Note: Lauren Neidigh, an Orange Park resident who attended and swam for the Bolles School on numerous state championship teams, is now a writer for SwimSwam.com, a national swim-related website that covers national and international competition. Neidigh swam at the University of Arizona.

INDIANAPOLIS – American Olympian Caeleb Dressel’s groundbreaking performance at the 2017 NCAA Championships can be perfectly summed up by one moment: the end of the 100 yard freestyle.

As Dressel, a Clay High School graduate and two-time Olympic swim relay gold medalist, charged to the wall far and away from the rest of the field, every head in the crowd at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis turned toward the scoreboard. There was a split second of anticipation followed by a collective roar from the crowd, as the board showed his new NCAA and American Record time of 40.00. Before Dressel, nobody thought a time that fast would be possible anytime in the near future.

“It never gets old being on the podium and seeing all my Gator teammates doing the Gator Chomp,” said Dressel, in a post-meet interview at NCAA.com. “Our relay had just one senior on it so there is much more to come.”

Dressel’s 100 freestyle performance wasn’t the only superhuman feat he accomplished throughout the meet. That swim came at the end of a grueling

four-day competition, during which he won all three of his individual events and was a key piece of four All-American Relays for the Gators.

Dressel, with his two Olympic gold medals in relays, commented that the Olympic experience offered more wisdom to meet preparation at a big scale.

“((The Olympics) gave me a lot of wisdom because it’s such a big meet,” said Dressel. “It doesn’t make a meet like this seem smaller, but gives you more confidence in handling adversity during race week.”

In addition to his 100 freestyle win, he won the 50 freestyle in 18.23 seconds, just missing his own American and NCAA Record by .03 of a second.

“It’s always nice to go for a perfect best,” said Dressel. “I think I missed my finish. I always push for a perfect race. Think of it; there were almost eight guys under 19 seconds. That’s stupid fast.”

Dressel also recorded the fastest 50 freestyle relay split in history, crushing a 17.71 second swim on the Gators’ 200 freestyle relay in prelims.

“I’m one less stroke going out last year; from nine strokes on the first 25 to just eight,” said Dressel. “That’s more power per stroke and I have to get used to that increased power and the difference it makes on the stroke.”

The big question mark heading into the meet was whether or not Dressel would be able to take down Texas’ two-time defending 100 butterfly champion Joseph Schooling, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist and a former Bolles teammate of Dressel’s, in the 100 butterfly. Coming into the meet, Schooling was the favorite, but Dressel had been gaining ground on him since taking second in the event to Schooling at the 2016 NCAA meet. Though Dressel trailed Schooling with just one lap to go, he blasted off the final wall and ripped through the last 25 yards without taking a single breath, overtaking Schooling in the process. With that, he successfully pulled off the biggest upset of the meet, and became the first NCAA swimmer in history to break 44 seconds. His winning time of 43.58 is a new NCAA and American Record.

At the conclusion of the meet, Dressel was named the 2017 CSCAA Swimmer of the Year. This is the second year in a row he’s received that honor, as he was named 2016 Co-Swimmer of the Year with former Bolles teammates Schooling and Ryan Murphy last season. Murphy, the 2016 Olympic backstroke champion and Jacksonville native, earned his fourth-consecutive NCAA titles in both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke while competing as a senior for California at the meet.

Dressel’s younger sister, Sherridon, a freshman, was a part of Florida’s squad at the women’s meet a week earlier earning a spot on their 4x200 freestyle relay.

Dressel’s former teammate Ashley Neidigh, another Clay County local, was also in attendance at the women’s met. Neidigh competed as a senior for the Auburn Tigers in the 500 freestyle, 400 IM, and 1650 freestyle. She earned All-American status, swimming a 15:54.88 to take 8th place in the 1650 free, and setting an Auburn school record with her 1000 yard freestyle split in the process.