Mollie Handkins via Getty Images

Another national record has gone down in the morning at the men's NCAA swimming and diving championships. Texas senior Hubert Kos has re-established the fastest time in history in the 100 backstroke during Friday morning's preliminary session.

The Texas standout lowered his own NCAA mark by twelve hundredths of a second, delivering another impressive swim. Already the record holder coming into the season, Kos has raised the bar even further, reinforcing his status as the most dominant backstroker in collegiate swimming. 

Kos was out fast, splitting a 20.71 through his first 50 yards. He closed in a 22.37 to re-set the NCAA record and punch his ticket into tonight's finals as the top overall seed.

The Hungarian native has showcased elite front-end speed through two and half days of competition. Kos broke Texas' team record in the 100 butterfly last night, after besting Caeleb Dressel's best time, becoming the second fastest performer in history behind Florida's Josh Liendo.

Traditionally a 200 backstroker, Kos has improved greatly in the more sprint-specific 100 yard events, putting his speed on full display this week.

This prelim swim also continues a great season for Kos, who has stacked wins throughout the season, including three SEC titles. Since arriving at Texas, Kos has been a centerpiece of their program.

Kos' prelims performance sets up another fun championship final this evening where he will have a chance to be the first swimmer in history to break 43 seconds in 100 yards of backstroke. At this point Kos isn’t chasing history, he has the chance to completely rewrite it.

After there were no indivudal NCAA records broken at the women's meet one week ago, three individual records, and four overall, have been broken through the first three days of the men's meet.

Caribe tops Liendo in 50 free prelims

One of the most exciting events in swimming will be contested in this evening's finals, and Florida's Josh Liendo will be operating out of lane five.

Tennessee senior Gui Caribe stopped the clock in 18.39 seconds, one hundredth of a second ahead of Liendo in this morning's preliminaries, so he will be the top seed in the championship final.

Liendo came into the week tied with Ilya Kharun for the top time in the country, Kharun qualified third in 18.51.

"Swimflation" has continued to take over the sport as it took an 18.73 second swim to make it into the top eight and a 18.88 to score points in the top 16. There were two sub-19 second swims that won't even score points at this year's championships, which hard to comprehend.

Friday's Finals Schedule

Finals: 6 p.m. ET | Live results

100-yard backstroke

Top Seed: Hubert Kos, Texas (NCAA Record)

200-yard breaststroke

Top Seed: Ben Delmar, UNC

500-yard freestyle

Top Seed: Rex Maurer, Texas

50-yard freestyle

Top Seed: Gui Caribe, Tennessee

400-yard medley relay

Top Seed: Arizona State

Three-meter diving

Mollie Handkins via Getty Images

A record that was once looked at as "unbreakable" has fallen...in prelims.

Florida senior Josh Liendo woke up this morning on a mission, taking down Caeleb Dressel's 42.80 NCAA record in the 100 butterfly. Dressel, a former gator, broke 43 seconds back in 2018, when it once seemed impossible.

Liendo's new record marks a defining moment in collegiate swimming. Dressel’s time of 42.80 seconds, set during his legendary career at Florida, had long been considered one of the most untouchable records in the sport. Dressel, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist, had one of the most explosive starts the NCAA had ever seen. His underwater were elite and his race strategy was bold. Dressel established a benchmark that stood as the gold standard for nearly a decade.

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Now, a fellow Gator has dethroned Dressel as the king of the 100 butterfly, not only passing his time, but cutting almost three tenths of a second off of the fastest time in history. His swim showcased a near-perfect balance of power and efficiency. Liendo has always demonstrated exceptional control, particularly on the fourth 25, but this time he put together a near perfect swim to post a 42.54.

The swim is significant and now redefines what was once thought possible in the event. Beyond the time itself, the achievement solidifying Liendo as one of the best to ever compete in the NCAA. With Liendo taking down the 100 butterly, Dressel only has one record still standing, his iconic 50 freestyle from 2018 when his stopped the clock in 17.63 seconds.

With Liendo leading the field, this year's 100 butterfly is looking like the greatest field of all time. Not only did Liendo break the NCAA record, but Texas senior Hubert Kos threw down a massive 42.97 to qualify second and become the third swimmer in history to break 43 seconds. 

The fastest in history and now the third fastest performer will duke it out for an NCAA title with the deepest field to follow. Get your popcorn ready, finals in the men's 100 butterfly should be a historic race.