Five Gators Included on CollegeSwimming.com Preseason All-American Team

Mark Szaranek was one of five Gators picked to the team based on his times in the 200 and 400 IM.

Five Gators Included on CollegeSwimming.com Preseason All-American Team

Monday, September 12, 2016 | Men's Swimming & Diving

The five were All-SEC first teamers and earned multiple NCAA All-America honors last season

By: Layne Weitzel

CollegeSwimming.com released its 2016-17 Division I Preseason All-American Team on Monday, and five Gators are among the 123 members.

Jack Blyzinskyj, Mitch D'Arrigo, Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek represented Florida on the men's team.

Blyzinskyj, a senior, was selected to the team in the 100 back. Last season, he earned four All-America honors, including one from a 12^th-place finish in the 100 back (45.82) at the NCAA Championships, and was also a first-team All-SEC member. He won a bronze medal with his 45.66 finish in the 100 back at the SEC Championships.

Another senior, D'Arrigo, earned preseason honors in the 200 free and 500 free. D'Arrigo kept busy this summer, swimming the 200m free and 4x200m free relay in the Rio Olympics for Italy. During the NCAA Championships in March, he won a silver medal in the 500 free (4:09.98) and finished sixth in the 200 free (1:32.67), giving him two of his three All-America honors. His times in the 200 free and 500 free were career-bests. D'Arrigo, an All-SEC first-teamer, also participated in the SEC title-winning 4x200 free relay (6:13.64) and totaled 143 points for the first-place Florida men.

Junior Dressel was chosen to the team based on his 50 free, 100 free and 100 butterfly times. Dressel competed for Team USA in the Olympics, winning gold in the 4x100m free relay and 4x100m medley relay and finishing sixth in the 100m free finals. He was named the 2016 NCAA Co-Swimmer of the Year after record-breaking national titles in the 50 free (18.20) and 100 free (40.46) and a runner-up finish in the 100 butterfly (44.40). Dressel, a seven-time All-American last season, also won SEC Male Swimmer of the Year and was named to the conference's first team, winning SEC individual titles in the 50 free (18.23), 100 free (41.07) and 100 butterfly (44.80).

Switkowski, a junior, was also picked for three events – the 200 free, 200 butterfly and 200 IM. He rounds out the three current Gators who swam in Rio, competing for Poland in the 4x100m free relay, 200m butterfly and 4x200m free relay. At NCAAs, Switkowski finished fourth in the 200 IM (1:41.36) and 200 free (1:32.14) and ninth in the 200 butterfly (1:41.40). During SECs, he finished second in the 200 IM (1:42.55) and fourth in the 200 butterfly (1:41.98). He was another first-team All-SEC member.

Junior Szaranek rounded out the preseason All-American list for Florida in the 200 IM and 400 IM. During the NCAA Championships, his sixth-place finish in the 200 IM (1:41.59) and ninth-place finish in the 400 IM (3:39.28) gave him one of his five All-America honors and an additional honorable mention. Szaranek was an All-SEC first teamer, finishing second in the SEC Championships' 400 IM (3:41.88) and third in the 200 IM (1:42.64).

Selections were based on the times of both returning and incoming swimmers (through September 1) with input from coaches and sports information contacts.