Dressel Shines at NCAA Finals with former Bolles Teammates
Friday, March 25, 2016 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter
The UF sophomore set school-record in 100-yard fly on Friday night
ATLANTA -- The moment arrived Friday night and Gators sophomore Caeleb Dressel knelt for a quick prayer next to the spring board in Lane 5. To his right in Lane 4, Texas sophomore Joseph Schooling prepared for the 100-yard butterfly final.
The defending national champion in the event, Schooling was certainly no stranger to Dressel.
"They know each other pretty well,'' Florida coach Gregg Troy said.
In high school, Dressel joined The Bolles School Sharks club team in Jacksonville and was a teammate of Schooling. While Dressel competed for Clay High School and Schooling for The Bolles School during the prep season, the two teamed with another prominent swimmer here at this week's NCAA Championships, California's Ryan Murphy, to form a dream team with the Sharks.
As Dressel hopped on the spring board next to Schooling on Friday, he was determined to push his friend and former teammate for the title.
"There's definitely competition, there's no doubt about that,'' Dressel said. "He brings out the best in me. He's just one of my good friends and one of my best competitors. It's not really one of my strongest events. It's more like a fill event. But it's so fun racing that kid."
Over the next 44 seconds, Dressel and Schooling waged a battle that was fun for those at the McAuley Aquatic Center to watch.
Schooling defended his title with a new American and NCAA record of 44.01 seconds. Dressel was right on his heels with a UF record time of 44.40 seconds, which now stands as the third-best time in history in the event.
Dressel reflected on the race with a sense of amazement considering their backgrounds.
"I was very happy with the time,'' he said. "This meet is very demanding. You've got to be on top of your stuff. Being able to be next to Joseph, get second in that, it's never nice to lose but if anyone could beat me, I'd be happy for it to be Joseph. He's a good guy."
A night after setting American, NCAA and world records to defend his national title in the 50 free, Dressel had another strong performance on Friday. He nearly knocked off Schooling in the 100 fly and in the final event of the night, Dressel closed fast to help the Gators' 200 medley relay team (Jack Blyzinskyj, Mark Szaranek, Jan Switkowski and Dressel) finish fourth.
Florida enters Saturday's final day of competition in third place with 255 points, trailing only Texas (366 points) and Cal (271).
While the Dressel-Schooling showdown was a crowd pleaser, their former teammate at Bolles had his moment in the spotlight, too. A junior who grew up in Ponte Vedra, Murphy reset his American, NCAA and world records to win his third consecutive national title in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 43.49 seconds.
Troy, who spent two decades coaching The Bolles School before he took over the Gators, was as intrigued by the trio's performance as everyone else. He recalled the men's U.S. Olympic Team in 1996 -- which competed in the same venue as this week's NCAA Finals -- that included three Bolles swimmers, including former UF standout Greg Burgess.
Dressel and Murphy are strong contenders to make this year's U.S. Olympic Team for the Rio Games, and Schooling is a member of the Singapore National Team.
"To have those kind of guys all together at the same time, pretty unique,'' Troy said. "There's a tremendous tradition."
Meanwhile, Troy has been impressed with the way Dressel has responded to the increase in competition this week.
"He goes six times the first day, pedal to the medal,'' he said. "Last year he was a little inexperienced, had a hard time coming back. This year completely different day."
The NCAA Championships conclude Saturday night. While much is unknown about what impact, if any, the three former Bolles standouts will have on the Summer Olympics, they certainly made their presence felt in Atlanta.
Dressel has emerged as one of America's most promising young swimmers during his sophomore season with the Gators. He looks back and credits Schooling and Murphy with some of that.
They are a long way from their days together at Bolles.
"It's nice how fast we're all going,'' Dressel said. "I kind of had to earn my respect with both of them. I'm a year younger than both of them. Being a year younger, you see these guys doing great things, and for me, it's like I'm just waiting for my opportunity. They are the big dogs."
He may not say it, but Dressel is now a big dog, too.
Players Mentioned
