Swimming

Arizona State Sun Devils Win Their First NCAA Team Championship In Program History

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By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

2024 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Goal complete: the Arizona State Sun Devils have won the first national team championship in program history.

The Sun Devils were expected to dominate this meet; they swam fast all year and came into the meet projected to score 538 points. They got what was perhaps a reality check on the first night after finishing 2nd in two relays where they were the favorites. Teams like Cal and Florida sent a message: we aren’t going to make this easy for you.

The Sun Devils responded the next day. They got back to what they’ve done spectacularly all season–swim fast and flex their depth. At the end of Day 2, they moved into the lead and just kept rolling through the meet. At the end, they actually were just 14.5 points away from that original projection. Even with Cal moving up from their seeds, as a team Arizona State held strong and collected 523.5 points for their title.

It’s a moment that the team has been working towards for years. The program was once dead in the water–in 2008, the university announced plans to cut the program. Through a massive movement powered by the school’s alumni, the program was saved. Ten years ago, a permanent endowment was established to support the team. Then eight years ago in 2015, Bob Bowman arrived in Tempe to coach the team.

Arizona State’s progress to this moment was slow but steady. In 2018 they finished 20th, then followed that with 21st in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire team redshirted the 2020-21 season.

They arrived back on the NCAA scene for the 2021-22 season refreshed. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, the revelation of the meet was freshman Leon Marchand, who broke the NCAA record in the 200 IM and won two events. The Sun Devils finished 6th that year with five individual event scorers.

They followed that up with a runner-up finish in 2023, their highest finish in program history up to that point. Marchand once again excelled, but Cal’s depth outpaced them and was the difference maker for the 2023 team title.

This year, it wasn’t just Marchand who stood on top of the podium for the Sun Devils. Yes, he continued to do Leon Marchand things–he won three events and swam two individual NCAA records, including a stunning 4:02.31 in the 500 freestyle. But he wasn’t the only Sun Devil who won an individual trophy as Zalan Sarkany and Ilya Kharun–the only freshman to win an NCAA title this year–collected 1st place finishes of their own on the final night of competition.

ASU Event Winners

But more than the individual event wins, it was the Sun Devils’ depth that won them this national title. They scored in every single event except the 100 breaststroke. More than that, the 100 butterfly was the only event where they had only a single scorer. They had six different events where they had three or more scorers, highlighted by going 1-2-11-13 in the 400 IM.

Events With 3+ Sun Devil Scorers

  • 500 freestyle (1st, 12th, 15th)
  • 200 IM (2nd, 3rd, 6th)
  • 50 free (7th, 8th, 12th)
  • 400 IM (1st, 2nd, 11th, 13th)
  • 100 back (4th, 6th, 12th)
  • 200 breast (1st, 5th, 13th)

On their way to the team title, the team accomplished another program first: they won a national relay title. That accolade eluded them until Day 3, when Hubert Kos, Marchand, Kharun, and Jonny Kulow combined to win the 400 medley relay in a new NCAA record of 2:57.32.

The next day, they added another relay title to their collection by sealing their victory with a win and NCAA record in the 400 freestyle relay. Marchand, Jack Dolan, Patrick Sammon, and Kulow torched the NCAA record with a 2:43.40 for the win. Through the five relays, their worst finish was 3rd (200 free relay) and they moved up from 5th place in 2023.

Relays are an important touch point for the health of any NCAA program. With thiers, the Sun Devils continue to show off their depth; they have their stars, but it was a team effort for the title.

ASU 2024 NCAAs Roster

Arizona State sent the maximum roster of 18 athletes to NCAAs:

Athlete Individual Points
Tiago Behar, Junior
Alex Colson, Fifth-Year 7
Andy Dobrzanski, Sophomore
Jack Dolan, Fifth-Year 29.5
Julian Hill, Fifth-Year 5
Ilya Kharun, Freshman 39
Hubert Kos, Sophomore 48
Jonny Kulow, Sophomore 15
Leon Marchand, Junior 60
Cale Martter, Junior 8
Daniel Matheson, Junior 14
Owen McDonald, Sophomore 46
Cam Peel, Fifth-Year
Patrick Sammon, Junior 3
Zalan Sarkany, Sophomore 25
David Schlicht, Senior 44
Filip Senc-Samardzic, Freshman
Jack Wadsworth, Junior

Arizona State adds their name to the list of now 14 schools that have won an NCAA title. They join Arizona, UCLA, and Tennessee as a team with one NCAA title to their name. It’s also a new accolade for Bowman. When asked where this ranked among the many that he’s achieved throughout his long career as a coach, he responded it’s “way up there.”

