NCAA Men’s Championships: Day One Heat Sheets; Zalan Sarkany Chasing Repeat in 1650 Freestyle
The NCAA Division I Men’s Championships are scheduled to get underway on Wednesday at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, with the 1650-yard freestyle the lone individual event on the slate. The distance event will be complemented by the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay. Action will begin in the morning with all but the final heats of all three events. The fastest heats will be held at night.
In the 1650 freestyle, Indiana’s Zalan Sarkany is the top seed and reigning NCAA champion. The standout from Hungary won last year’s title in 14:21.29 and enters this year’s competition with a top time of 14:23.85. He is followed as the second seed by Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi, who owns an entry time of 14:25.14. Last year, Jaouadi claimed gold medals in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle at the World Championships in Singapore.
The University of Florida is the No. 1 seed in the 200 medley relay, having set an NCAA record in the event at last month’s SEC Championships. At the conference meet, the quartet of Jonny Marshall, Koen de Groot, Scotty Buff and Josh Liendo posted a time of 1:20.03. Meanwhile, the University of Texas is the top seed in the 800 freestyle relay, thanks to an entry time of 6:06.24. The Longhorns’ relay will be led by Rex Maurer, the only returning member of Texas’ 800 free relay from last season.
