Cristian Quintero wins 200-yard freestyle at NCAA swimming championships

Cristian Quintero of USC won the 200-yard freestyle and swam a leg for the Trojans’ winning 800-yard free relay team Friday at the NCAA men’s swimming championships at Iowa City, Iowa.

USC is in fifth place entering Saturday’s final day of competition.

Texas is in first place with 399 points, followed by California (275 points), Michigan (210), Florida (205) and USC (197).

Quintero, who placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle Friday, won the 200 in a school-record 1 minute 32.03 seconds. He is the first Trojan to win the event since Klete Keller in 2001.

Quintero, a senior from Venezuela, teamed with sophomores Dylan Carter, Michael Domagala and Reed Malone to repeat as 800-yard free relay champions.

“We talked about digging in deep and they did,” USC Coach Dave Salo said on USC’s website. “Reed was a little off in the morning 200, but his alter ego took over on that relay and we needed that.”