Tennessee Breaks Own NCAA Record In 400 Free Relay, Crooks Swims #1 Split All-Time With 39.36 | SwimSwam

By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam

2025 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships

• March 26-29, 2025
• Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center, Federal Way, Washington
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
• Psych Sheet
• Eligible Relays
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay

• NCAA Record: 2:42.41 — Tennessee (Caribe, Blackman, Taylor, Crooks) (2025)
• Championship Record: 2:43.40 — Arizona State (Marchand, Dolan, Sammon, Kulow) (2024)
• American Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (Held, Ress, Molacek, Stewart) (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:42.41 — Tennessee (Caribe, Blackman, Taylor, Crooks) (2025)
• 2024 Champion: Arizona State (Marchand, Dolan, Sammon, Kulow) — 2:43.40

Top 8:

1. Tennessee (Caribe, Taylor, Blackman, Crooks) – 2:42.30 (NCAA Record)
2. Arizona State (Kharun, Sammon, Palmer, Kulow) – 2:43.22
3. Florida (Liendo, Smith, Painter, Buff) – 2:44.02
4. California (Alexy, Seeliger, Jensen, Lasco) – 2:44.59
5. Indiana (McDonald, King, Smiley, Miroslaw) – 2:45.08
6. NC State (McCarty, Fox, Miller, Hoover) – 2:45.09
7. Texas (Guiliano, Kos, Maurer, Hobson) – 2:45.12
8. Virginia Tech (Ramadan, Whitfield, Coll Marti, Molla Yanes) – 2:46.21

The Tennessee men broke their own NCAA record in the 400 freestyle relay, swimming to a 2:42.30. That broke their own record of a 2:42.41 that they swam last month at the 2025 SEC Championships. In addition to the NCAA record, Jordan Crooks anchored the relay in the fastest split of all-time.

Prior to Tennessee setting the record last month, the record stood at a 2:43.40 from Arizona State at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Split Comparison

	2025 NCAAs- Tennessee		2025 SECs- Tennessee		2024 NCAAs- Arizona State
1st Leg	Gui Caribe	40.57	Gui Caribe	41.11	Leon Marchand	40.28
2nd Leg	Lamar Taylor	41.02 (1:21.59)	Nikoli Blackman	41.13 (1:22.24)	Jack Dolan	41.28 (1:21.56)
3rd Leg	Nikoli Blackman	41.35 (2:02.94)	Lamar Taylor	40.65 (2:02.89)	Patrick Sammon	41.02 (2:02.58)
4th Leg	Jordan Crooks	39.36 (2:42.30)	Jordan Crooks	39.52 (2:42.41)	Jonny Kulow	40.82 (2:43.40)
		2:42.30		2:42.41	2:43.40

Caribe was out faster tonight than he was at SECs by over half a second and was just off his time from the individual final as he was 3rd earlier tonight in a 40.15. Crooks swam another record breaking swim with a 39.36, faster than his own previous #1 split all-time of a 39.52.

Top 5 Relay Splits All-Time:

1. Jordan Crooks– 39.36, 2025 NCAA Championships
2. Jordan Crooks– 39.52, 2025 SEC Championships
3. Jordan Crooks– 39.89, 2024 Tennessee Invite
4. Jonny Kulow– 39.93, 2025 NCAA Championships
5. Jordan Crooks– 39.95, 2025 NCAA Championships

Crooks holds four of the dive fastest relay splits all-time. These are also the only five splits to ever be sub-40. Kulow anchored Arizona State’s relay in a 39.93 tonight to earn his spot in the top 5.

“We’ve created a really good connection in the water and outside of the water with this relay,” said Gui Caribe in the post-race interview.

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