200 free was a 1:34.57, so his improvement curve suggests that he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
At the University of Florida, Rooney has the opportunity to train with some of the best freestyle talent in the country. Rooney joins Fastest-Freestyler-Ever Caeleb Dressel and returning 200 free All-Americans Jan Switkowski and Mitch D’Arrigo to form a solid freestyle group.
Cameron Craig (ASU)
Photo Courtesy: Chuckarelei/Pac-12
Cameron Craig has flourished under the tutelage of Bob Bowman at Arizona State. Bowman, the head coach for the Team USA men at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is well known as the long-time coach of North Baltimore’s Michael Phelps. Since Phelps’s retirement, Bowman has taken the Sun Devils to new heights. This year ASU finished fourth at the Men’s PAC-12 Championships, something they haven’t done in almost a decade, and only the fourth time to do so in the last 20 years. Since 1961, there have only been five years where ASU placed higher than fourth. While Bowman’s influence clearly has had an effect on the team, it is ultimately the swimmers that get the job done.
According to the USA Swimming database, Craig’s best times from high school were 44.08 in the 100 free and 1:38.40 in the 200 free. Since then he has improved a jaw-dropping two seconds in the 100 and almost seven in the 200. His times of 41.95 and 1:31.71 are ranked sixth and second, respectively, in the country this year. These times are from the PAC-12 Championships, where Craig faced off against the likes of veterans Santo Condorelli, Dylan Carter, and Long Gutierrez.
Dean Farris (Harvard)
Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien
As the sole representative of the Ivy League in the 200 freestyle, all eyes will be on Farris during friday’s preliminaries. Farris will be in the hot-seat from the start; his time of 1:31.56 is the fastest time in the country this year. For reference to last years championships, Matias Koski of Georgia swam a time of 1:31.54, where he finished second. Harvard hasn’t won an event at the NCAA Championships since David Berkoff in 1987, but Farris might have something to say about that.
Farris shook up the scene at the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships this year. He won all three of his individual events, setting meet records in the 100 back and 200 free, and missed the meet record in the 100 free by a tenth. His 100 free time of 42.06 puts him at eighth in the country this year.
Last year, only two swimmers cracked 1:32 in the 200 freestyle final. This year there are already four swimmers under the barrier, with two more whose best times are sub 1:32 (Jack Conger and Townley Haas). Regardless of how the results turn out, you can be sure that the 200 free will be one of the most heated races of the night.
The Division I Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships kick off Wednesday, March 22nd at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
David Berkoff won the 100 acknowledged for Harvard in 1987–setting NCAA record, I believe.
**backstroke not “acknowledged”
Maya Byrne for John