Three School Records Fall at Last Chance Meet

Friday, March 1

Knoxville

University of Tennessee

Last Chance Meet

March 02, 2024 | Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving

Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A trio of program records fell and 12 top-10 times were recorded during Tennessee swimming & diving's Last Chance Meet on Friday and Saturday at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

Several Vols and Lady Vols improved their chances of earning a bid to the 2024 NCAA Championships after some notable performances throughout the meet. Here are all of the top-10 swims from the weekend:

Day 1 Highlights

The top swim of the first day came in the men's 500 free, where Rafael Ponce de Leon Castilla blew past his previous personal best to throw down the top time in UT history, touching the wall in 4:14.93. However, the record would only stand for one day before falling again.
After finishing sixth in the 100 breast at the SEC Championships last week, Flynn Crisci shaved off another 0.71 seconds to break the program record in the event with a time of 51.19. The mark ranks tied for sixth in the nation and securely earns him a spot at the NCAA Championships.
After injuries cost her the majority of her first year and a half on Rocky Top, Regan Rathwell showed why she was one of the best backstrokers in the 2022 class. In the 200 back, she shattered her previous collegiate-best time with an impressive 1:52.96, which moved her to fifth on the Lady Vol leaderboard.
Joey Tepper posted the No. 4 time in UT history in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:15.62.
In the 200 fly, Gus Rothrock posted a 1:44.44 effort to move into eighth in the record books.

Day 2 Highlights

For the second time in the meet, the men's 500 free program record fell. After Ponce de Leon Castilla held the title for a day, Joey Tepper ended Saturday night's session with a time of 4:14.90 to set a new Tennessee record.
Swimming the 400 IM, a pair of Vols recorded new top-10 efforts. Aidan Crisci touched the wall in 3:42.93 to rank third in program history, while Gus Rothrock's 3:44.27 mark checked in at fourth in the Big Orange record books.
In one race, Jake Narvid posted two top-10 times in UT history. He climbed to sixth in the 1650 free after posting a 14:54.06 mark, and his 1000 free split of 8:57.88 also ranked sixth all time.
In the 50 free, Nikoli Blackman moved up two spots to sixth after recording a 42.30 mark.
One of the top IMers and backstrokers in the country, Josephine Fuller placed her name on the Tennessee 200 fly leaderboard, notching a time of 1:54.73 to move into seventh.