Caeleb Dressel showed promising signs at the U.S. nationals, reaching the 50-meter butterfly final. However, he fell short of securing a spot at the world championships, finishing third on Wednesday night. Dressel clocked in at 23.35 seconds in the non-Olympic event, a race he previously won at the 2019 and 2022 world championships. Michael Andrew (23.11) and Dare Rose (23.20) took the top two spots.

This performance marks a significant step for Dressel, who is competing in his first major meet after an extended break from the sport. He still has two more opportunities to qualify for the U.S. team heading to Fukuoka, Japan for next month's world championships. He's also entered in the 100-meter butterfly and the 50-meter freestyle.

Fellow swimmers are expressing their support for Dressel's return. Ryan Murphy, winner of Wednesday's 200-meter backstroke, stated, "It would be awesome [to have him on the team]. He's a very charismatic person. He truly elevates everyone around him."

Dressel's journey back to competitive swimming began with a 29th-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle preliminaries, a surprising outcome for the five-time gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics.

In other events on the second night of nationals:

• Murphy secured his fifth trip to the world championships by winning the men's 200-meter backstroke in 1:55.03. His Cal teammate, Destin Leso, also qualified with a time of 1:55.63.
• 16-year-old Claire Weinstein caused an upset by narrowly defeating Katie Ledecky in the women's 200-meter freestyle, clocking in at 1:56.26 to Ledecky's 1:55.28. Both swimmers qualified for the world championships.
• Lilly King continued her dominance in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, winning with a time of 2:20.95, followed by Kate Douglass (2:21.22).
• Regan Smith achieved her second victory of the championships, setting a U.S. Open record in the women's 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:03.80. Rhyan White secured second place (2:05.77).
• Luke Hobson edged out Olympic medalist Kieran Smith to win the men's 200-meter freestyle (1:45.63).
• Matt Fallon claimed the men's 200-meter breaststroke title (2:07.71), with Josh Metheny (2:08.32) taking the second qualifying spot.
• Gretchen Walsh won the women's 50-meter butterfly (25.11), followed by Torri Huske (25.33).