Alexander Painter, Julian Smith, Jake Mitchell and Oskar Lindholm placed eighth with a time of 6:06.96 to add points to the Gators overall score.
EDERAL WAY, Wash. – Florida’s Alexander Painter, Julian Smith, Jake Mitchell and Oskar Lindholm recorded the program’s third-fastest time in the 800 free relay on day one of the 2025 Men’s Division I Championships at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
The squad put together a time of 6:06.96 to earn eighth place and UF’s first podium appearance of the week. Their finish marks the 23rd-consecutive top-10 finish in the event at NCAA’s and the third time in program history the relay recorded a time under 6:08.00.
Racing in his first NCAA Championships relay of his career, Painter led off with a 1:32.14 to position Smith in sixth. The senior moved Florida into fourth after having the Gators fastest split time of 1:29.92, coming close to his 200 free career-best (1:29.62). Mitchell swam the third leg in 1:32.36 and passed it off to Lindholm, who had a career-best time of 1:32.54.
The Gators had an unfortunate turn of events in Wednesday’s opening relay. After Jonny Marshall, Smith, Josh Liendo and Scotty Buff defended Florida’s title in the 200 medley relay, while setting NCAA and program records with a time of 1:20.66, they were disqualified due to an early take-off in the fly-to-free exchange. As a result, the Gators were stripped of the 40 points they had accumulated from their win.
Heading into day two, Florida is currently sitting 11th with 22 points.
UP NEXT
The 500-yard free, 200-yard IM and the 50-yard free kick off individual events tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the one-meter springboard at 3 p.m. ET to close out morning prelims. Finals will begin at 9 p.m. ET with the 200-yard free relay concluding day two of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships.
Wednesday Results: https://floridagators.com/common/controls/doc_handler.aspx?doc=38736
Event
Athlete
Time
Place
200 Medley Relay
Jonny Marshall (20.59)
Julian Smith (22.14)
Josh Liendo (19.08)
Scotty Buff (18.24)
1:20.66
DQ
800 Free Relay
Alexander Painter (1:32.14)
Julian Smith (1:29.92)
Jake Mitchell (1:32.36)
Oskar Lindholm (1:32.54)
6:06.96
7th
TOP-15 TEAM STANDINGS (Following day one)
1. Texas – 84
2. California – 72
3. Georgia – 54
Indiana – 54
5. NC State – 50
6. Arizona State – 48
7. Stanford – 46
8. Tennessee – 34
9. Alabama – 30
10. Florida St. – 24
11. Florida – 22
12. Louisville – 18
13. Ohio State – 16
14. Auburn – 14
15. Michigan – 12
FLORIDA’S FULL TALLY
All-Americans
* 800 Free Relay – Painter, Smith, Mitchell, Lindholm
Program Top-10 Times
* 800 Free Relay: Painter, Smith, Mitchell, Lindholm – No. 3 (6:06.96)
HOW TO FOLLOW
All sessions will be televised live on ESPN+ for subscribers. Links for the live stream and live results can be found on Florida men’s swimming and diving schedule page<https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/schedule> on FloridaGators.com. Live results will be available to paid subscribers on Meet Mobile or fans can follow @GatorsSwimDV on socials. Tape-delayed coverage of the men’s championships will be on ESPNU at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, March 31.
2025 DI MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE, DATES (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
* Thursday, March 27 | Live results<https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Men-2025/> | Watch<https://www.espn.com/watch/schedule/_/type/upcoming/categoryId/904ff2f3-3ce3-3b9e-bca9-3608ec5f616b/startDate/20250327>
* Prelims | 1 p.m.
* One-meter diving trials | 3 p.m.
* One-meter diving consolation finals | 8:15 p.m.
* Finals | 9 p.m.
* 500-yard freestyle
* 200-yard individual medley
* 50-yard freestyle
* 200-yard freestyle elay
* One-meter diving
* Friday, March 28 | Live results<https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Men-2025/> | Watch<https://www.espn.com/watch/schedule/_/type/upcoming/categoryId/904ff2f3-3ce3-3b9e-bca9-3608ec5f616b/startDate/20250328>
* Prelims | 1 p.m.
* Three-meter diving trials | 3 p.m.
* Three-meter diving consolation finals | 8:15 p.m.
* Finals | 9 p.m.
* 400-yard individual medley
* 100-yard butterfly
* 200-yard freestyle
* 100-yard breaststroke
* 100-yard backstroke
* Three-meter diving
* 400-yard medley relay
* Saturday, March 29 | Live results<https://swimmeetresults.tech/NCAA-Division-I-Men-2025/> | Watch<https://www.espn.com/watch/schedule/_/type/upcoming/categoryId/904ff2f3-3ce3-3b9e-bca9-3608ec5f616b/startDate/20250329>
* Prelims | 1 p.m.
* Platform diving trials | 3 p.m.
* 1650 freestyle prelims | 6:45 p.m.
* Platform diving consolation finals | 8:15 p.m.
* Finals | 9 p.m.
* 1,650-yard freestyle
* 200-yard backstroke
* 100-yard freestyle
* 200-yard breaststroke
* 200-yard butterfly
* Platform diving – finals
* 400-yard freestyle relay
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