The American Short Course Championships held in Austin this weekend showcased a lot of promising talent for Texas ahead of the NCAA Championships set for March 24-27.
The highlight of day one came in the Men’s 200-yard IM. In the A final, junior Braden Vines finished first with a time of 1:43.56, beating the cutoff by 0.2 seconds and allowing him to be invited to the national championship.
His teammate, redshirt junior Colter Carman, finished just behind him in second with a time of 1:46.35, beating his preliminary time by one second. He beat the cutoff for the B consolation of the national championship by 0.4 seconds.
Carman’s success continued into the next day as he finished first in the 400-yard IM. His time of 3:48.57 was enough to earn him yet another position in the B consolation of the championship.
However, the best swimming on day two came from the depth of the 100-yard butterfly. Texas placed first, second and third with all-star freshman Zac Van Zandt leading the way. His speedy time of 45.83 seconds added another Texas swimmer to the championship roster.
Sophomores Cole Crane and Sam Artmann finished just after Van Zandt with times of 46.67 and 46.96 seconds, respectively, and will join Van Zandt in the B consolation of the national championship.
Later in the day, at the 100-yard breaststroke, junior Andrew Couchon finished first with a time of 52.44 seconds, earning Texas yet another swimmer to be invited to the national championship.
On Sunday, the last day of competition, it came as a surprise when junior Jason Park was able to earn himself an invite to the championship in the B final of the men’s 200-yard backstroke. He finished an entire twenty seconds faster than his preliminary time that morning.
As for the 200-yard butterfly, junior Andrew Koustik secured an invite by finishing second with a time of 1:42.65. His teammates in the race, Artmann and sophomore Ethan Harder, finished behind him and were both able to earn B consolation positions at the championship as well.
For Texas swimming, the goal is clear as they hope to dominate at this year's NCAA Championships with their new invitees and previously invited athletes.
