Casas Makes Program History on Day Two of NCAA Championships
Mar 25, 2021 | Men's Swimming and Diving
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Shaine Casas capped off another record-setting day at NCAA Championships by becoming the first individual champion in Texas A&M men's swimming & diving program history. With Casas' win and a top-5 finish from the 200 free relay the Aggies currently sit in fifth with 88 points.
Casas, senior Tanner Olson, junior Kaloyan Bratanov and senior Mark Theall joined forces in the 200 free relay to post a new school record, which they previously set at SEC Championships, clocking in at 1:15.79 to take fifth. Casas claimed the school record in the 50 free with a time of 19.02 as the leadoff in the relay. He now has nine individual school records to his name.
After a number of top-three finishes throughout the years, it was Casas that finally broke through for the Aggies and claimed the first individual crown. He clocked in at 1:39.53 in the 200 IM to take the title and earn his first individual All-America honor of the week.
The 400 medley relay team of Casas, sophomore Andres Puente, sophomore Jace Brown and Bratanov clocked in at a season-best time of 3:05.15, good for 13th.
In prelims, Bratanov posted a time of 1:44.36 to finish 23rd in the 200 IM and Olson finished 32nd in the 50 free with a time of 19.63. Theall rounded out the competition in the 500 free with a time of 4:21.78.
The Aggies will return to action with prelims beginning at 9 a.m. and finals to follow at 5 p.m.
For updates and results, follow along on Twitter @aggieswimdive.
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Hear from head Coach Jay Holmes
On Shaine Casas becoming A&M's first men's NCAA Champion …
Getting that first individual national championship, I'm just happy for Shaine [Casas] to get it done. We have been second a number of times at this meet with the likes of Chris O'Neil, Riley Janes and Grant Nel, but to finally get the win done was exciting for us. We know Shaine is better than that time, even though the time wasn't what we wanted, getting the win was awesome. He earned 20 big points for us, which was really fun.
On the impressive 200 free relay performance …
I thought our 200 free relay was great tonight. We have had potential all over the place in this race, but we were just really consistent across the board tonight. The relay starts were consistent, the times were consistent. For us to get in that championship final heat and score big points, that was fun for Jason [Calanog] and me. We finally put that thing together. We thought for a while that we had a 1:15 in us and we finally put it together. That was gratifying and everyone did their job, which was really fun to see.
On the team being in the top five in team scores early on …
Team points wise we are in this hunt and that's really exciting for our team. Everything we are doing really matters this year. To be in the middle of the top 10 is really big for us, but tomorrow is going to need to be another big day for us. We are going to get some rest tonight and have a great day tomorrow morning.
On Shaine Casas and the two-year wait for NCAA Championships …
We thought he would be pretty good last year at the NCAA Championship meet, but obviously we weren't able to do that, nobody got to do it. He is happy with what he has done so far, but he has a lot more him. He's pushing it, he's being aggressive on the things that he's doing. He's trying to make sure we see who he really is. We really do think he's pretty incredible with his versatility and being able to do the things that he does so well, so we are going to continue to push him because there is a whole lot more in that guy.
Top Finishes
200 Free Relay – Shaine Casas, Tanner Olson, Koko Bratanov, Mark Theall – 1:15.79
500 Free – Mark Theall – 4:21.78
200 IM – Shaine Casas – 1:39.53*
50 Free – Tanner Olson – 19.63
400 Medley Relay – Shaine Casas, Andres Puente, Jace Brown, Kaloyan Bratanov – 3:05.15
*denotes first place
Meet Details
Friday March 26th
9 a.m. CT Prelims – Watch | Results
5 p.m. CT Finals: 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 200 medley relay – Watch | Results
Saturday March 27th
9 a.m. CT Prelims – Watch | Results
5 p.m. CT Finals: 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay – Watch | Results
Casas, senior Tanner Olson, junior Kaloyan Bratanov and senior Mark Theall joined forces in the 200 free relay to post a new school record, which they previously set at SEC Championships, clocking in at 1:15.79 to take fifth. Casas claimed the school record in the 50 free with a time of 19.02 as the leadoff in the relay. He now has nine individual school records to his name.
After a number of top-three finishes throughout the years, it was Casas that finally broke through for the Aggies and claimed the first individual crown. He clocked in at 1:39.53 in the 200 IM to take the title and earn his first individual All-America honor of the week.
The 400 medley relay team of Casas, sophomore Andres Puente, sophomore Jace Brown and Bratanov clocked in at a season-best time of 3:05.15, good for 13th.
In prelims, Bratanov posted a time of 1:44.36 to finish 23rd in the 200 IM and Olson finished 32nd in the 50 free with a time of 19.63. Theall rounded out the competition in the 500 free with a time of 4:21.78.
The Aggies will return to action with prelims beginning at 9 a.m. and finals to follow at 5 p.m.
For updates and results, follow along on Twitter @aggieswimdive.
------
Hear from head Coach Jay Holmes
On Shaine Casas becoming A&M's first men's NCAA Champion …
Getting that first individual national championship, I'm just happy for Shaine [Casas] to get it done. We have been second a number of times at this meet with the likes of Chris O'Neil, Riley Janes and Grant Nel, but to finally get the win done was exciting for us. We know Shaine is better than that time, even though the time wasn't what we wanted, getting the win was awesome. He earned 20 big points for us, which was really fun.
On the impressive 200 free relay performance …
I thought our 200 free relay was great tonight. We have had potential all over the place in this race, but we were just really consistent across the board tonight. The relay starts were consistent, the times were consistent. For us to get in that championship final heat and score big points, that was fun for Jason [Calanog] and me. We finally put that thing together. We thought for a while that we had a 1:15 in us and we finally put it together. That was gratifying and everyone did their job, which was really fun to see.
On the team being in the top five in team scores early on …
Team points wise we are in this hunt and that's really exciting for our team. Everything we are doing really matters this year. To be in the middle of the top 10 is really big for us, but tomorrow is going to need to be another big day for us. We are going to get some rest tonight and have a great day tomorrow morning.
On Shaine Casas and the two-year wait for NCAA Championships …
We thought he would be pretty good last year at the NCAA Championship meet, but obviously we weren't able to do that, nobody got to do it. He is happy with what he has done so far, but he has a lot more him. He's pushing it, he's being aggressive on the things that he's doing. He's trying to make sure we see who he really is. We really do think he's pretty incredible with his versatility and being able to do the things that he does so well, so we are going to continue to push him because there is a whole lot more in that guy.
Top Finishes
200 Free Relay – Shaine Casas, Tanner Olson, Koko Bratanov, Mark Theall – 1:15.79
500 Free – Mark Theall – 4:21.78
200 IM – Shaine Casas – 1:39.53*
50 Free – Tanner Olson – 19.63
400 Medley Relay – Shaine Casas, Andres Puente, Jace Brown, Kaloyan Bratanov – 3:05.15
*denotes first place
Meet Details
Friday March 26th
9 a.m. CT Prelims – Watch | Results
5 p.m. CT Finals: 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 200 medley relay – Watch | Results
Saturday March 27th
9 a.m. CT Prelims – Watch | Results
5 p.m. CT Finals: 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay – Watch | Results
Players Mentioned
IM/Free/Breast
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Fly/IM/Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Back/Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Breast/IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Breast
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
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