Florida
The University of Florida men’s swimming and diving team brought home their fourth consecutive and 37th overall Southeastern Conference Championship on Saturday night behind four individual and four relay crowns throughout the week. The program’s 37 SEC Championship titles rank second amongst all sports in the history of the SEC (Kentucky Men’s Basketball, 45).
Outlasting second-place Auburn (1,223) and third place Georgia (1010), the Gators registered (1,275) team points. Caeleb Dressel, who shattered UF, SEC, and American records throughout the week, led all scorers with 96 individual points in addition to his 248 as a member of UF’s relay teams.
It wasn’t only Dressel that got it done this week for the Gators though. Florida was strong in all events, capturing individual victories in the 50 and 500-Yard Freestyle and the 100-Yard Butterfly. In addition, the Orange and Blue won four relay titles this week, taking wins in the 200 and 400-Yard Medley relays, and the 200, and 800-Yard Freestyle relay events.
On the women's side, the Gators ended their conference championship week in sixth place, with a team score of 754 points UF's women won three SEC titles throughout the week, as Kahlia Warner dove to gold-medal finishes on the one and 3-Meter, and Natalie Hinds swam to a first-place finish in the 100-Yard Freestyle (47.35).
Senior Kahlia Warner was also named to 2016 SEC Female Diver of the Year, the Conference announced the recognition on Saturday night. Warner, a Queensland, Australia, native, dove to 17 individual wins this season, including two SEC Championship Titles off the one and 3-Meter springboards.
Overall, Florida won 11 SEC championships, broke eight school records and registered 11 NCAA ‘A’ Cuts as each team will now prepare for next month's NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Georgia.
Florida Head Coach Gregg Troy on the Men’s Fourth Straight SEC Title:
“I’m really proud of the way our men and women competed this week. They’ve show tremendous efforts all-season long and they deserve every bit of success we achieved this week.
“I’d also like to give a special thanks to our coaching staff, trainers, and managers. We wouldn’t be able to carry on this success without all of their help.
“It feels good to have another SEC Championship Title but now it’s time to gear our minds toward the NCAA meet which we’re looking forward to.”
Quick Cap from Day 5 at the SEC Championships:
Women’s 200 Back
Senior Ashlee Linn posted a fifth-place time of 1:52.46 to lead the Orange and Blue while junior Georgia-Mae Hohmann added an 11th-place showing of 1:54.04.
Men’s 200-Yard Backstroke:
Senior Corey Main paced the Florida men, swimming to a sixth-place finish (1:41.92) in tonight’s ‘A” final which brought in 24 points. Junior Jack Blyzinskyj (12th, 1:43.05) and newcomer Bayley Main (14th, 1:44.16) added to the mix, providing a combined 28 points from the ‘B’ Final.
Women’s 100-Yard Freestyle:
Senior Natalie Hinds led the Orange and Blue with a strong 47.44 showing in Saturday’s prelims. The Midland, Texas, native bested her time in the finals, touching out with a top time of 47.35. Amelia Maughan (18th, 49.39) and Mollie Pulte (23rd, 49.84) followed up in the ‘C’ final.
Men’s 100-Yard Freestyle:
Caleb Dressel claimed his sixth SEC Championship title with a first-place showing of 41.07 -- a new American and SEC Meet record. Freshman Christopher Margotti also had an impressive finish, touching out at the 43.85 mark in the ‘B’ final for an overall 14th-place finish.
Women’s 1,650 Freestyle:
The Florida women received 81 points off five Top-25 finishes. Senior Jessica Thielmann led the pack with a runner-up showing (16:06.21) while junior Autumn Finke (4th, 16:11.00), newcomers Kahra Williams (14th, 16:27.16) and Hanna Burns (15th, 16:27.67), and junior Taylor Katz (23rd, 16:38.65) followed behind.
Men’s 1,650-Yard Freestyle:
The Florida men gathered 107 points off five Top-20 finishes in the 1,650-Yard freestyle. Senior Arthur Frayler finished runner-up with a time of 14.49.22 and juniors Mitch D’Arrigo (4th, 14:52.23), sophomores Austin Manganiello (14:58.57) and Ben Lawless (9th, 15:01.53), and Andrew Brady (17th, 15:17.28) followed behind.
400 Free Relays: The Florida men put together a second-place showing (2:50.30) to finalize their 2016 SEC Championship Title. The time stands as the second-fastest in school history. In addition, the Gator Women picked up a third-place finish and gathered 54 points on an NCAA ‘A’ cut-time of 3:14.49.
Women’s Platform:
Senior Kahlia Warner led the Florida Divers with a 14th-place showing (222.95) off the platform. Abby Howell (16th, 220.05), Delaney Dye (20th, 211.85), and Emily Mosher (24th, 204.55) also took part in Saturday’s competition.
