Jake Meyer went 53.50 in 100 Breast

In November, which is really unusual. We'll explain.

The 2021-22 season was set to be unconventional due to COVID-19, which halted swimming competitions and led to the cancellation of Nationals for two years. The NCAA's decision to extend eligibility meant that many older, more experienced swimmers would be competing that year. The season's rhythm was already unusual, exemplified by Johns Hopkins Senior Max Chen's atypical sub-54.00 time in the 100 Breaststroke before Thanksgiving, a rare feat for Division III athletes.

Then, less than a month later,¹ Luke Rodarte² went 53.83 in 100 Breast.

Luke Rodarte from California Lutheran

What a weird year. That never happens. And by ‘never’, I mean except for 2021-22, I can find no record of there being a sub-54.00 time in 100 Breast before December 1. Ever. In the history of Division III.

Except those two guys - Mr. Chen and Mr. Rodarte, two of the very fastest in the history of the division. Andrew Wilson never did it.³ Collin Miller⁴ never did it. But we knew going into the 2021-22 season that weird things were going to happen.

Anyway, that’s the context.

That, and Jake Meyer went 53.50 in 100 Breast on Friday.

No one in Division III history has ever been this fast so early in the season.⁵ It’s always something with this guy.

1. Caltech Invite, Nov 20–21, 2021

2. Luke Rodarte had an interesting path. He grew up outside of Lake Tahoe, started swimming at tiny Colby-Sawyer College (there were literally four other guys on the Men’s swim team) in rural New Hampshire, transferred to California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks (which is basically a nice suburb of Los Angeles - so, very different from rural New Hampshire), then went to Cal for his fifth year of eligibility. He was a national champion in 100 Breast at 2022 D3 Nationals, and a useful swimmer for Cal, which is pretty-much the top of the pile in D1 Men’s swimming (he finished 6th in 100 Breast at the 2023 PAC 12 championships).

Mr. Rodarte was also a nationally ranked downhill skier.

3. At least not when he was competing in Division III.

4. At the 2020 WIAC Swimming & Diving Championships, UW-Eau Claire's Collin Miller recorded a 52.75 in the 100-yard breaststroke, joining an elite rank of Division III swimmers who have broken the 53-second barrier.

5. Obviously, we have enormous respect for Jake Meyer and do not want to hog the spotlight by suggesting that naming him Eagle of the Week last week was largely responsible for his historic swim on Friday.