A Record Night For The Bears

ATLANTA – Cal opened up the NCAA Championships Wednesday night in record fashion, setting school marks in two relays and watching sophomore Björn Seeliger swim the fastest 50-yard backstroke in history.
 
The 200-yard medley relay was the first race of the meet, and the quartet of Seeliger, Liam Bell, Trenton Julian and Daniel Carr broke both the school and Pac-12 record with their time of 1:21.69. Racing in the third of four timed finals, Cal tied with North Carolina State, and the two schools co-held the lead going into the last of the heats. However, Florida (1:21.13) and Texas (1:21.36) touched with faster times and claimed the top two spots with the Bears and Wolfpack in third place
 
Cal's time broke the previous school and conference mark of 1:21.88 set during the 2018 season. In addition, Seeliger swam the fastest 50 back ever on his opening leg, reaching the wall in 20.08, which was ahead of the record held by Cal great Ryan Murphy.
 
The foursome of Julian, Robin Hanson, Gabriel Jett and Destin Lasco were next on the blocks, this time for the 800 free relay. Each Bear swam a sub-1:32 200-yard leg, and they finished in a Cal-record 6:06.90 to take fourth. The old record of 6:07.31 had stood since 2019.
 
Through two events, Cal stands in third place with 61 points. Texas leads with 74 points, with Florida second with 64.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will swim the 500 free, 200 individual medley, 50 free and 200 free relay Thursday at the NCAA Championships. Prelims for the three individual events start at 7 a.m. PT, followed by finals at 3 p.m. PT. ESPN3 will stream both sessions live, with the morning events here and the finals here.
 
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