Texas A&M Women
The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team won its first conference championship since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012 with a team victory at the 2016 SEC Championships on Saturday at the Mizzou Aquatics Center.
The Aggies’ team victory snapped the six-year reign by the Georgia Bulldogs, and was the school’s first conference title since winning the Big 12 Championship, also at the Mizzou Aquatics Center, in 2012. The Aggies finished the five-day meet with 1,166.5 points to hold off Tennessee (1,139.5) and Georgia (1,099.5). Under Bultman, the Aggies have won conference championships in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2016.
“It was a battle all week,” said Aggie head coach Steve Bultman. “It was close. Every night the lead see-sawed back and forth because different team had different strengths. It was a lot of fun and that’s what you want to bring out the best in the competitors with different people stepping up from all the teams. ”
The Aggies logged a pair of SEC individual championships on the meet’s final day. Sophomore Lisa Bratton won her second SEC crown of the meet with a win in the 200-yard backstroke, while sophomore Bethany Galat grabbed the gold in the 200 breaststroke.
Bratton, from Richland, Wash., lowered her own school record by nearly two seconds in the 200 back with a winning time of 1:50.64. Seeded third going into the final, Bratton had to rally past Kentucky’s Danielle Galyer in the final 50 yards to get to the wall first. Also contributing points was senior Claire Brandt (12th, 1:54.47).
“I knew I had to be out with the girls because I’m typically not very strong going out, but if I was with them at the 100 I knew I could win it,” Bratton said.
Galat, from Mishawake, Ind., led the 200 breaststroke wire-to-wire but had to hold off a talented field, including her freshman teammate Sydney Pickrem to earn the victory. Galat won in a lifetime best time of 2:07.83, just ahead of Pickrem who touched in 2:07.96.
“I wanted it so bad and our team needed it so bad, and I was beyond excited throughout the whole race,” Galat said. “I don’t remember the pain at all. I just remember the team going berserk every time I breathed. I was in lane eight so they were right there and it was so incredible.”
Galat and Pickrem’s 1-2 finish in the Championship final led to a 96-point explosion by the Aggies in the 200 breaststroke that gave them a 50-point advantage with two events to go. Also chipping in valuable points were sophomore Esther Gonzalez (10th, 211.31), junior Sycerika McMahon (12th, 2:12.59) and sophomore Jorie Caneta (21st, 2:13.56).
The Aggies scored big points in the 100 free with five swimmers contributing 67 points. Sophomore Béryl Gastaldello made another trip to the SEC award podium with a third place finish in 47.89, and sophomore Kristin Malone (14th, 49.24), senior Meredith Oliver (12th, 49.34), freshman Claire Rasmus (16th, 49.42) and freshman Lexie Lupton (21st, 49.66) scored points.
Freshman diver Alais Kalonji put the icing on the Aggies’ team victory with a runner-up finish in the platform dive, the second-to-last event of the night, with a season-best 289.56 point total.
Earlier in the day in the 1,650 freestyle, sophomore Caitlyn Moon placed ninth in a lifetime best 16:16.35 and senior Colleen Konetzke was 17th in 16:28.97.
The Aggies closed out the meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the foursome of Gastaldello, junior Sarah Gibson, Oliver and Malone touching in 3:14.82.
Alabama
Alabama junior Connor Oslin kept up the heat on the last day of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships held in Columbia, Mo., this week, earning a silver medal while bettering his own school record.
The day after winning his second SEC 100 backstroke title, Oslin led the Crimson Tide on Saturday taking second in the 200 backstroke with a 1:40.42, which improved the school mark he set last year by more than a quarter of a second. Sophomore Christopher Reid also earned a trip to the podium in the 200 backstroke with a third place finish after he posted a 1:40.95.
The Tide ended the meet with yet another top-three finish when the men’s 400 freestyle relay of freshman Laurent Bams, Reid, freshman Robert Howard and junior Kristian Gkolomeev posted a 2:51.31 to snag the bronze.
Overall, the Tide men moved up a spot in the team standing from a year ago to finish fourth with 915 points while the Tide women were 10th with 486 points.
In other Saturday action, Gkolomeev was fourth in the 100 freestyle with a 42.67 while Bams, who joined the Tide in January for the spring semester, was sixth with a 42.91. Howard was 12th and senior Brett Walsh was 16th in the 100 freestyle with times of 43.78 and 44.39, respectively.
In the 200 breaststroke, junior Anton McKee was fifth with a 1:54.30 and junior Pavel Romanov was 14th with a 1:57.57. Junior Jack Hadjiconstantino took 16th in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:17.16.
On the women’s side of the slate, junior Bridget Blood led the way with an eight-place finish in the championship final of 200 breaststroke, touching the wall at 2:10.05. Freshman Marian Yurchishin took 17th with a career-best 2:10.48 while senior Stephanie Klotz and freshman Justin Macfarlane were 22nd and 23rd, with times of 2:13.87 and 2:13.88, respectively.
