Latest news with #Men'sDivisionINCAAChampionships
Forbes
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jordan Crooks Wraps Up NCAA Championships With New Records
Jordan Crooks of Cayman Islands celebrates after competing in the 50m Freestyle Men Heats during the ... More short course World Aquatics Swimming Championships 2024 at Duna Arena. Budapest (Hungary), December 14th, 2024 Jordan Crooks won his heat with a new world record time. (Photo by Andrea Masini/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images) Jordan Crooks successfully concluded his NCAA career by setting new records on the final day of the 2025 Men's Division I NCAA Championships. During the prelims session of the men's 100 free, Crooks posted a time of 39.83 seconds to qualify for the final event. The 22-year-old's performance helped him take down Caeleb Dressel's record of 39.90 set in 2018. He is now the second person to break the 40-second barrier in the 100-yard free. This is certainly not the first time Crooks has challenged Dressel's enduring records. In the 2024 SC Championships, Crooks broke Dressel's 20.16 record by touching the wall in 19.90 seconds during the 50 free semi-finals. Crooks' time has helped him become the first man to break the 20-second mark. Notably, something Dressel remained shy of despite his multiple attempts in 2020 while wearing the fastest swimsuit in an unofficial meet. Fast forward to 2025, on the second day of the men's NCAA championships, in the quest to claim his second individual national title, Crooks posted a time of 17.91 in 50 free. Despite Dressel's NCAA record continuing to stand, Crooks became the second swimmer, alongside the nine-time Olympic gold medalist, to split below 18 seconds at the NCAA championships. However, on the fourth day of the event, Crooks, who had previously struggled to drop time despite performing well in the heat rounds, caught up with him again. During the 100 free finals, he managed to touch the wall in 40.06. But Florida's Josh Liendo, his longtime rival, beat him by 0.07 seconds to achieve a three-peat in the event in 39.99. Interestingly, despite failing to claim his third individual national title, Crooks still managed to seal his NCAA career legacy with a victory in the last meet of the championships. In the 400 free relay, Crooks anchored the Tennessee Vols to claim a record-breaking win with the fastest 100 free split in history. He posted a time of 39.36 to take down the previous record of 39.52 set by him in February. With this performance, Crooks now holds four finishes under the 40-second mark. As Gui Caribe led a split of 40.57, followed by Lamar Taylor and Nikoli Blackman's efforts, Crooks anchored Tennessee to claim another national title in 2:42.30. Following this, the Vols managed to break their own NCAA and U.S. Open record of 2:42.41 set by the same squad at the SEC Championships in February. They also took down the meet record of 2:43.40 set by Arizona State in 2024. 'I couldn't have asked for a better relay to go out on,' Jordan Crooks said. 'We came together, four guys from different walks of life, and we just made it work.'
Forbes
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Jordan Crooks Goes Sub-18 Twice To Claim Wins At NCAA Championships
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - DECEMBER 11: Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands competes in Heat 9 of the Men's ... More 100m Freestyle during day two of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) 2024 at Duna Arena on December 11, 2024 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by) On the second night of the 2025 Men's Division I NCAA Championships, Jordan Crooks joined the elite club in the 50 free. After finishing second last year, the Tennessee senior swam a time of 17.91 to claim the national title in the freestyle event. Crooks is now the only swimmer alongside ten-time Olympic medalist Caeleb Dressel, who holds the NCAA record in 50 free (17.63), to break the 18-sub barrier at NCAA. Crooks was followed by Gators' defending champion Josh Liendo in 18.23, allowing him to finish in the top two in the 50 free for three consecutive years. Crooks' teammate, Gui Caribe, placed third in 18.26. However, Jordan Crooks was not done for the day. After claiming his third NCAA title in four years, the 22-year-old posted another sub-18 performance to help win the 200 free relay. Breaking the program record, he led the relay in 17.82, followed by Gui Caribe in 17.81. Nikoli Blackman (18.67) and Lamar Taylor (18.54) sealed the victory after the front half took a commanding lead. At last, posting a time of 1:12.84, Tennessee claimed its first national title in the men's relay event since 1996. 'I think SECs was a good learning process for that. We kind of figured out what I needed to do to be able to turn up in finals and then turn up on the relay,' said Crooks. Arizona State trailed behind, clocking a time of 1:13.05, thanks to Jonny Kulow's 18.14 split. Florida, eyeing their third consecutive title in the event, was forced to settle for third in 1:13.37. Since posting his first under-18 performance of 17.93 at the 2023 SECs, Jordan Crooks has come a long way. Last year, apart from clocking a time of 17.99 to win the individual 50 free event of the 2024 SECs meet, he also set a new world record at the 2024 Short-Course championships. Breaking the 20-second mark by posting a time of 19.90. However, at the NCAAs championships, Crooks was yet to showcase the same momentum. At the 2024 NCAA championships, Crooks' 18.09 performance was outdone by Liendo, who won the event in 18.07. Interestingly, in the 2025 season, Crooks is maintaining strong outings from the start. At the SEC conference in February, he broke the 18-second barrier twice in the individual event (17.85) and while leading the 200 free relay (17.96), respectively. Now, following his first under-18 sub-performances at the NCAA Championships, Crooks holds a total of six sub-18 swims so far in his career.
