Men's NCAA Champs: 100 Backstroke
100 BACKSTROKE
NCAA Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)Meet Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
American Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
US Open Record: 43.49 (Ryan Murphy - California, 2016)
This was probably a closer race than Ryan Murphy wanted. The Olympic gold medalist, world record holder, and fastest 100 backstroker in history (yards & meters) flipped first at the 50 in 21.07, just barely ahead of John Shebat, Connor Oslin, and Luke Kaliszak, but was able to pick up his tempo and turn it on over the final 25 yards to take the win in 43.99. This was Shebat's fourth 100 backstroke of the meet and he continually gets faster. The Longhorn sophomore touched for second in 44.35, a fantastic swim. Of note, Shebat broke one of Texas' oldest school records on the books yesterday -- Neil Walker's 44.92 in the 100 back from 1997. This guy is certainly going to have something special in the 200 tomorrow and a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. Alabama teammates Connor Oslin and Luke Kaliszak touched third and fourth in 44.56 and 44.91, respectively.
The question is: what can these guys do in the 200 medley relay coming up? With all of the teams bunched up, these backstrokers will need to pop something special to get their team out to the lead.
1.) Ryan Murphy (California): 43.99
2.) John Shebat (Texas): 44.35
3.) Connor Oslin (Alabama): 44.56
4.) Luke Kaliszak (Alabama): 44.91
5.) Ralf Tribuntsov (Southern Cal): 45.13
6.) Shane Ryan (Penn State): 45.17
7.) Grigory Tarasevich (Louisville): 45.22
8.) Andreas Vazaios (NC State): 45.49