Texas A&M Press Release
The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team repeated as team champions with a wire-to-wire victory at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships that finished on Saturday at the Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus.
The Aggies owned the team lead after all five days of the 2017 Championships and finished with a school record 1,304 points to out-distance runner-up Georgia (1,113). Rounding out the field were Kentucky (938), Tennessee (855), Auburn (849), Missouri (786), Florida (624), LSU (550), South Carolina (505), Alabama (464), Arkansas (284) and Vanderbilt (104).
It was the Aggies’ sixth conference championship in program history and also the sixth under head coach Steve Bultman, who is in the midst of his 18th season at the helm of the Texas A&M swimming and diving program. Under Bultman, the Aggies have won the 2016 and 2017 SEC Championships, as well as the 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012 Big 12 Conference team titles.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Bultman said. “The team worked hard to try to make it happen and it’s great to see them accomplish one of their goals. That’s the fun of all the training is to get to the end of the year and swim fast and win championships. We received contributions all the way up and down the lineup. I think everybody that we brought scored in something and that’s what we’re looking for.
Another highlight of the night was senior Sarah Gibson receiving both the Female Swimmer of the Meet and the Female High Point Scorer Awards. Gibson won three individual races – the 500-yard freestyle and the 100 and 200 butterfly. Additionally, she swam on the Aggies’ winning 800 free relay and 400 medley relay.
“It’s a little surreal, I don’t know that the magnitude of such an honor has set in yet,” Gibson said. “I’m just happy that I was able to contribute to the team. Any individual accolade I get out that is really just a function of the team environment that I’m a part of.”
Added Bultman, “You win any event at the SEC Championships and that’s pretty ‘studly.’ To win three individual championships takes it to a whole new level of impressiveness.”
The Aggies put the meet out of reach with a dominating display of talent and depth in the 200-yard breaststroke with seven swimmers combining to score a whopping 163 points in the second-to-last race of the women’s meet. Texas A&M swept the top three spots in the race with sophomore Sydney Pickrem winning her second individual crown of the meet with a time of 2:06.66. She was trailed closely by senior silver medalist Ashley McGregor in 2:07.54 and 2016 champion Bethany Galat in third in 2:08.09. Also in the A final, senior Franko Jonker grabbed fifth in 2:10.02 and junior Esther Gonzalez placed sixth in 2:10.11. Junior Jorie Caneta won the consolation final in 2:10.10 and sophomore Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo was second in the C final in 2:11.50.
The Aggies opened the scoring on Saturday with junior Caitlyn Moon finishing 17th in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a season-best time of 16:27.57.
A trio of Aggies contributed 36 points in the 200 backstroke with junior Lisa Bratton taking fifth in the A final in a time of 1:52.08, and freshman Sara Metzsch and junior Laura Norman chipping in 19th (1:56.90) and 20th (1:57.26) finishes.
Five Aggies combined to score 79 points in the 100 freestyle with junior Beryl Gastaldello leading the way in fourth with a time of 48.02 and junior Kristin Malone took seventh in 48.82. In the B final, freshman Amy Miller was 12th in 49.36 and sophomore Claire Rasmus placed 15th in 49.46. Sophomore Lexie Lupton chipped a 22nd place effort in 49.81 in the C final.
The Aggies closed out the final day of competition with a runner-up finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The foursome of senior Sarah Gibson, Malone, Miller and Gastaldello touched in a season-best time of 3:13.37, which make the group the fourth-fastest in school history.
Florida Press Release
The headline has read the same for the past five seasons, but that doesn't mean "SEC Champions" sounds any less sweet.
On Saturday night, the Florida men's swimming & diving team captured its fifth-straight SEC Championship, scoring 1271.5 points over the five-day meet. The Gators have won 38 men's conference titles in program history, which is rivaled only by Kentucky men's basketball's 47 titles in the history of the Southeastern Conference.
The women's team, consisting of mostly freshmen and sophomores, placed seventh overall with 624 points. They capped off the night with a silver medal in the 1650 free, which marked their best event finish of the week.
Rounding out the week's event titles today were Caeleb Dressel in the 100 free and Maxime Rooney, Mark Szaranek, Jan Switkowski and Dressel in the 400 free relay.
Dressel became a back-to-back SEC champion in the 100 free, touching in 41.24, which marked the fastest time in the nation this year.
