March 23, 2000
MINNEAPOLIS - One of the speediest times on an incredibly fast opening day of racing at the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships belonged to Arizona State freshman Attila Czene, who tied a world short-course record with his Championship performance of 1:54.65 in the 200-meter individual medley. The Budapest, Hungary native contributed 20 points to the Sun Devils' 48 point total, which places them in 12th as a team at the University Aquatic Center.
"After the [1998] World Championships, when I was in the consolations, I told myself I'm not going to be this slow again.," Czene said. "I'm so happy right now, I feel alive again. I swam a world record, and I was surprised."
Czene, who also owns the 200 IM Olympic Record from his gold-medal performance in 1996, equaled the 25-meter record set by Jani Sievenen of Finland in 1994. He was in a virtual dead heat with Texas' Nate Dusing before pulling away in the final 100 meters. With his title, Czene becomes the first NCAA titlist from ASU since Francisco Sanchez won the 50 freestyle in 1996.
"It's really exciting to have an NCAA Champion at ASU," Head Coach Michael Chasson said. "Attila came in, he knew what he had to do, and he took care of business. He's very experienced"
Czene also contributed on the Sun Devils' 400 medley relay squad along with teammates Pablo Abal, Adam Guzauskas and Scott VonSchoff, which placed 12th in a time of 3:36.72. Meanwhile ASU's 200 freestyle relay team of Abal, MacDonald, Anders Lyrbring and VonSchoff commenced Thursday's evening session by winning the consolation finals at 1:28.29, placing ninth overall.
"The relays swam real well, it really would have been nice to be in the top eight, but we still had a good time in the [200 free] final," Chasson said. "Everything went faster tonight. Now we just have to get some top-eight finishes tomorrow."
Non-scoring performers for Arizona State included MacDonald and Abal, who placed 19th (22.26) and 23d (22.30), respectively, in the 50 freestyle. In 400 free action, Lyrbring touched the wall 29th in a time of 3:51.45, while sophomore Bo West clocked in at 3:54.35, good enough for 43rd place. Junior diver Marc Briggs, making his first national championship appearance, finished 31st overall on the one-meter springboard with a 421.0 point total.
The NCAA Championships continue Friday before concluding on Saturday.