NCAA Men’s Championships, Day Three Heat Sheets: Hubert Kos Chasing 100 Backstroke Repeat
On the strength of its depth and an American-record performance from Rex Maurer (400 individual medley), the University of Texas took a narrow lead in the team standings during the second day of the NCAA Championships in Atlanta. Through two days, the Longhorns have totaled 215.5 points, with Florida following at 205 points.
Day Three at the McAuley Aquatic Center will feature action in the 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 500 freestyle 50 freestyle, 400 medley relay and three-meter diving. Texas boasts the top-two seeds in the 100 backstroke, where Will Modglin and Hubert Kos will line up for the Longhorns. Modglin is the American-record holder in the event at 43.26 while Kos is the defending NCAA champion and coming off a stellar runnerup showing in the 100 butterfly.
In the 200 breaststroke, Cal’s Yamato Okadome is the No. 1 seed and will look for a sweep of the breaststroke events. On Thursday night, Okadome used a spectacular finish to secure the title in the 100 breaststroke, where he was timed in 49.80. Okadome enters the 200 breaststroke with an entry time of 1:48.87, just ahead of the 1:48.94 of Texas’ Nate Germonprez.
Maurer already defended his NCAA championship in the 400 individual medley and is now on the hunt for back-to-back crowns in the 500 freestyle. Maurer owns the top time in the 500 free in 4:08.46 and battle with the likes of Indiana’s Zalan Zarkany and Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi, who won the 1650 freestyle in an NCAA record on Wednesday.
Florida’s Josh Liendo and Arizona State’s Ilya Kharun are the co-top seeds in the 50 freestyle, with marks of 18.40. Liendo emerged victorious in the 100 butterfly on Thursday night, thanks to an NCAA record of 42.49, while Kharun was third in the event with a sub-43 outing.
The first three heats of the 400 medley relay will be raced during the morning session, while the fourth heat will be held in the evening and could produce an NCAA record from Arizona State, Florida or Texas, who are the class of the field.
Click the link below to see the heat sheets for the Day Three preliminaries.
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