By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
The first semester is winding down, and the peak of invite season has passed. This was already a fast year in collegiate swimming, and before the midseason invites began, we took a look at the top three swimmers in each event. Now that the majority of schools have suited up to end the semester, we’re revisiting the project.
We’re only considering yards times done in an NCAA competition for this table. So, there are no converted times included or swims from the 2024 Short Course World Championships or the 2024 U.S. Open.
| EVENT | Fastest | 2nd Fastest | 3rd Fastest |
| 50 free | Jordan Crooks (TENN), 18.12 | Ilya Kharun (ASU), 18.51 | Gui Caribe Santos (TENN), 18.76 |
| 100 free | Jordan Crooks (TENN), 40.26 | Gui Caribe Santos (TENN), 40.85 | Jonny Kulow (ASU), 40.97 |
| 200 free | Jordan Cooks (TENN), 1:30.00 | Charlie Hawke (BAMA), 1:31.05 | Tomas Navikonis (OSU), 1:31.55 |
| 500 free | Rex Maurer (TEX), 4:04.45 | David Johnston (TEX), 4:09.41 | Jake Magahey (UGA), 4:10.93 |
| 1650 free | Rex Maurer (TEX), 14:30.47 | Noah Millard (YALE), 14:33.47 | David Johnston (TEX), 14:35.42 |
| 100 back | Will Modglin (TEX), 43.91 | Johnny Crush (ARMY), 44.53 | Gabriel Jett (CAL), 44.54 |
| 200 back | Will Modglin (TEX), 1:37.84 | Owen McDonald (IU), 1:38.07 | Hubert Kos (TEX), 1:38.14 |
| 100 breast | Julian Smith (FLOR), 49.98 | Nate Germonprez (TEX), 50.39 | Yamato Okadome (CAL), 50.87 |
| 200 breast | Carles Coll Marti (VT), 1:50.09 | Josh Matheny (IU), 1:50.31 | Matt Fallon (PENN), 1:50.39 |
| 100 fly | Jordan Crooks (TENN), 43.77 | Ilya Kharun (ASU), 43.85 | Luca Urlando (UGA), 44.16 |
| 200 fly | Ilya Kharun (ASU), 1:38.74 | Luca Urlando (UGA), 1:39.03 | Josh Liendo (FLOR), 1:39.14 |
| 200 IM | Hubert Kos (TEX), 1:40.51 | Owen McDonald (IU), 1:40.86 | Will Modglin (TEX), 1:40.97 |
| 400 IM | Rex Maurer (TEX), 3:34.19 | Tristan Jankovics (OSU), 3:39.05 | Baylor Nelson (TAMU), 3:39.35 |
| 200 free relay | Arizona State, 1:13.93 | Tennessee, 1:13.96 | Florida, 1:15.10 |
| 400 free relay | Tennessee, 2:44.13 | Arizona State, 2:46.58 | Florida, 2:46.81 |
| 800 free relay | Texas, 6:09.30 | Tennessee, 6:12.33 | Florida, 6:12.85 |
| 200 medley relay | Florida, 1:21.49 | Arizona State, 1:21.63 | Tennessee, 1:21.71 |
| 400 medley relay | Tennessee, 3:01.62 | Virginia, 3:02.01 | Arizona State, 3:02.04 |
There are a couple of notable differences between the women’s and men’s tables. First, the men’s table has two events where the top time stayed the same. No one went faster than Ilya Kharun’s 1:38.74 in the 200 fly or Hubert Kos’ 1:40.51 in the 200 IM. Kharun was one of the most electrifying swimmers through the first months of the NCAA season. At one point, he held the league’s top time in four events. He’s only retrained his 200 fly top time post-midseason invites, as Jordan Crooks exploded at the Tennessee Invitational.
Crooks has the most league-leading times with four. Crooks took over the sprint freestyles and the 100 fly, clocking 18.12/40.26 in the 50/100 free and leading off the 800 free relay with a 1:30.00 Both his 100 and 200 free times were lifetime bests, as was his 43.77 in the 100 fly. He and Kharun are the two swimmers to break 44 seconds in the 100 fly this season.
Rex Maurer is right behind him with three and has dominated the collegiate distance scene. He set an American record in the 500 freestyle an hour after Carson Foster, swimming a blistering 4:04.45. He also owns the top time in the 1650 free (14:30.47) and 400 IM (3:34.19). The Longhorn men own seven NCAA top times. In addition to Maurer and Kos, Will Modglin has both backstroke top times (43.91/1:37.84), and the program has the fastest 800 freestyle relay time.
The other noticeable difference between the women’s table and the men’s is the presence of mid-major schools. This was true before invites as well, though now there are more mid-major swimmers present. Mitchell Schott’s 400 IM time is no longer in the top three, but Noah Millard (500 freestyle), Johnny Crush (100 backstroke), and Matt Fallon (200 breaststroke) all swim for mid-major schools.
And while program newcomers were more prevalent on the women’s side, there are still plenty here. Owen McDonald has been a factor for Indiana, and freshmen like Crush and Yamato Okadome are contributing heavily to their programs, too.
In all, five programs have at least one league-leading time: Texas (7), Tennessee (6), Arizona State (2), Florida (2), and Virginia Tech (1). Ten other schools appear on the table as well: Alabama, Yale, Army, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State, Virginia, Cal, Penn, and Texas A&M.
The events where the same person or program got faster to retain their top spot in the league were the 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 400 IM, and 200 freestyle relay. The 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 1650 free, 200 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay all changed hands during invites.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Top Three Times In Each NCAA Event After Midseason Invites — Men’s Edition