The 400 free relay lineup broke an 11-year streak of Auburn taking first in the event. Florida timed an A-cut 2:47.09 in the race.
2017 SEC Championships titles
Men's 200 medley relay (Jack Blyzinskyj, Chandler Bray, Jan Switkowski, Caeleb Dressel) – 1:23.44
Men's 800 freestyle relay (Khader Baqlah, Maxime Rooney, Mitch D'Arrigo, Mark Szaranek) – 6:12.18
Men's 50 free (Caeleb Dressel) – 18.46
Men's 200 free relay (Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski, Jack Blyzinskyj) – 1:15.67
Men's 100 fly (Caeleb Dressel) – 44.21
Men's 200 free (Maxime Rooney) – 1:32.18
Men's 400 medley relay (Bayley Main, Chandler Bray, Jan Switkowski, Caeleb Dressel) – 3:04.52
Men's 100 free (Caeleb Dressel) – 41.24
Men's 400 free relay (Maxime Rooney, Mark Szaranek, Caeleb Dressel, Jan Switkowski) – 2:47.09
2017 SEC individual gold medalists
Khader Baqlah (1): 800 free relay
Jack Blyzinskyj (2): 200 medley relay, 200 free relay
Chandler Bray (2): 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay
Mitch D'Arrigo (1): 800 freestyle relay
Caeleb Dressel (6): 50 free, 100 fly, 100 free, 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay
Bayley Main (1): 400 medley relay
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe (1): 200 free relay
Maxime Rooney (3): 200 free, 800 free relay, 400 free relay
Jan Switkowski (4): 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, 400 medley relay, 400 free relay
Mark Szaranek (2): 800 free relay, 400 free relay
1650 free
Senior Autumn Finke became this week's first and only Gator on the women's side to stand on the podium. Finke, who specializes in distance free, placed second in the 1650 free A-final with a season-best B-cut of 16:06.64 and collected 28 points for the women's team. Tonight marked her first SEC individual medal.
Swimming in the earlier heats, Kahra Williams placed eighth overall at 16:21.42, which marked a B-cut and season-best by over 38 seconds. Georgia Darwent followed in 25th place at 16:45.09, and Kay Sargent placed 26th in 16:47.54.
On the men's side, Mitch D'Arrigo captured a silver medal in the event, touching in a B-cut and season-best 14:45.96. Andrew Brady was just short of a podium spot by nearly a second, finishing fourth in a B-cut and season-best 14:50.05. Ben Lawless placed fifth in a B-cut and season-best 14:51.03. Blake Manganiello was next in 11th place, also timing a B-cut and season-best 14:57.85, and Drew Clark placed 18th in a B-cut 15:13.39. Taylor Delk rounded out the Gator qualifiers in a B-cut 15:17.19.
200 back
Not long after her appearance in the 1650 free, Georgia Darwent got back in the pool for the 200 back B-final. She finished eighth in the race at 1:59.78. Sydney Sell won the C-final in a season-best and B-cut 1:54.40.
On the men's side, Brennan Balogh also recorded a win in the B-final with an improved B-cut of 1:42.43. Maxime Rooney also competed in the B-final, finishing seventh with a B-cut 1:43.54. Bayley Main additionally placed fourth in the C-final with a 1:44.64 B-cut.
100 free
The women's finals in the 100 free featured a pair of freshman Gators. Sherridon Dressel appeared in the B-final, finishing in the runner-up spot with a season-best and B-cut 48.98. Kelsey Dambacher preceded her in the C-final, touching eighth in 50.33.
Also in the event on the men's side were Khader Baqlah and Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, both B-finalists. Baqlah placed third with a season-best B-cut of 43.36. Martinez-Scarpe also put up a B-cut of 43.72.
100 breast
Hannah Burns was the lone Gator competing in the 100 breast on the women's side. She placed sixth in the C-final, touching in a B-cut 2:14.50.
Chandler Bray, in his second individual A-final in as many days, finished seventh with a B-cut and improved 1:55.86. Teammate Ross Palazzo placed third in the B-final with a B-cut 1:56.56.
Men's platform
After breaking a school record in the 3-meter finals earlier in the week, Samuel Smith returned to the diving well in the men's platform finals. Diving off the towers for the first time in a competition setting during this collegiate season, Smith put up a score of 390.90 to finish in sixth.
