Texas continued its dominance at the NCAA championships in Federal Way, Wash., winning three out of the five individual swimming events on Friday night, while Florida secured the remaining two victories. Josh Liendo from Florida successfully defended his 100-yard butterfly title with an impressive personal-best time of 43.06, which stands as the second-fastest time in history. Ilya Kharun, also from Canada, closely followed Liendo to secure the second spot. Both Liendo and Kharun had previously won medals in the 100-meter butterfly event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with Liendo earning silver and Kharun taking home the bronze.
Rex Maurer from Texas clinched the 400-yard individual medley title, setting a personal best time of 3:34.00, marking his second individual victory of the week. Luke Hobson secured his third consecutive NCAA title in the 200 freestyle, breaking his own records with a remarkable time of 1:28.33, followed by his teammate Chris Guiliano in second place.
Hubert Kos from Texas narrowly defeated Florida’s Jonny Marshall by a mere two one-hundredths of a second in the 100 backstroke, setting a world record time of 43.20. Julian Smith from Florida continued his success by winning the 100 breaststroke with a time of 49.55, becoming the first Gator to achieve this feat in program history. Carson Tyler from Indiana claimed his second 3-meter diving national title, edging out his teammate Quentin Henninger.
In the final event of the night, the 400 medley relay saw Florida and Texas securing the top two spots, with the Gators finishing first at 2:56.10. Texas currently leads the team standings with 368 points after Day 3, followed by California in second place with 312.5 points and Indiana in third with 304 points.
