A freshman, a sophomore and a red-shirt senior took on the men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last week in Greensboro, North Carolina.
This small, but mighty crew consisting of-freshman Mitch Mason, sophomore Brooks Curry, and red-shirt senior Juan Celaya-Hernandez-brought home a total of four top-eight finishes, and six All-American performances, while closing out with the program’s highest NCAA finish since 2003-finishing as 18th in the nation.
“As a swimming and diving program we have never been given a national level of respect during my time here, and I feel over the course of the past month, so much of what we have been trying to build here for years finally came to the forefront,” associate head coach Steve Mellor said.
“I feel we have true control of our future for the first time during my time here — control of how we build this, control of the standard of athlete we can attract to this program, and control of our expectations because we have now shown we can compete with the best.”
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This top-20 finish was exactly what the Tigers needed to take the initial step forward in creating a new era for LSU Swimming and Diving. With the talent being so young, it exemplifies how much you can improve within a short period of time in the training environment.
In the Pool:
Brooks Curry racked up two top-eight finishes and an Honorable Mention All-American status in the 50-Yard Freestyle. On night one Curry placed tenth with a time of 19.08 in the 50-Yard Freestyle. He was just heating up.
The next evening, Curry took sixth place in the 200-Yard Freestyle with a time of 1:33.12, which records as the highest finish by a Tiger since the 2004 season. On the final night, Curry placed 7th in the 100-Yard Freestyle finals with a time of 41.99- just off his record-breaking performance of 41.77 in the prelims. Both of these finishes earn Curry the title of All-American.
100-Yard Breaststroke school record holder Freshman, Mitch Mason also found success in what was his NCAA Championships debut. Mason finished in 21st place in the 100-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 52.35. Mason also racked up a 28th place finish in the 200-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 1:55.10-the second-fastest time recorded in program history.
On the Boards:
On night one, Senior, Juan Celaya-Hernandez added to his outstanding career as a Tiger with a third-place finish and NCAA All-American title on the One-Meter Springboard. He dove a score of 405.25 capturing his fourth career NCAA podium finish.
Night two, Celaya-Hernandez added to his medal collection, capturing a third-place finish on the Three-Meter Springboard, diving a score of 452.50. This third-place finish earns him his third All-American title on three-meter, and sixth NCAA medal of his career.
On the final night of competition,
Celaya-Hernandez qualified for the consolation final on platform with a score of 337.75 in the prelims. He ended up finishing in fifth place, bettering his score to 348.00 in the final.
This past week, these three men have paved the way for the future of the LSU Swimming and Diving program. With this team budding in youth, there is no cap on the success that this program can instill in the years to come.
For some, the road to Tokyo begins today.
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