Sophomore Temarie Tomley was 13th career-best 49.08 in the 100 freestyle. In the 200 backstroke, freshman Katie Coughlin was 19th after posting a career-best 1:56.63 while senior Emma Saunders was 21st with a time of 1:57.18. Sophomore Kara Fredlock was 17th off the platform after totaling 216.95 points.
Arkansas
The Arkansas swimming and diving team closed competition at the 2016 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Missouri.
Over the course of the five-day meet the Razorbacks produced 30 lifetime-best times, clocked 44 NCAA “B” cut times and an NCAA “A” cut time in the 800 free relay. The team finished the meet in ninth place with a total of 491 points.
“We had a lot of good things happen this week, including a lot of awesome performances,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Sean Schimmel said. “There were some spots where things didn’t go our way. But it was a long week, and that’s part of the experience. I’m very proud of our team and how they supported each other. We have a great team dynamic, and that helped them stay strong all the way through.”
The Razorbacks qualified for all individual swimming finals in a fast last day of preliminaries. Six personal records fell across the four events.
To kick off the evening, senior Anna Mayfield touched the wall first in the 200 back C final with a time of 1:54.60. Mayfield racked up a team-high 46 individual points over the week.
Sophomore Chloe Hannam followed Mayfield in the B final where she collected 13 points for the Razorbacks. Hannam finished sixth in a time of 1:54.97, shaving over a half a second off her lifetime-best mark she set in the morning prelims.
Senior Nina Drolc scored in the 100 free C final, placing eighth in a time of 49.98. In the B final, senior Maddie Monroe grabbed fourth place in a time of 49.05, collecting 15 points on the day.
Mary Margaret Soderberg went fourth in the 200 breast C final, chipping in five points. The junior registered a time of 2:12.94, bettering her lifetime-best mark from the morning prelims.
In diving, sophomore Nicole Gillis led the way in the platform prelims, scoring 225.75 points en route to a 13th-place finish. Senior Shelby Bartlett placed 22nd with a score of 207.00, while senior Hannah Bortnick followed in 23rd with a score of 206.50.
“I thought our divers did well this week,” Arkansas diving coach Jeff DiNicola said. “They were very consistent, and we were able to score more points than we did at this meet last year. Nicole placing fifth in the 1-meter finals earlier this week is great for her development and the future. We’re looking forward to still training and preparing for NCAA Zones in a few weeks.”
To end the meet, Monroe, junior Natalie Burnett, Drolc and sophomore Chelsea Tatlow combined to swim a 3:18.09, finishing in eighth place.
Auburn
Joe Patching made Auburn history on Saturday night. Michael Duderstadt repeated history. The #HungarianHammer would not be denied on the championships’ final swim. And in the end the Auburn men’s swimming and diving team did what it set out to do, be better than it was last year.
When all the races were done and all the dives were scored, Auburn finished in second place to Florida, its third runner-up finish in the last four years. But for head coach Brett Hawke’s team it was a huge improvement over last year’s third-place showing where it won just one title, none of which came in the racing lanes, but no one is satisfied.
“We worked our butts off this year, but it’s hard to lose and we want to make sure we don’t have this feeling again,” Hawke said. “Joe (Patching) and Duder (Duderstadt) were amazing all meet and again tonight. It just goes to show the strength of our program. We won a lot of 200s here and that hasn’t happened in our program in a long time.
“I’m really proud of the guys and the way they fought to the end, but it’s hard to swallow. We’ll come back and we’ll be better for it next year.”
Not to be left in the shadows, Auburn’s women were also better, and not just marginally. After placing sixth last year, Auburn jumped up to fourth, besting Florida and Missouri down the stretch.
“I’m extremely proud of the women,” Hawke said. “We started this meet in ninth place and we fought all the way back to fourth. We beat some really good teams. The women showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit. We proved to ourselves that we can compete for a championship and that’s what we want to be doing. We’re one step closer.”
Auburn won six titles – two each by Joe Patching and Michael Duderstadt and one by Hugo Morris along with the final relay, the 400 frees relay. It also had four relay second-places.
Patching, who entered the meet having never won a medal, became the first Auburn swimmer to ever win the 200 IM and the 200 back at the SEC Championships. And not just a single championship, but in a career. He touched in 1:40.14 to win the 200 back on Saturday after winning the 200 IM on 1:42.21.
“This morning it went well but I felt like I had more, particularly in the second 50 (yards),” Patching said. “I felt strong to the 100 and then it was a bit of a fight to the wall in the end. I wanted to get under that 1:40 mark but there will be plenty more opportunities to do that.
“I came into the meet very open with what was going to come and I think the 200 IM gave me good momentum into the other races,” Patching said. “To come out today and perform like that really bodes well for the rest of the season.”
