By Anthony Ashley

Every swimmer knows a teammate or two who can just get going for relays. It doesn’t matter if they are swimming an off-event, if they’re on their fifth race of the day, or if they’re on their team’s D-lay, they are going to haul.

Arizona’s Parks Jones is one those guys. 

Jones’ coaches and teammates know that if he’s swimming for the team he’s going to swim fast. 

“My coaches know that’s the kind of environment I thrive in: no pressure, no diamonds,” Jones said.  

For Jones, the confidence he has on relays comes from his teammates around him. In a sport in which you so often feel alone, relays are a reminder that you have a team around you. 

“You aren’t just on your own. You’ve got three other guys with you and a lot more cheering for you,” Jones said. “You do it for them and you do it for your team. There’s nothing better than having that feeling of brotherhood.”

Jones’ junior season culminated in perhaps the best relay swim of his life at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis last month—a swim so fast, even his coach referred to it as a “Spicy McChicken.” 

He split a 19.11 in the 200-yard free relay with a swing. This was almost a full second drop from his best individual time of 19.89.

Jones was impressive, but he was just one of several blazing relay swims at the NCAA Championships. In almost every relay there are swimmers going faster than they ever have before. In every relay, there is a relay hero. 

I compiled a list of relay heroes by comparing a swimmer’s best relay time at the meet to their best individual time of the year. 

Of course, there are other variables thrown in, and to account for those, I broke up the relay heroes of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Championships into three categories: off-event, swingers, and leadoff swimmers.

Off-Event Heroes

To the off-event guys, swimming an event for what may be the third time all year against the best competition in the country is not a problem. It’s an opportunity. 

This category is comprised of guys whose relay splits were significantly faster than their best times in that event this year, despite virtually none of them swimming the event rested. 

It also contains swimmers who are almost exclusively from the freestyle relay, where it is very rare for colleges to have a team made up entirely of swimmers in their best event.

Austin Phillips, Utah

The biggest drop from the entire meet came from Phillips. In the 200 freestyle relay, Phillips dropped almost two full seconds in the 50 free, going from his previous best of 21.37 all the way down to a 19.48.

Phillips’ regular event schedule includes the 200 freestyle, the 200 backstroke, and the 200 IM, but he looked forward to swimming an event that he did not compete in normally. 

“Going into NCAAs, knowing I was swimming off-events just took the pressure off,” he said. “It made it more fun.” 

Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek, Florida

The Gators had a pair of standout performances from stud swimmers Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek. 

In the 200 freestyle relay, Switkowski dropped from his season best of 20.15 down to an 18.52. In the 400 freestyle relay, Szaranek dropped from a season-best 45.37 down to a 41.95. 

Both of these swims were crazy time drops, but the times make sense if only because Switkowski and Szaranek are both elite swimmers who simply hadn't swum the event tapered.

Vini Lanza, Indiana

In the 800 freestyle relay, another great swimmer had another great swim. 

Butterflier Vini Lanza from Indiana shed almost six full seconds off of his best time in the 200 freestyle, dropping from a 1:38.10 to a 1:32.20 split.

Swingers

Swingers swam the same events individually at their taper meets—or even at NCAAs—but when they got some momentum, the game changed. Dropping from a swing is expected, but these guys still managed to stand out. 

Parks Jones, Arizona

In this category, obviously, was the aforementioned Jones. His drop in the 200 free relay was the biggest of the group.

Kanoa Kaleoaloha, Florida State

Right behind Jones was Kanoa Kaleoaloha—also in the 50 freestyle. 

He was a 19.58 without a swing at NCAAs, but in the relay, he dropped that all the way to an 18.83 in the relay. This was not only a big-time drop but also an incredibly impressive dip under the 19-second mark. 

Joseph Plechy, Florida State

Also from Florida State came the best split from the 400 free relay. Joseph Plechy swam a 42.32 split, which was over a second under his 43.55 lifetime best from earlier this season. 

Ryan Held, NC State

The best split coming from outside the free relays easily belonged to the Wolfpack’s Ryan Held. His 100 butterfly split on the 400-medley relay was a blistering 43.88. This was down almost a second from his lifetime best and exactly a second lower than what he went individually at this year’s NCAAs.

Leadoff Swimmers

The last category might be the most impressive. These swimmers, often in one of their best events, were able to swim faster, if for no other reason than the fact that their team needed them to find another gear. 

This category is by far the least populated and contains the lowest percentage drops, but it still deserves all the recognition. 

Justin Lynch, California

Just to give you an idea of how rare these swims are, the best split from the 400 free relay was from Cal's Justin Lynch. He swam just 0.04 of a second faster than his best, dropping from a 42.01 to a 41.97. 

Zach Apple, Auburn

In the 200 free relay, Zach Apple dropped his best time from the 2017 NCAAs, where he went 18.93. 

This year, leading off Auburn’s 200 free relay, he clocked an 18.82, 0.011 of a second faster than he had ever been. 

Even though he was swimming an event that he competes in at a high level so often, relays still give Apple that extra edge. 

“Going into the relay, it’s a little more calming, a little more relaxed,” he said. “You have the guys that push you every day in practice behind you. You know you are all in it together and you aren’t alone by yourself behind the blocks.” 

He sees leading off the relay as a unique opportunity, and the 200 free relay at NCAAs made that opportunity even more apparent. 

“With the 200 free relay, you have the opportunity to set the tone for the whole team, for the entire week,” he said. “Everyone is going to see what you led off in and everyone is going to be excited.” 

Blake Pieroni, Indiana

Indiana’s Blake Pieroni certainly set the tone for Indiana on the first night of the meet in the 800 free relay.

In what was one of the most memorable swims of the weekend, Pieroni split 1:29.63—0.4 of a second faster than the 1:30.23 he swam later in the meet.

All in all, these were just a few of the most impressive relay swims from the 2018 NCAA Championships. Swimming is not often seen as a team sport, but anyone who has swum at the collegiate level knows that it truly is one. 

Jones and Phillips both cited their teammates' support and energy as the reasons for their success, and Apple summed it up nicely. 

“[Relays] are an opportunity to get up and be with your teammates,” he said. “That bond together and being in that together will always push you further.”

Anthony Ashley is a swimmer and journalism major at the University of Missouri. His time of 1:45.66 in the 200 back is the ninth-fastest time in school history.