ASU keeps podium dreams alive on day three of the NCAA Championships

(Photo: Courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Junior Ilya Kharun, graduate Remi Fabiani, and senior Jonny Kulow exploded off the blocks for Arizona State men’s swim in the 50-yard freestyle, a race where a hundredth of a second means everything.

Going into the event tied for fourth with the University of California at 162, the Sun Devils needed a strong swim from all three members.

Coming into the day three finals of the NCAA Men’s Swimming Championships in Atlanta on Friday, ASU needed to make up ground to keep its podium dreams alive. Indiana had strong prelims results, and with ASU having no divers even qualifying for the NCAA’s, the Sun Devils were in a hole. With ASU missing out on qualifying for the finals in two of the five swimming events, the Sun Devils needed to make every swim count.

Kulow got an amazing start in the aforementioned race, putting him with the leaders early, but he fell behind. Luckily for him, Kharun took over and sprinted ahead while Fabiani held strong to give the Sun Devils three quality finishes. Kharun finished third with an 18.24 over two hundredths of a second over fourth place. This also gave Kharun a Big 12 record and the school record in a fantastic swim.

Fabiani and Kulow finished sixth and seventh, respectively, helping ASU gain much-needed points and first team All-American honors for all three. In the 50 free alone, ASU would gain 43 points, launching it into sole possession of fourth place with 205 total points.

ASU still had to play catch-up, though. And with only one event left, ASU needed to leave on a good note for a chance at the podium on Saturday.

ASU looked to continue its relay dominance and grab its third relay win in the 400 medley relay. Graduate Adam Chaney started it off strong, placing ASU in a good spot going into the breaststroke.

Then came senior Andy Dobrzanski, who was able to keep up with Florida and Texas, moving ASU into second just behind the latter going into the second half of the race. That was when ASU made its move, as Kharun, who went stroke for stroke with Texas going into the final leg, leaving it all to the anchor in Fabiani.

Fabiani took advantage of the opportunity, exploding off the blocks. He would be dead even going into the turn, and resurfaced in the lead. He would sprint ahead of Texas to hold on to the lead with an iron fist, and Fabiani didn’t let it go as ASU grabbed its third relay win in the Championships, setting another Big 12 record in the process with a time of 2:56.79, and within ten points of Indiana going into the final day on Saturday.

Adam Chaney had the pressure of starting the day off for ASU in the 100-yard backstroke and starting the comeback. He did just that, finishing third in an extremely close field, which had less than a hundredth of a second between third and fifth.

Chaney touched the final wall with a time of 43.75 seconds, good for not only breaking the Big 12 record but also tying the school record. The experience of Chaney proved vital, tying his all-time best finish and earning him first-team All-American honors, while also bringing ASU into a tie for fourth with Cal.

ASU did not have any competitors in the finals or in the points placement for both the 200-yard breaststroke and the 500-yard freestyle. These are both events that former ASU star Léon Marchand holds the NCAA record in, and events ASU will have to find a place for to truly compete at the very top.

ASU finishes up the NCCA championships on Saturday with the prelims starting at 7 a.m MST and the Finals at 3 p.m. MST. With everything on the line, ASU has both the 100 free and 200 fly events.