Duderstadt, who was medal-less just like Patching, swept the breaststroke events, the first time that has happened since Mark Gangloff did it in 2004 and the fourth ever to do it in Auburn history. He reached the top of the podium with a personal-best 1:53.50 in the 200 breast on Saturday, the third-best time in school history.
“I was real nervous going into it but a lot calmer than I was going into the 100,” Duderstadt said. “It felt real good. This was the first time in a while I swam a real solid 200 breaststroke.
“It means a lot personally (to sweep the breaststroke events),” Duderstadt said. “I saw a tweet this afternoon that said something about the last time it happened it was Mark Gangloff. I think it put too much pressure on me and I kind of forgot about it and let it happen – and luckily it happened. It was cool to do.”
The men then closed out the championship by racing past Florida to win the 400 freestyle relay title in 2:48.64. As has become customary, Holoda anchored the team with the fastest split in the field, piggybacking on great swims by Arthur Mendes, Kyle Darmody and Duderstadt.
Beyond the titles, Auburn had a very solid final session at the Mizzou Aquatic Center on Saturday night.
…Ashley Nedeigh (16:13.03) and Zoe Thatcher (16:15.24) each clocked personal-bests in the mile to place fifth and sixth, respectively.
…Holoda (42.42), Mendes (42.69) and Darmody (43.29) took third, fifth, and seventh, respectively in the 100 free finals while Zach Apple was the runner-up in the consolation finals in a career-best 43.47.
…Annie Lazor (2:08.31) and Natasha Lloyd (2:09.37) both set personal-best in finishing three-seven in the 200 breaststroke.
…And then there was Maddie Cox, a springboard diving specialist that found her way into the finals, where she placed eighth (232.80). Teammate Morgan Mullins was 12th (229.35).
“What a great performance,” Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “We don’t really consider her a platform diver and she did it to help the team and was real consistent. To final at her first SEC Championship is a great feather in her cap as we move forward. I’m proud of everybody that competed and contributed to the team’s success this year. Overall as I see it, it was a great meet for us.”
With the NCAA Championships a month away in Atlanta, Auburn’s future became exponentially brighter thanks to the week’s showing in Columbia.
“We will take a lot of momentum, a lot of positive swimming, a lot of positive energy and a lot of belief in this team,” Hawke said.
Georgia
Brittany MacLean’s individual title and honors showcased Georgia’s efforts on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The No. 2-ranked Lady Bulldogs finished the meet in third place with 1099.5 points. Top honors went to Texas A&M with 1166.5 as the Aggies ended Georgia's six-year stranglehold on the team title. Tennessee earned second place with 1139.5 points.
On the men’s side, the No. 3 Bulldogs closed the meet in third with 1010 points. Florida took home gold with 1275 points while Auburn claimed silver with 1223 points.
“It was a heck of a meet,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “We swam hard and it was a great effort. We left a few points on the table on the women’s side that could have changed the meet, but there was some great competition. I’m so proud of Brittany and we are going to miss our seniors. On the men’s side, we swam great. Auburn and Florida are stellar teams and I think we have a shot against them at NCAA’s. Between the men and women combined, we put up the most points in the meet and I am really proud of our swimmers.”
MacLean, a senior, won the women’s 1,650 freestyle for the second time in her career as she stopped the clock in 15:36.52, breaking her own SEC meet record. The 1,650 was her third individual win, making her undefeated throughout the meet. MacLean’s win was Georgia’s sixth win in the event in the past eight years and 10th overall.
“It hasn’t been the best weekend for us as a team but everyone has been so tough,” MacLean said. “I just wanted to start the night off right for our team. I love this group of ladies more than anything and this was my last ever SEC race. I just had to get in there and give it everything I had and swim with heart and I knew my training would back me up.”
MacLean was also awarded the SEC Female Swimmer of the Meet, voted on by the conference coaches for the best overall showing in the meet. Additionally, MacLean won the female Commisioner’s Trophy for scoring the most points throughout the meet. MacLean’s three individual wins gave her 96 points.
“I’m just really proud to be a Bulldog right now,” MacLean said. “It’s an honor to swim with this team. I’m definitely not thinking of my individual performances right now because I’m really just proud of this team. These trophies are nice but we have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks and we are ready to fight going into NCAA’s.”
In the women’s 200 backstroke, Hali Flickinger set a school record in 1:50.95, earning third. Kylie Stewart finished fourth in 1:52.28 and Rachel Zilinskas placed 20th in 1:56.68.
Olivia Smoliga claimed silver in the women’s 100 freestyle in 47.49, Meaghan Raab finished ninth in 48.83 and Shauna Lee placed 19th in 49.53.
In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Annie Zhu took sixth in 2:08.77 and Emily Cameron won the consolation final for ninth in 2:10.55.
Zilinskas finished eighth in the women’s 1,650 freestyle in 16:15.81, Anna Kolanowski earned 18th in 16:31.87 and Stephanie Peters reached the wall in 21st in 16:37.15.
