INDIANAPOLIS – Cal alumna Abbey Weitzeil set a U.S. Open record in winning the Phillips 66 National Championship in the 50-meter freestyle on Saturday evening at the IU Natatorium.

Weitzeil's time of 24.00 bettered the previous mark of 24.09 and is the second-fastest mark ever by an American swimmer, trailing only Simone Manuel's 23.97 set at the 2017 FINA World Championships. With her victory Saturday, Weitzeil qualified for the 2023 World Championships later this month in Fukuoka, Japan, adding another event to her schedule after qualifying in the 100 free earlier in the week.

On the men's side, rising Cal junior Jack Alexy also qualified for his second individual event at Worlds with a runner-up finish in the 50 free. His time of 21.63 was less than two one-hundredths of a second out of the top spot. Alexy won the national championship in the 100 free on Tuesday.

In the 200 individual medley, alumnus Trenton Julian and rising senior Destin Lasco narrowly missed out on a Worlds berth by finishing third and fourth, respectively. Each was within a half-second of the No. 2 spot in the final, which would have given them a berth in Japan.

Overall, the Bears had four men – Alexy, Lasco, alumnus Ryan Murphy and rising senior Dare Rose – qualify for Worlds in individual events, and one woman - Weitzeil.

There are also several international Golden Bears who have previously qualified for the World Championships, including Hugo Gonzalez, Lucas Henveaux, Bjorn Seeliger, Robin Hanson, Ziyad Saem and Leah Polonsky.

The 2023 FINA World Championships will be held at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall on July 23-30.