MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The completion of the third day of the NCAA Championships saw Cal remain atop the leaderboard. The Golden Bears finished the evening with several big swims and added 130 points to their total, putting them in an excellent position to defend their crown on the final day.
 
No records fell for Cal on Friday. However, the Bears did post plenty of impressive performances and earned All-American honors.  
 
The Bears opened finals on Friday with Hugo Gonzalez and Jason Louser taking second and fifth in the 400 IM. Gonzalez finished with a time of 3:34.66. Gonzalez dropped 1.20 seconds off his top time this season. Louser had a fast prelim on Friday to advance to the A final and backed that up with a time of 3:38.69.
 
Dare Rose took second in the consolation final of the 100 butterfly with a time of 44.75 to earn All-American Honorable Mention honors. Rose entered the day seeded 22^nd overall, but put up a solid run in the prelims and improved on that in the finals, dropping 0.55 off his top this season.
 
In the 200 free, Gabriel Jett took second in a very fast race. He finished with a time of 1:30.74, the second fastest time in program history, and was just out-touched by event winner Luke Hobson of Texas who finished with a time of 1:30.43. It is the first All-American honor for Jett in this event, who finished 18^th last year.
 
In the 100 breast, Liam Bell and Reece Whitley finished sixth and seventh respectively. Bell finished with a time of 50.88, while Whitley clocked in with a time of 51.04 to earn All-American honors.
 
In the final individual event of the evening, the 100 back, Björn Seeliger finished second in the consolation final with a time of 45.00, dropping 0.33 from his seed time. Destin Lasco took third in the A Final with a time of 43.94
 
In the 400 medley relay, The quartet of Lasco (44.07), Whitley (51.37), Jett (44.49), and Seeliger (40.45) finished in fifth with a time of 3:30.38, dropping 1.42 seconds off the top time this season. Cal finished 0.2 off the program record set last year.
 
Through 14 events, the Bears lead with 315 points. In second is Arizona State with 302 points, followed by Texas with 292 points.
 
UP NEXT
Day four of the NCAA Championships will begin with the prelims of the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, and 200 fly. The 200 back is scheduled to begin at 10 am CT/8 am PT. The prelims will be streamed on ESPN+. The finals will begin at 4:10 PM CT/2:10 PM PT with the timed finals in the 1650 freestyle.  
 
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