The 400-freestyle relay comprised of Smoliga, Raab, Stewart and Flickinger claimed second in 3:12.74.
Natalie Wallace finished 18th in the women’s platform with 212.80 points.
In the men’s 1,650 freestyle, Garrett Powell placed fifth in 14:58.57, Aidan Burns stopped the clock in 15:00.52 for seventh, Matias Koski earned 12th in 15:09.54 and Kevin Litherland finished 13th in 15:10.97.
Garrett Powell reached the wall in 1:42.55 for ninth in the men’s 200 backstroke, followed by Taylor Dale in 10th (1:42.62) and Pace Clark in 15th (1:44.30).
Michael Trice won the consolation final of the men’s 100 freestyle in 43.40 for 17th.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, James Guest stopped the clock in 1:55.77 for ninth and Colin Monaghan placed 24th in 1:59.72.
The men's 400-freestyle relay comprised of Koski, Gunnar Dale, Bentz and Trice took home fourth in 2:51.37.
Georgia’s teams will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 27-28 for the Bulldog Last Chance Meet in Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The recap of the men's championship will air on Wednesday, March 2, at 4 p.m. on ESPNU, followed by the women's championship recap at 5:30 p.m.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s swimming and diving program wrapped up the final day of the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championships, with the women earning an eighth-place finish with 619 points while the men finished ninth with 530 points. Both teams were close to finishing one spot higher, as seventh-place LSU finished just five points ahead of the women while eighth-place Texas A&M had a two-point edge on the men’s side.
The Texas A&M women won their first ever SEC title with 1,166.5 points, followed by Tennessee (1,139.5), Georgia (1,099.5), Auburn (797), Missouri (764), Florida (754), LSU, Kentucky, Arkansas (491), Alabama (486), South Carolina (424.5) and Vanderbilt (166).
Florida’s men grabbed their fourth consecutive conference title with 1,275 points, trailed by Auburn (1,223), Georgia (1,101), Alabama (915), Missouri (902), Tennessee (745), South Carolina (574), Texas A&M, Kentucky and LSU (526).
Altogether, the Wildcats recorded 17 marks on the final day of competition that either cracked or improved on a top-10 all-time mark for Kentucky.
“Overall, I think it was a really good effort from both squads,” noted head coach Lars Jorgensen. “The girls really hung in there; we were hard hit by graduation and leadership, and lost some really good people last year. Our freshmen stood up and were outstanding. On the guys’ side, I thought we a little bit up and down, a little bit inconsistent throughout the competition. I was really pleased with how they fought. We lost the last relay to Texas A&M; they’re a really good team. So maybe next year we can compete with them.”
The women’s side was highlighted by four Wildcats appearing in a championship final between the 200 back and the platform dive. Danielle Galyer fell just shy of reprising her title in the 200 back, falling to Texas A&M’s Lisa Bratton by just .11 seconds. However, Galyer broke her school record and recorded her third A cut of the season in the event, touching in at 1:50.73 for the silver medal. Bridgette Alexander appeared alongside Galyer in the championship heat, placing eighth in 1:54.05. Also earning a second swim was freshman Kayla Churman, who placed seventh in the C final in 1:58.11 after going 1:57.14 in the prelims for the fifth-fastest time in school history. Kristen Keifer also cracked the top-10 with her prelims swim of 1:57.73, good for sixth all-time.
“It’s not easy in our conference to repeat as a champion. Danielle gave it a great run and we were really pleased with her effort. Coming up a little short, I think that’s going to make her better at NCAAs,” commented Jorgensen on the junior’s performance.
In the platform dive, Rebecca Hamperian and Courtney Clark advanced to the finals after scoring 273.90 and 265.65, respectively. Clark’s score was a career best, which moves the redshirt-freshman to eighth all-time. Clark went on to finish fifth in the championship final with 260.70 points, followed by Hamperian with 252.20 points.
Kentucky also had a record broken in the 200 breast, with Kendra Crew bettering her own standard in the event in 2:10.89 while Ann Davies notched the second-fastest swim in program laurels in 2:12.94. Both qualified for the B finals, with Crew finishing third in the consolation heat in 2:11.35 while Davies clocked a 2:13.39, both the second-fastest swims of their careers.
The Wildcats also had three swims that moved up in the top-10 in the 1650 free. Kathryn Painter paced the team in 16:19.42, good for fourth all-time and 10th overall, while Kendal Casey placed 12th in 16:25.96. Olivia Treski finished 16th with a career time of 16:27.89, good for seventh all-time, and Kentucky also saw scores out of Kelly Berger and Meredith Whisenhunt. Berger finished 20th in 16:32.73 while Whisenhunt clocked a 16:37.30 for 22nd and the eighth-fastest time in program history.
Geena Freriks was the lone representative for the Blue and White in the 100 free, but just missed out on earning a second swim after clocking a 50.12. Freriks closed out the day by leading off on the 400 free relay along with Galyer, Haley McInerny and Alexander, as the quartet combined for a time of 3:20.08 to finish 10th overall.
