Flames three-peat as swimmers-up at CCS Nationals in Arizona

Friday, March 28

Mesa, AZ

5:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

CCS National Championship Meet

Liberty, paced by graduate Matt Davidson, a fifth-time individual national champion, led this past weekend's CCS National Championships in Mesa, Ariz., from the start before being overtaken by the Boilermakers on the third and final day. (Photos by Katelyn Foelsch)

Flames three-peat as swimmers-up at CCS Nationals in Arizona

4/1/2025 11:59:00 AM | Men's Swimming

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Liberty amassed a program-record 882 points behind gold medals from graduate Matt Davidson and freshman Xander Williams and one gold- and four silver-medal relay showings, but was overtaken by four-time defending national champion Purdue on Sunday.

Gallery: (4-1-2025) Men's swimming at CCS Nationals

For the third consecutive College Club Swimming National Championships, Liberty University's men's swim team finished second to four-time defending champion Purdue this past Friday through Sunday, in a meet hosted by Arizona State University at the outdoor Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa, Ariz.

As a team, the Flames racked up 882 points to finish 50 points behind the first-place Boilermakers (932), for their closest margin of defeat by far.

"It was a good battle, for sure," Liberty Head Coach Heath Grishaw said. "We knew it was going to come down to the 100 (-yard) fly, the 500 free, and the 100 IM. Everybody can say they worked their hardest, (but after the 100 fly, when Purdue placed three in the top seven), they had a different mindset. It was the first moment at nationals that they realized it was not going to be our night. Everybody sensed that and thought to themselves, 'I could have done more.'"

Liberty finished well ahead of Georgia Tech (611), Florida State (471), and the host Sun Devils (419.5) who rounded out the top five. Cal Poly (360), Virginia (358), North Carolina State (349.5), California Berkeley (341), and Grand Canyon (294) completed the top 10 out of 132 teams represented.

Graduate Matt Davidson, who returned to the program after taking a year off following a fantastic four-year undergraduate career, was again the Flames' highest point scorer at the national meet. He captured his fifth career individual national title (in the 50 backstroke), a second-place finish (100 back), and a third-place showing (100 free in 45.25). He also swam a leg on all four of the Flames' runner-up relay teams (200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, 400 medley).

"The man had a phenomenal meet, and I am super proud of him," Grishaw said.

Davidson won the 50 back in 23.14, 0.02 seconds faster than FSU's James Riordon, who had beaten him by 0.26 seconds in the 100 back (50.62-50.88).

All five of the freshmen in this past fall's recruiting class scored at the national meet, including Xander Williams, who won the 200 butterfly in 1:50.89 to became the third individual national champion in program history, following Davidson and Drew Baxter, a freshman last year who opted not to return to the team this season.

Jonah Rees finished sixth in the 200 Individual Medley in 1:55.11, the 100 back in 51.59, and the 400 Individual Medley in 4:09.13 — one spot behind and in front of sophomore teammates Byron Long (fifth in 4:08.29) and Thomas Hill (seventh in 4:10.62), who also placed second in the 500 free in 4:38.22 and fourth in the 1,000 free in 9:42.45, followed by another sophomore, Carter Rice (eighth in 9:52.76).

The Flames' 800 free relay opened the meet on Friday with a gold-medal performance in 6:48.39, 0.23 seconds faster than Georgia Tech. Senior Trent Kolter led off that race for the Flames, followed by Hill, junior Whittman Brown, and Williams.

As with Friday's 200 medley relay, Liberty's last relay — Sunday's 200 free featuring Davidson, Brown, and fellow juniors Dillon Delaney and Max Phillipps — was seeded first and finished second to Purdue. That final relay set a program-record time of 1:21.96 punctuated by Phillipps' anchor-leg time of 19.75, which also set a program record, nearly a second faster than his fourth-place individual finish in the 50 free in 20.73.

Delaney also finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke in 56.47, freshman Malachi Caballero came in seventh in the 200 breast in 2:06.41, and Brown was eighth in the 100 free in 46.45.

Complete results are available online.

Last year, the Flames scored a then-program-best 810 points, more than 250 points fewer than Purdue's winning 1,060.5 total. Furthermore, despite not entering any women's swimmers, Liberty placed sixth in the combined men's and women's standings, behind first-place Georgia Tech (1,387), Purdue (1,189), women's team champion UVA (1,147), Cal Poly (1,121.5), and FSU (979.5).

"On the positive side, this team was incredible, the best team I've ever coached," Grishaw said. "There were times I turned around during the finals when every one of our student-athletes was standing and cheering on their teammates with every ounce of energy they had. As we as coaches and swimmers go back to the drawing board and bring in recruits and transfers, we want to bring in other guys like us who don't want to experience that feeling ever again. Assistant Coach Jordan Stackpole and I are going to be hitting the recruiting ground hard for this upcoming fall semester."

He said while the outcome left a bittersweet aftertaste for the Flames, adversity can bring out the best in them and will only make them more determined to make history next spring.

"We really want to win a national championship, but there were a lot of beautiful lessons that will come from this meet," Grishaw said. "Life doesn't always go the way you want it to go and it's how you handle it and battle through it that matters in the end. As believers, we know we are going to face adversity. What matters is how we handle ourselves. Did we represent Christ well? Did we focus on the Gospel message, the hope of the cross and God's plan for our lives. If we put our trust in Him, and find our worth in Christ, we know that all things work together for good. It was a very successful season, and I am proud that I got to coach every one of them."

Of the seven graduating swimmers and three graduate students, Davidson will be the most difficult to replace, again, as he leaves a legacy of excellence.

"Matt, in particular, showed the guys how to carry themselves, how to work hard in practice, as a married man working on a graduate degree and working in the Club Sports department," Grishaw said. "He led well and now that he is moving on, that opens the door and opportunities for others to step up."

It was also the last meet for senior photographer and social media coordinator Katelyn Foelsch.

"She was awesome," Grishaw said. "I've never met someone as selfless as Kate. She served the team in a Christ-loving manner that was something special."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer; Video edited by Noah Richter/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant