For the last three years, Max McHugh has been the face of two different things in the world of swimming: the men’s 100-yard breast and the University of Minnesota. He’s constantly the favorite to win the 100 breast at NCAAs, dominating his races from start to finish, and his points always single-handedly bring the Golden Gophers into the top 25. But tonight in his final collegiate meet, the two things that defined McHugh’s collegiate career came together, as the fifth-year senior won his third-straight 100 breast NCAA title in front of a roaring home crowd.
McHugh touched the wall in a time of 50.00, beating out runner-up Van Mathias by 0.6 seconds. He swam the fifth-fastest time in history, and was just 0.1 seconds off his best time of 49.90 that makes him the second-fastest performer of all-time. His win marks the first time in three years that a male swimmer has won an individual NCAA title at their home pool, as the last time this was done was when Texas’s Townley Haas and John She...