On the men’s side, George Greenhalgh was the only swimmer to reach the championship final after breaking his own school record in the 100 breast by nearly a second in 1:55.98. Greenhalgh went on to swim the second-fastest swim of his career, placing eighth in 2:56.17. Brandon Flynn also competed in a final in the 200 breast, finishing sixth in the C final in 1:59.12 after recording a prelims time of 1:58.86, the fourth-fastest swim in program history.
Like the women, the men had a solid showing in the mile. Drew Aviotti was just over half a second off his school record time, placing eighth in 15:00.96. Jamie Stevenson and Jack Gunning both swam personal records to land in the top-20, with Stevenson finishing in 15:19.18 for 18th while Gunning swam a 15:22.45 for 20th. Both times rank in UK’s top-10, with Stevenson owning the fifth-fastest time while Gunning holds down the No. 8 spot.
Kentucky earned second swims in both the 200 back and 100 free. In the 200 back, Josh Swart recorded the fourth-fastest time in school history in the prelims in 1:45.17, followed by Walker Thaning in 1:45.26 for the sixth-fastest swim. The two earned a spot in the C final, with Swart finishing third in 1:45.26 and Thaning placing fourth in 1:45.39. David Dingess also recorded a top-10 time for the Wildcats, with his prelims time of 1:46.23 going down as the eighth-best performance donning the Blue and White.
The final Wildcat to earn a place in the top-10 was Sean Gunn, who clocked the ninth-fastest time in program history of 44.11 in the prelims of the 100 free and went on to finish seventh in the C final in 44.39 seconds. Cobe Garcia also swam a career best in the prelims, just missing out on a final in 44.22 seconds, which would have been tied for 10th on UK’s all-time list prior to Gunn’s swim.
Garcia led off on the 400 free relay along with Gunn, Scott Crosthwaite and Thaning to close the meet. The Wildcats swam considerably below their previous season-best, but fell short to Texas A&M’s lineup in a race that could have seen the team earn an eighth place finish had they bettered the Aggies. Kentucky finished ninth in the final relay in 2:56.72.
With the conference championships behind them, the Wildcats will focus on qualifying more members of the team to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Atlanta, Ga., on March 17-19 for the women and March 24-26 for the men. Kentucky is slated to travel swimmers to the NCAA Last Chance Qualifiers in Columbus, Ohio, and Athens, Ga. The first qualifier will be in Columbus on Feb. 28, while the Athens qualifier will run March 5-6. The Kentucky divers will also compete in the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships in order to earn a bid to the national championships, which will be March 10-12 in West Lafayette, Ind.
LSU
Senior Alex Linge set the school record in the 100 free with a time of 43.19 during prelims to earn a spot in the championship final of the 2016 Southeastern Swimming and Diving Championships on the final day of competition at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Linge broke the record of 43.32, which was originally set by Adam Schmitt in 1988 and tied by Andrei Tuomola in 2013. Linge finished eighth in the ‘A’ final with a time of 43.35.
The LSU swimming and diving team concluded the SEC Championships with 10 school records. The women finished in seventh place with 624 points and the men placed 10th with 526 points.
“This is a tough conference,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “Bottom line is we had some great individual performances this week and now we move on to our preparation for NCAA’s. Right now we have some swimmers with great national rankings and we need to start to prepare them for NCAA’s.”
The LSU women closed out the week in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:17.83. Leah Troskot, Haylee Knight, Megan Cox and Danielle Stirrat earned seventh in the event.
The men’s team of Linge, Logan Rysemus, Joao Mescolote and Jake Markham closed out the meet with a sixth-place finish in the 400 free relay (2:53.83).
Junior Leah Troskot capped off a strong SEC Championships with an appearance in the ‘A’ final of the 100 free, her second championship final of the week. Troskot finished fifth with a time of 48.51, which is the second-fastest time in school history.
The Tigers had a strong showing the finals of the 200 back with three making it back for a night swim. Freshman Thomas Smith finished seventh in the championship final in 1:43.04. Smith’s prelim time of 1:42.78 was just .01 off tying his school originally set at midseason.
Senior Danielle Stirrat reached the ‘B’ final of the 200 back with a time of 1:56.80. Makenna Wilson finished 30th overall with a time of 1:57.93 for the eighth-fastest time in school history.
Brandon Goldman and Logan Rysemus advanced to the ‘C’ final of the 200 back. Goldman touched the wall third in 1:44.96. Rysemus finished eighth with a time of 1:47.54.
Sophomore Jake Markham finished third in the ‘C’ final of the 100 free with a time of 43.91. His final time is enough for ninth on LSU’s top times list.
In the mile, Devon Dabney finished 19th overall with a time of 16:32.68.
