ATLANTA – Sun Devil Men's Swim brought the fireworks in the opening acts of the NCAA Championships, setting two school records and currently sitting in fifth place after Day 1 of the NCAA Championships at the McAuley Aquatic Center.
In the two events on Wednesday evening, the Sun Devils teamed up for new program-bests in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay.
Grant House, Patrick Sammon, Julian Hill and Léon Marchand's time of 6:07.32 in the 800 free relay placed them fifth overall, behind Texas, Georgia, Stanford and Cal. All five schools would end up beating the pool record for the 800 free relay as well, which was a mark of 6:08.03 set by a Texas relay in 2016.
House's leadoff split in Wednesday's relay of 1:31.01 is the third-fastest 200 free time in school history. Marhand, who anchored for the Sun Devils, made up a ton of ground to help secure a top-five finish. He authored a split of 1:29.99, the fastest split of all relay participants, according to the ESPN broadcast.
The Sun Devils kicked off Day 1 with an equally-impressive showing in the 200 medley relay via Jack Dolan, John Heaphy, Cody Bybee and House. The foursome went 1:22.25 – crushing the program-best time of 1:22.75 from 2020 – to place sixth.
ALL-AMERICANS
Because of their top-eight finishes in their respective relays, seven Sun Devils earned CSCAA All-American status on Wednesday.
Grant House, 200 medley relay & 800 free relay
Jack Dolan, 200 medley relay
John Heaphy, 200 medley relay
Cody Bybee, 200 medley relay
Patrick Sammon, 800 free relay
Julian Hill, 800 free relay
Léon Marchand, 800 free relay
The vibes are good and the forks are up ??
— Sun Devil Swim/Dive (@ASUSwimDive) March 23, 2022
(Little cameo by @carterswift3, too ??)
?? ESPN 3 pic.twitter.com/jgsSTqTKi4
Between the two relays, the Sun Devils collected 54 points on Day 1.
TEAM RANKINGS AFTER DAY 1
1. Texas 74
2. Florida 64
3. California 61
4. NC State 57
5. Stanford 54
5. Arizona St 54
7. Louisville 46
8. Georgia 34
After the work they put in on Day 1, the Sun Devils will certainly contend for one of their best NCAA showings in recent history. A top-10 finish in the team standings would be the first since 2003.
SUN DEVIL MEN'S SWIMMING POSTSEASON FINISHES IN BOB BOWMAN ERA (PAC-12/NCAA)
2022: 3rd/TBD
2021: Team redshirted entire season due to COVID
2020: 4th/no NCAA due to COVID-19
2019: 4th/21st
2018: 4th/20th
2017: 4th/14th
2016: 5th/44th(T)
SUN DEVIL MEN'S SWIMMING TOP-10 NCAA FINISHES
2003: 10th
2002: 10th
2000: 10th
1998: 10th
1996: 9th
1991: 9th
1990: 5th
1987: 10th
1986: 9th
1984: 7th
1983: 7th
1982: 6th
UP NEXT
After an exciting start to the four-day meet, the Sun Devils will be back for more in a jam-packed Day 2, beginning with preliminaries for the 500 free, 200 IM and 50 free at 6 a.m. MST.
Marchand is the nation's fastest 200 IMer and is the man to beat on Thursday. Finals for the events, plus the 200 free relay, are slated to begin at 3 p.m. MST.
FOLLOW ALONG
Don't miss what is shaping up to be an electric week in Atlanta for Bob Bowman's Sun Devils. To stay up to date with the squad this week, follow the team's Twitter account, @ ASUSwimDive.