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SEC: Day Two Finals Report

By Lisa Caprioglio

With friends, family and fans packed into the Florida natatorium, there was an excitement in the air as the second day of the SEC Championships began. It was a night where we saw Florida’s Conor Dwyer break another SEC record, a lot of Georgia Bulldogs on the number one podium and an SEC record from Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace that is within a tenth of Lara Jackson’s American/NCAA record.

The very first race set the tone for the rest of the night, as Tennessee’s Ryan Harrison came ready to swim and blew the consolation final away, winning the heat by over six seconds. From this consolation heat, Harrison posted the fastest 500 free time in the country… until moments later, when Conor Dwyer stepped up to the blocks for the championship final. In a race that was Dwyer’s from the very beginning, he finished in a time of 4:11.36, the new fastest time in the country, a new school record, as well as a new SEC record. Dwyer was followed by Martin Grodzki of Georgia, who swam a 4:14.93, the second fastest time in the country. South Carolina’s Michael Flach swam a great race to take home the bronze in a time of 4:16.03.

With the A final of the woman’s 500 free made up entirely of Georgia and Florida
swimmers, the other teams of the SEC looked to battle it out in the consolation final.
And the University of Tennessee Lady Vols did just that, taking a 1-2 finish in the
consolation final by Lindsay Gendron and Aleksa Akerfelds respectively. In the
championship final, Georiga-Florida dual, the Bulldogs came out on top, with a 1-2 finish from Shannon Vreeland and Allison Schmitt respectively, while also taking 5th, 6th and 7th. Vreeland posted the top time in the country with a 4:36.28.

The men’s 200 IM featured one of the closest races of the night, with an exceptionally talented field. Georgia’s Bill Cregar was able to break away from the field with an excellent breaststroke leg and race to an SEC title. On the women’s side, Georgia came away with another 1-2 finish. Morgan Scroggy raced to a new SEC record with a time of 1:54.58. Scroggy was followed by her teammate Melanie Margalis, with Florida’s Sarah Stafford coming in third. The Georgia Bulldogs come away with both the men’s and women’s 200 IM.

There was a heightened excitement in the air as the consolation final of the men’s 50 free stepped to the blocks. After a fast morning, the crowd was anticipating some lights out times. After Tennessee’s Mike DeRocco and Georgia’s Michael Arnold posted times of 19.74 and 19.76 respectively, the fans were expecting some exceptional swims from the championship final. The swimmers did not disappoint with Adam Brown taking home the title in a time of 19.05. Brown was followed by teammate Karl Krug in a time of 19.37 and Florida’s Bradley deBrode in a time of 19.64. Auburn picked up a mountain of points in the team title race, finishing 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 8th in the 50 free. 

The women’s 50 free proved just as exciting, with Auburn’s Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace winning the event handedly in a time of 21.34, the fastest time in the country and further lowering the SEC record she broke this morning. Florida’s Sarah Bateman finished 2nd in a time of 22.00 and LSU’s Jane Trepp finished 3rd with a 22.05.

After the men’s individual 50 free event, it was hard to see how any other team could
compete with the sprinting power of the Auburn tigers. The tigers took home the title
in a time of 1:16.56. Florida and Georgia were in a close race for second, with Florida
touching first in a time of 1:18.28. The Bulldogs finished in 1:18.65.

The women’s 200 free relay was not as easy to predict as the men’s. Jane Trepp led off for LSU with an outstanding time of 21.97. As the race continued, Auburn took the lead with help from a fast second leg, swum by Vanderpool-Wallace, resulting in an Auburn victory in a time of 1:28.25. The Georgia Bulldogs finished second in a time of 1:28.81, followed by LSU in a time of 1:28.98.

After an exciting night of SEC finals, the Auburn men held their position on top, ahead of Florida by 42 points. The tables had turned for the women, however, with the Auburn women dropping to third. At the end of the night the Florida women lead Georgia, 291 to 286.

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