A Southern Methodist University (SMU) freshman swimmer set a new school record in the 200-yard freestyle for the third time this season, leading off the Mustangs’ 800 freestyle relay at the NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Atlanta on March 25.
The achievement highlights SMU’s ongoing success in collegiate swimming. The relay team, featuring Brennan and other teammates, completed the event with a time of 6:12.02. This performance placed SMU fifteenth overall, earning four points for the team and securing Second-Team All-America honors. Brennan’s leadoff split of 1:32.11 established a new program best for SMU.
Earlier this season at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships in February, Brennan teamed up with Forrest, Sungail, and Lockhart to break SMU’s previous record for the same relay event with a time of 6:11.47. At last year’s NCAA Championships, another group including Lockhart, Forrest, and Sungail set what was then a school record by finishing twenty-second overall with a time of 6:14.24.
Brennan has already broken individual records twice this season—first at the ACC Championships and again more recently at SMU’s Last Chance Meet where he clocked in at 1:32.13 for the individual event. He is also noted as being the first SMU freshman to compete at nationals since Robin Andreasson did so in 2009.
Looking ahead, competition continues tomorrow as Brennan is scheduled to swim in preliminaries of the individual 200 freestyle while Mustang divers participate in their respective events throughout March 26-28.