Bowman echoed the sentiment that this title took an entire team to win, extending thanks not only to his swimmers and fellow coaches but also to the parents, fans, and alumni who cheered them on in the stands all weekend. And perhaps more than most teams, the Sun Devils truly understand how powerful support from your community can be.

After all, it’s their alumni’s dedication that made it possible for them to still be an eligible program–one standing on the top step of the podium together.

LIST OF SCHOOLS BY MEN’S NCAA TEAM TITLES:

TEXAS 15 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
Michigan 12 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1995, 2013
Ohio State 11 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1962
USC 9 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
Auburn 8 1997, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Stanford 8 1967, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998
California 8 1979, 1980, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023
Indiana 6 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
Yale 4 1942, 1944, 1951, 1953
Florida 2 1983, 1984
Arizona 1 2008
UCLA 1 1982
Tennessee 1 1978
Arizona State 1 2024

Once again, this was a jaw-droppingly fast meet across the board. Below is the list of all the newly crowned NCAA champions. Nine NCAA records got broken through the four day affair.

All 2024 Men’s NCAA Champions

  • 200 medley relay: Florida (Chaney, Smith, Liendo, McDuff), 1:20.15 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 800 freestyle relay: Cal (Jett, Lasco, Alexy, Hanson), 6:02.26 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 500 freestyle: Leon Marchand, Arizona State, junior, 4:02.31 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 200 IM: Destin Lasco, Cal, senior, 1:37.91 — American, Pool Record
  • 50 freestyle: Josh Liendo, Florida, sophomore, 18.07 — Pool Record
  • 1-meter diving: Lyle Yost, Ohio State, senior, 433.55 points
  • 200 freestyle relay: Florida (Liendo, Chaney, Smith, McDuff), 1:13.49 — Pool Record
  • 400 IM: Leon Marchand, Arizona State, junior, 3:32.12 — Pool Record
  • 100 butterfly: Josh Liendo, Florida, sophomore, 43.07 — Pool Record
  • 200 freestyle: Luke Hobson, Texas, junior, 1:28.81 — NCAA, Meet, American, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 100 breaststroke: Liam Bell, Cal, fifth-year, 49.53 — NCAA, Meet, American, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 100 backstroke: Brendan Burns, Indiana, fifth-year, 43.86 — Pool Record
  • 3-meter diving: Carson Tyler, Indiana, junior, 476.85 points
  • 400 medley relay: Arizona State (Kos, Marchand, Kharun, Kulow), 2:57.32 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 1650 freestyle: Zalan Sarkany, Arizona State, sophomore — 14:30.57
  • 200 backstroke: Destin Lasco, Cal, senior, 1:35.37 — NCAA, Meet, American, U.S. Open, Pool Record
  • 100 freestyle: Josh Liendo, Florida, sophomore, 40.20
  • 200 breaststroke: Leon Marchand, Arizona State, junior, 1:46.35 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Records
  • 200 butterfly: Ilya Kharun, Arizona State, freshman, 1:38.26
  • Platform diving: Carson Tyler, Indiana, junior, 515.75
  • 400 Freestyle Relay: Arizona State (Marchand, Dolan, Sammon, Kulow, 2:43.40 — NCAA, Meet, U.S. Open, Pool Records

Final Scores

  1. Arizona State — 523.5
  2. Cal — 444.5
  3. Florida — 378
  4. Indiana — 376
  5. NC State — 318
  6. Tennessee — 231
  7. Texas — 189
  8. Stanford — 177
  9. Virginia Tech — 172
  10. Notre Dame — 132
  11. Georgia — 116
  12. Auburn — 100
  13. Ohio State — 92
  14. Michigan — 87.5
  15. Louisville — 84
  16. Texas A&M — 81
  17. Virginia — 80.5
  18. SMU — 59
  19. Alabama — 56
  20. Minnesota — 40
  21. Florida State — 34
  22. USC — 31
  23. Purdue — 25
  24. LSU / Pitt — 24
  25. —
  26. Miami (FL) — 21
  27. Missouri / Arizona — 19
  28. —
  29. Towson — 18
  30. Penn — 17
  31. Wisconsin — 16
  32. Brown — 11
  33. UNC — 9
  34. Penn St — 8
  35. BYU — 7
  36. Utah — 6
  37. George Washington — 3
  38. Northwestern — 1

SwimSwam: Arizona State Sun Devils Win Their First NCAA Team Championship In Program History

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