The Vols shattered the NCAA 200 Free relay record at the SEC Championships. University of Tennessee
Disclaimer: This article refers to events that take place prior to the April Issue’s release.
Each year, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships host some of the best college swimming programs in the country. Among them are the University of Tennessee Vols, who ended this year’s SEC Championships with twenty-eight medals between the men and women’s teams. The most notable of Tennessee’s performances however, were the two NCAA records set by the powerhouse relay team consisting of Gui Caribe, Nikoli Blackman, Lamar Taylor, and Jordan Crooks.
The first record was broken in the 200 Free relay. Crooks led off with an impressive split time of 17.96 seconds. Then came Caribe with a time of 18.04, and Taylor followed with a time of 18.55. Blackman anchored the relay with a time of 18.55 seconds making the final time 1:12.80. This time crushed the former NCAA record of 1:13.35 (which was set by the University of Florida in 2023) by more than half a second.
The second NCAA record the Vols broke was in the 400 Free relay. The team faced off against Florida, but they chose to swim in a different order, Florida having their fastest swimmer first while Tennessee had their fastest, Crooks, swim last. Caribe led off this relay for the Vols, with a split time of 41.11 seconds. Blackman swam second, with a time of 41.13. Taylor swam third, nearly catching up to Florida and swimming a time of 40.65 seconds. Finally, Crooks was able to blaze past Florida with a time of 39.52, making the final time 2:42.41, beating Florida by more than a second. Crooks’s split time is the fastest in history and he is the only swimmer to go under forty seconds in a relay. The team beat the former record of 2:43.40, held by Arizona State University by more than a second, and it was because Crooks’s split was so impressive.
All eyes are on this Tennessee relay team as their 2025 season closes out. The team will compete at the NCAA Division 1 Championships March 26-29, and they are expected to dominate in both the 200 and 400 free relays.
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