Rex Maurer Main Veteran 500 Freestyle Box Towards NCAA Championships Showdown
Closing March, Leon Marchand made an surprising look within the 500 freestyle on the NCAA Championships, choosing that tournament as an alternative of the 200 IM on account of Arizona State’s trust that he may just win the race whilst clearing a trail for then-teammates Hubert Kos and Owen McDonald to excel within the shorter medley. The end result was once Marchand deploying his underwater kickouts off each and every wall like no mid-distance freestyle specialist ever had, turning into the quickest swimmer ever by means of 4 seconds at 4:02.31.
Now, Marchand has departed school swimming, leaving the potential of every other record-shattering swim a lot more faraway for this yr. Then again, an intriguing nationwide box is coalescing round some constant veterans of their last yr of eligibility, Olympians returning to the NCAA box after a yr away and a College of Texas sophomore whose surprising fall efficiency made him the second-fastest guy in historical past.
The latter swimmer is Rex Maurer, who was once thirty first within the 500 loose all the way through his freshman yr at Stanford after swimming as fast as 4:11.88 all the way through the season. After transferring directly to the Longhorns, Maurer holds the American checklist, having blasted a time of four:04.45 on the Texas Invitational in November. That broke a mark set previous that night time by means of coaching spouse Carson Foster, which in flip broke Kieran Smith’s checklist of four:06.32 which was once the all time perfect ahead of Marchand came to visit.
That efficiency established Maurer as a budding famous person, and because the calendar flipped to 2025, he held the rustic’s most sensible occasions within the 500 loose plus the 400 IM and 1650 loose. Within the 20-lap tournament, he’ll attempt to beef up his time on the nationwide meet in Federal Approach, Wash., and possibly make inroads on Marchand’s NCAA and U.S. Open data.
Luke Hobson — Picture Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
As for attainable challengers, two can be acquainted Texas foes: Luke Hobson and David Johnston. Hobson is the quickest swimmer ever within the 200-yard loose and world-record holder within the quick path meters model of that race, and he has a historical past of good fortune within the 500 as neatly: he was once the NCAA champion within the tournament in 2023 and the runnerup to Marchand remaining yr at 4:06.93, a time that ranks him No. 7 all-time within the tournament. Hobson didn’t swim speedy at midseason, however it quickly changed into transparent he was once busy making ready for the Quick Route Global Championships, the place he broke the aforementioned 200 loose global checklist.
Johnston, in the meantime, took the 2023-24 season clear of school swimming to equipment up for the U.S. Olympic Trials, the place he broke thru onto an Olympic crew for the primary time with a runnerup end within the 1500-meter loose. The highest NCAA end of his occupation is a second-place consequence within the 500 loose in 2023 (in the back of Hobson), and he’s the one swimmer but even so Maurer to crack 4:10 this season, topping out at 4:09.41.
A up to date entrant into competition is Cal’s Lucas Henveaux, who was once 9th within the tournament in his handiest earlier school season two years in the past. Since then, Henveaux has transform a constant global finalist for Belgium, and he received his first world medal with a 200 loose silver at December’s Quick Route Worlds. Closing Friday, Henveaux surpassed Maurer as the highest 1650 freestyler within the nation this season, and he returned in a while thereafter to swim a mark of four:10.82 within the 500, excellent for 3rd within the nationwide scores.
That leaves a person who has completed first, moment, 3rd and 3rd within the 500 loose on the NCAA Championships all the way through his undergraduate years, Georgia’s Jake Magahey. He hasn’t ever recaptured the type of his freshman season, when he disenchanted Smith for the name, however he hasn’t ever fallen a long way in the back of. Historical past’s No. 6 all-time performer at 4:06.71, Magahey sits fourth nationally up to now this season at 4:10.93.
At this time, it might be a difficult ask for Hobson, Johnston, Henveaux, Magahey or somebody else to overhaul Maurer within the tournament, however that foursome enters with the revel in of racing and excelling in a high-stakes last whilst this would be the first second of Maurer’s occupation in this type of second, and he’ll deliver within the standing as favourite. We will be able to have a greater gauge at the box following the convention championship meets this month. Then again, if he meets the instant, it’ll arrange Maurer no longer just for an enormous NCAA Championships however in all probability a breakout summer time wherein he may just qualify for his first U.S. global crew.
We must no longer cut price the potential of others breaking into this lead crew, together with Cal’s Gabriel Jett, Florida’s Jake Mitchell, Alabama’s Charlie Hawke or Texas’ Coby Carrozza. Sure, a fourth Texas swimmer may just qualify for the A-final on this tournament, which would be the first particular person last of the meet, and this type of efficiency would give Texas an enormous swing within the crew fight because the Longhorns intention to go back to the nationwide pinnacle.
