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Having proved himself the fastest man in the pool, Utah junior Bence Kiraly pumped his fists and smacked the water while his family watched the NCAA Men's Swimming Championships online at about 2 a.m. local time in Hungary.

He called them 10 minutes later — "They were really happy," he said — but then they went to bed, and he waited.

Kiraly wasn't seeded into the final heat in Iowa City, so theoretically, all eight remaining swimmers could beat his time and spoil his bid for one of the eight first-team All-American spots.

It was more than an hour before the final heat began.

But after North Carolina State's Anton Ipsen started to fade late in the race, as Kiraly nervously studied their splits, just three of the eight proved faster.

Detailed school records were not immediately available, but Utah head coach Joe Dykstra suspects Kiraly's fourth-place finish is Utah's best individual men's result since Jeff Rolan won the 100 butterfly in 1975.

Wherever it stands, Utah's 22nd-place team finish is the best since they took 20th in 1976, and tied for fourth-best in school history.

In addition to Kiraly's 1,650 success, senior Nick Soedel became a first-team All-American by taking sixth in the 100 free, and the Utes also received honorable mention All-American status in the 500 free (Kiraly, 12th), 50 free (Soedel, 12th) and 1-meter diving (junior Jacob Crayne, 14th).

Prior to this weekend, Utah's men had not had a first-team All-American since Sterling Richards was fifth in the 1-meter dive in 2006.

Notable is that Kiraly and Soedel tapered and shaved for NCAAs, meaning they aimed to peak at nationals rather than emphasize defending their individual titles earlier this month at the Pac-12 Championships, where Utah's men finished sixth.

"We knew that this was our good chance to be top 25, and we made it," Kiraly said.

It was redemption for Soedel, who was 12th at NCAAs in both the 50 and 100 free as a sophomore and entered last year's nationals with high hopes after winning the Pac-12 meet in the 50, only to get sick and finish outside the top 16 in both (18th in the 100, 22nd in the 50).

"Sprinting is so mental, as well as physical," Dykstra said. "You have to have that swagger and confidence when you're behind the blocks. This year, he had different body language. Maybe it was the fact that he was a senior and knew it was now or never to become a first-team All-American."

Of the five swimmers in the 100 who were faster than Soedel, only one — fifth-place Missouri sophomore Micha Chadwick — is American, which is encouraging for Soedel's hopes of someday making the U.S. team.

Kiraly also hopes to make the powerhouse Hungarian team. Dykstra said that might be a stretch next year, but it's not out of the realm of possibility for a swimmer who only just began swimming the 1,650 in 2013 and is already one of the best in the NCAA.

"He could probably qualify [for nationals] in 400 IM and 200 butterfly," as well, Dykstra said.

Crayne, who also took 21st in 3-meter diving, became one of Utah's most valuable point-scorers after honorable mention All-American Josiah Purss went down with a shoulder injury and Crayne was the lone male diver.

Dykstra said Crayne, who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, is "probably the most improved guy on our team, swimmer or diver," and gives the Utes a chance to be "dominant" next year, when Purss returns.

"I'm just so proud of those guys, and not just those four guys," said Dykstra, including senior Alex Fernandes, who was 40th in the nation in the 100 free. "Obviously, they were the ones who were able to compete at the championship meet, but swimming, it's a team sport. None of those guys would have had the success they've had this year without some of their teammates who pushed them."

The men's team finished 9-1 in the regular season, including 2-1 in Pac-12 dual meets.

Utah's women competed at nationals last week in Greensboro, N.C., with sophomore Stina Colleou taking 26th in the 200 breast and 40th in the 100 breast, senior Giuliana Gigliotti 33rd in the 50 free, and senior Jasmine Matkovic 37th in the platform dive.

Twitter: @matthew_piper