On platform, the Lady Tigers’ Madison Sthamann and Cassie Weil just missed advancing to the finals of platform. Sthamann finished ninth with a score of 235.95 and Weil finished 10th with a total of 233.30.
“At the end of the day, the results are what the results are,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Our season is not over and we look forward to zones. We’ll put our best foot forward for what is the most important part of the season. There were a lot of good things this week with our SEC Championship performance. We’ll take those experiences and apply them going forward.”
The squad returns to training in preparation for NCAA Championships. The Divers travel to College Station, Texas for Zone ‘D’ Diving Regionals March 7-9. The NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will be hosted at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia March 17-19 for the women and March 24-26 for the men.
Missouri
The Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving team both placed fifth in the final team standings at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships this past week at the Mizzou Aquatic Center. The women’s finish was the highest since the program joined the conference, surpassing eighth-place finishes in 2013 and 2015, while the men tied their best finish.
Florida won the men’s team title with 1,275 points, ahead of Auburn in second (1,223), Georgia in third (1,010) and Alabama in fourth (915). Tennessee (745) was sixth, followed by South Carolina (574), Texas A&M (532), Kentucky (530) and LSU (526).
On the women’s side, Texas A&M (1,166.5 points) won its first SEC title to end Georgia’s six-year reign as champions. Tennessee placed second (1,139.5), Georgia took third (1,099.5) and Auburn fourth (797). Florida finished in sixth (754), followed by LSU (624), Kentucky (619), Arkansas (491), Alabama (486), South Carolina (424.5) and Vanderbilt (166).
Over the course of the five-day meet in individual events, the Tigers compiled one SEC title (Katharine Ross in the 100 breast), five top two finishes, 15 top five finishes, 28 top eight finishes and set four school records. Junior Michael Chadwick had three podium finishes, taking second in the 100 free and twice placing third (50 and 200 free), while junior Fabian Schwingenschlogl had a pair of runner-up appearances in the breaststroke events. Ross added finishes of fourth (200 breast) and seventh (200 IM) to her win in the 100 breast, while redshirt senior Abby Duncan took third in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast.
“We’re getting ready for NCAAs as a team so being able to compete like we did in just about every race was a pretty neat thing for our people who are unshaved and unrested,” Mizzou Head Coach Greg Rhodenbaugh said. “Although I thought we’d be pretty good, I didn’t think we’d be this good.”
In Saturday action, Chadwick and Schwingenschlogl both added runner-up placements. Chadwick took second in the men’s 100 free in a finals time of 41.96, barely off his school record, to add to his top three finishes in the 50 and 200 free. The Tigers also received points from redshirt senior Matthew Margritier (13th) and freshman Mikel Schreuders (15th) in the 100 free on Saturday.
Schwingenschogl’s second runner-up finish came in the 200 breast, where he clocked a time of 1:53.87. Junior Eddie Mapel took eighth in the event (1:57.02 in finals), while sophomore Jordy Groters finished 11th (1:56.84) and senior Michal Rokita placed 16th (1:58.65).
In the diving well, sophomore Madeline McKernan twice set personal bests en route to a fourth-place finish on women’s platform. She first scored a 252.65 in prelims to qualify for the championship final before erupting for a 282.00 in the evening session, a score that moved her into third-place all-time at Mizzou.
The Tigers went four-five in the women’s 200 breast, led by Ross’ career best 2:08.59 to place fourth. Duncan was right behind her teammate with a 2:08.64 in finals for fifth, her second top five finish of the Championships.
Also earning a top five finish on Saturday was junior Carter Griffin, who took fifth in the men’s 200 back. Griffin, who swam a season best 1:41.11 in prelims, went 1:44.44 in finals.
The Tigers earned finishes of seventh and nine in the women’s 200 back, led by junior Nadine Laemmler, who made her second championship final of the meet. The junior swam a 1:53.82 in finals for seventh after a personal best prelims swim of 1:52.82.
Mizzou closed the meet with finishes of fifth in both the men’s and women’s 400 free relays. The men’s quartet of Chadwick, Margritier, Schreuders and Groters set a new school mark with a time of 2:52.05, while the women’s team of senior Anna Patterson, Stevens, sophomore Rachel Hayden and freshman Maddie Gehrke went 3:16.72.
South Carolina
University of South Carolina sophomore Akaram Mahmoud captured the SEC Championship in the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday night as the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships came to a close. Led by Mahmoud’s individual title, the Gamecock men finished seventh, while the women placed 11th at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Mahmoud swam a school-record time of 14:35.49 to win the 1650 free title by more than 13 seconds. The Cairo, Egypt, native is South Carolina’s first SEC champion on the men’s side since 2001, when Zsolt Gaspar (50-yard freestyle) and Tamas Szucs (200-yard freestyle) won conference crowns. His time is also the fastest in the nation this season.
