After years of knocking on the door, senior breaststroke specialist Matt Fallon is ready to finally add NCAA champion to his list of accolades.
Fallon is set to represent the Red and Blue at this weekend’s NCAA Division I Championships held in Federal Way, Wash., at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center. This is the Warren, N.J. native’s third appearance on the collegiate national stage. Fallon missed the 2023 edition of the championships due to injury.
All eyes will be on Fallon in his signature event — the 200-yard breaststroke. Fallon is a favorite after the departure of French superstar and three-time NCAA champion in 200 breaststroke Léon Marchand, who turned professional last year. Fallon is the American record holder in 200-meter breaststroke and finished tenth at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the event.
Fallon has been just off the elusive national title in previous years. As a freshman in 2022, Fallon powered to a third-place finish behind Minnesota’s Max McHugh and Marchand and improved to a second-place finish in 2024 again behind Marchand. Heading into this year’s championships, Fallon is seeded first, about 0.8 seconds ahead of the next seed, with his nation-leading time from the 2025 Ivy League Championships.
However, to finally reach the top of the podium, Fallon will have to battle some familiar and consistent foes.
Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti is one of them. The fifth-year is seeded second behind Fallon and is a consistent performer. He has broken the 1:51 barrier in the 200-yard breaststroke six times this season and won the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2024 Short Course World Aquatics Championships in December. Coll Marti touched the wall in third behind Fallon at last year's NCAAs.
While being the sole Quaker qualifier, Fallon will see a familiar face in his races: Brown breaststroke/individual medley specialist Jack Kelly. Last year, Fallon and Kelly represented the Ancient Eight in the championship final, with Kelly rounding out the field in eighth. This year, Kelly has greatly improved from last year, dropping 1.83 seconds, propelling him to the third seed behind Fallon and Coll Marti.
Indiana — known as Breaststroke U — will also send a strong contingent to battle Fallon in the 200-yard breaststroke, including Jassen Yep, Toby Barnett, Caspar Corbeau, and Fallon’s Paris Olympics teammate Josh Matheny.
“Matt's gonna have to battle some really good kids. … I'll put my money on [him] any day,” coach Mike Schnur said. “His lifetime best time is faster than anybody else's in the NCAA, so if he equals his best time, I feel pretty good about his chances to win.”
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