Kentucky junior Daniel Cruz was one of three competitors to surpass the NCAA men?s 200-meter butterfly record time Saturday at the 2004 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in East Meadow, N.Y.

Cruz took third in the 200-meter butterfly preliminary round with a time of 1:55.68, beating the NCAA-record time of 1:55.79 set four years ago by Stanford?s Adam Messner. Virginia?s Michael Rabb took first in the preliminary round with a time of 1:55.47, and Stanford?s Jayme Cramer followed closely behind at 1:55.49. Cruz, Rabb and Cramer advance to this evening?s eight-competitor championship final.

Cruz finished as the SEC 200-yard butterfly runner-up last month at the University of Georgia. Auburn?s Jeremy Knowles, who edged Cruz by .03 seconds at the SEC Championships, failed to qualify for tonight?s championship final.

The championship event finals begin at 7 p.m. EST. Complete results can be found at www.nliac.com.