The conference title wasn’t Carolina’s only podium of the evening as the Gamecocks finished the SEC Championships with their strongest night yet. Mahmoud was joined on the 1650 free podium by Tomas Peribonio, and both Nils Wich-Glasen (men’s 200-yard breaststroke) and Allyson Nied (women’s platform dive) also earned medals on the last night of competition.
Florida captured the men’s title with a total of 1,275 points, edging Auburn’s total of 1,223. The Gamecocks finished with 574, topping Texas A&M, Kentucky and LSU in a spirited battle for the seventh spot.
Texas A&M was the women’s champion, totaling 1,166.5 points. Tennessee came in second with 1,139.5. The Gamecocks ended the meet with 424.5 points.
In addition to Mahmoud's Gamecock record, Nied and Ashleigh Ferguson also set program bests on Saturday. Nied's platform finals total of 283.20 is South Carolina's best ever performance, as is Ferguson's 1:56.83 from the 200-yard backstroke prelims.
MEN’S RECAP
Peribonio swam an early heat of the 1,650-yard freestyle and posted a time of 14:50.90. That held up through the evening session, and he joined Mahmoud on the podium to give Carolina two of the top-three finishers. Cody Bekemeyer also turned in a quality swim, finishing 10th with a performance of 15:02.53. All three Gamecocks set personal bests, with Mahmoud’s 14:35.49 making the NCAA A Cut.
Bryce Kananowicz was the top Carolina performer in the 200-yard backstroke. The Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, native swam a time of 1:45.84 in the prelims and finished 25th. He was the first alternate for the evening session.
Kevin Leithold qualified for the C Final in the 100-yard freestyle and finished fourth in his evening heat. His time of 43.97 was good for 20th overall in the event.
Wich-Glasen earned a podium finish in the 200-yard breaststroke last season, and he duplicated the feat on Saturday night. The sophomore swam 1:53.94 to finish third place overall, just .44 seconds behind the championship swim in an extremely tight race.
South Carolina came in 10th place in the last race of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Jonathan Boland, Leithold, Peribonio and Patrick McCrillis finished the race in 2:57.68, the eighth-best time in Gamecock history.
WOMEN’S RECAP
The last evening session of the Championships started with the 1,650-yard freestyle. Sarah Smith led Carolina and finished 27th overall with a time of 16:54.25. One place behind her was Elizabeth Maltby, in a time of 16:56.68.
Ferguson’s record swim of 1:56.83 came in just the second heat of the morning, starting the day off right for the Gamecocks. The senior finished 22nd in finals, posting a time of 1:57.64 in her second race of the day.
Meredith Vay was the top Gamecock in the 100-yard freestyle. The sophomore’s time of 50.52 was a season best and good for 37th position in the morning session.
Two Gamecocks qualified for finals in the 200-yard breaststroke. Kersten Dirrane placed 13th overall, swimming a personal-record 2:12.75, and Brittany Oxley turned in a time of 2:15.09 to finish 24th.
Nied set a program record in platform prelims with a score of 268.35, and she was joined by Marissa Roth in the last finals session of the meet. The freshman broke the Gamecock record again in the evening, with a score of 283.80, and she finished third overall to make her first career SEC Championships podium. Roth finished seventh overall in her second finals performance of the meet, with a score of 239.40.
Carolina finished 11th in the final race of the SEC Championships, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Vay, McKenna Keith, Heather Merritt and Taylor Worrell turned in a time of 3:21.33, the fourth-best time in Gamecock history.
Texas A&M Men
Texas A&M sophomore Mauro Castillo Luna lowered his own school record in the 200-yard breaststroke twice on Saturday to highlight the Aggies’ final day at the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The Aggies finished the five-day meet in eighth place with 532 points. Florida won with 1,275 points, followed by Auburn (1,223), Georgia (1,010), Alabama (915), Missouri (902), Tennessee (745), South Carolina (574), the Aggies, Kentucky (530) and LSU (526).
Castillo Luna, from Zacatecas, Mexico, first lowered the 200 breaststroke record in the morning prelims with a time of 1:54.93, which was the second-fastest in the morning races. Later that day, Castillo Luna went even faster with a time of 1:54.64 that earned him a sixth-place finish. Castillo Luna has lopped nearly two full seconds off the school record since his arrival at Texas A&M (old record was 1:56.55 by Bryan Snowden in 2011).
Also contributing individual points on the final day were sophomore Brock Bonetti and junior Turker Ayar. Bonetti placed eighth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:43.98 after establishing a season best of 1:42.75 in the morning prelims. Ayar finished 24th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.50. A few minutes later, Ayar established his season best of 43.90 in the 100 free on the opening leg of the Aggies’ 400 freestyle relay.
The Aggies closed out the meet with an eighth-place finish in the 400 free relay with the foursome of Ayar, senior Antoine Marc, sophomore Justin Morey and junior Jacob Gonzales finishing in a season-best time of 2:55.06.
