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What Did The 500 Free Heats Tell Us About The Upcoming 1650 At The Men’s NCAA Championships?

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By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2024 MEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The first preliminary session of the 2024 Men’s NCAA Championships has now wrapped up, and the men’s 500 free heats produced some interesting swims.

The 500 free is the best indicator for previewing the upcoming 1650 free, which will occur on Saturday. Of the top eight entrants in the mile, only two posted a best time in the prelims of the 500 free. Three swimmers recorded season best efforts, but only two total swimmers advanced for a second swim.

The first finals qualifier was ASU’s Zalan Sarkany, who checked-in at 4:11.38 to qualify 10th for the B-final. Sarkany was the 2nd seed coming into the meet, but added 2.19 seconds from his best time. While that may raise some concerns about him challenging his best time in the 1650 (14:23.01) from the Pac-12 Championships, his consistency in the longer distances should provide a confidence boost.

Sarkany posted a time of 4:15.02 in the 500 free at the ASU vs. Grand Canyon dual meet on January 6th, the same day as he swam 14:28.09 in the 1650. On January 19th and 20th, at additional dual meets, he checked-in with a pair of 8:37 swims in the 1000 over those two days (which is fairly compatible to a sub-14:30 1650 swim), while adding swims in the 4:12-4:13 range for the 500 at those same meets. While Sarkany’s 4:11.38 is off the pace from Pac-12s, his 14:28.09 would still lead the rest of the field by nearly 7 seconds. Sarkany is seeded first by 11.99 seconds based on his entry time.

Florida freshman Andrew Taylor and his sophomore teammate, Gio Linscheer, were the only two athletes ranked in the top eight of the 1650 to clock personal bests this morning. Taylor hit the wall in 4:13.10 to undercut his 4:13.48 from SECs, while Linscheer punched a time of 4:11.97 to break 4:12 for the first time. The pair are seeded 4th and 5th for the 1650, respectively, and this is a positive sign as we move towards that event on Saturday.

The third and final swimmer to notch a season best was Wolfpack 5th year Ross Dant, who touched in 4:13.94. He dipped under his previous marker of 4:15.05 from last month’s ACC Championships, but was a bit off his personal record of 4:10.35 from 2022. He put up a time of 14:39.34 at this year’s ACCs in the 1650, and owns a best time of 14:30.32 in that distance, so somewhere in-between those two times seems likely for Saturday’s timed final. 3rd through 6th in the 1650 entry list is only separated by 1.6 seconds, so there looks to be a path for him to challenge for the top three.

How The Top 8 Entrants In The 1650 Freestyle Performed In The 500 This Morning: 

  • Top Seed: Zalan Sarkany (ASU) — 14:23.01
    • This morning in the 500: 4:11.38, 10th (+2.19 from season best, +2.19 from lifetime best)
  • 2nd Seed: Charlie Clark (OSU) — 14:35.00
    • Did not swim the 500, as his only entry is this 1650.
  • 3rd Seed: Krzysztof Chmielewski (USC) — 14:37.74
    • This morning in the 500: 4:16.06, 29th (+2.22 from season best, + 2.22 from lifetime best)
  • 4th Seed: Andrew Taylor (FLOR) — 14:38.41
    • This morning in the 500: 4:13.10, 17th (-0.38 from season best, -0.38 from lifetime best)
  • 5th Seed: Gio Linscheer (FLOR) — 14:38.78
    • This morning in the 500: 4:11.97, 13th (-1.13 from season best, -0.72 from lifetime best)
  • 6th Seed: Ross Dant (NCST) — 14:39.34
    • This morning in the 500: 4:13.94, 19th (-1.11 from season best, +3.59 from lifetime best)
  • 7th Seed: Owen Lloyd (NCST) — 14:41.32
    • This morning in the 500: 4:19.15, 43rd (+4.28 from season best, +4.28 from lifetime best)
  • 8th Seed: Sam Campbell (OSU) — 14:42.63
    • This morning in the 500: 4:19.67, 44th (+4.18 from season best, +4.18 from lifetime best)

SwimSwam: What Did The 500 Free Heats Tell Us About The Upcoming 1650 At The Men’s NCAA Championships?

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