400 free relay
The women's lineup of Sherridon Dressel, Kelsey Dambacher, Tori Bindi and Kelly Fertel swam in the first timed heat of the finals, winning it in 3:18.26 to improve on their seed time. They finished ninth overall out of the two heats.
Georgia Press Release
Olivia Smoliga led a 1-2-3 finish in the women’s 100-yard freestyle and both Georgia squads came in second as the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships concluded at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center on Saturday.
The five-day conference competition ended with Georgia boasting the most successful overall program. The Bulldogs wound up as the runner-up for just the fourth time in 33 seasons under Coach Jack Bauerle, while the Lady Bulldogs have been first or second under Bauerle 20 times in 37 years.
The Bulldogs rolled up 985 points to finish behind Florida’s 1,271.5. The Lady Bulldogs scored 1,113 points, eclipsed only by Texas A&M’s 1304.
“We are proud of the performance our program had this week,” Bauerle said. “This was a difficult, rugged meet, and our kids showed up, stood up and competed hard all five days. Now that it’s over, we’re pleased that we can say both teams were relevant and were in the conversation. We’re tired, but we know we’ve got some left in the tank and I expect us to be good again at the NCAAs.”
Smoliga registered the eighth individual title of her career at the SECs as she reached the wall in 47.37. Earlier in the meet, she claimed the 100 backstroke for the third straight year. She also holds three wins in the 50 freestyle and now two in the 100 freestyle. In addition, Smoliga has been a part of eight winning SEC relays – including the 400 freestyle relay on Saturday.
“There’s so much excitement in this meet,” Smoliga said. “You battle so hard for your team and do everything you can to get points. To go 1-2-3 is pretty nice. It’s the icing on the cake.”
Chantal Van Landeghem came in second in 47.74, followed by Veronica Burchill in third in 47.99.
Smoliga, Burchill, Meaghan Raab and Van Landeghem claimed the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:12.19.
In the women’s 1,650 freestyle, Rachel Zilinskas finished third with a time of 16:10.72, followed by Stephanie Peters in 15th at 16:24.54 and Meg Finnon in 24th at 16:42.72.
Jay Litherland came in fifth in the men’s 200 backstroke, stopping the clock in 1:40.95. while Taylor Dale was 10th in 1:42.44 and Javier Acevedo was 13th in 1:42.94.
James Guest placed fifth in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:54.52. Basil Orr came in 13th in 1:56.99, while Jackson Ford was 18th in 1:58.30 and John Mattern was 24th in 2:01.56.
The men’s 400 freestyle relay of Dale, Gunnar Bentz, Pace Clark and Acevedo finished fifth in 2:52.65.
In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Raab checked in seventh in 2:10.74, followed by Emily Cameron (2:11.22) in eighth and Lexi Glunn (2:13.57) in 20th.
Meryn McCann finished 11th in the women’s 200 backstroke with a time of 1:54.12. Katherine Parker placed 14th in 1:55.22.
Kevin Litherland paced the Bulldogs in the 1,650 freestyle as he reached the wall 13th in 15:05.51. Aidan Burns took 14th in 15:06.15, while Walker Higgins was 17th in 15:08.30 and Clayton Forde was 20th in 15:15.82.
Charlie Clifton took 22nd in men’s platform diving with 260.55 points.
Alabama Press Release
Alabama swimming and diving closed the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships being held in the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the University of Tennessee campus with a big night, including a pair of individual SEC titles and four school records.
“It was a great last day for us,” UA head coach Dennis Pursley said. “We’d hoped to have this kind of day all week, but we got off to a little bit of a slow start at the first, but we talked all week about finishing strong and we certainly did that.”
For the second night in a row, the Alabama men were dominant in the backstroke, taking first and second in the 200 24 hours after doing the same in the 100. Junior Christopher Reid used a school-record 1:39.64 to hold off teammate Connor Oslin for the SEC title. Oslin, who won the 100 backstroke title on Friday, was second in the 200 with a 1:40.35.
In the next event, senior Anton McKee bookended his career with his second SEC 200 breaststroke title, touching the wall with a 1:52.22. McKee won his first SEC title in 2014 as a freshman. Fellow senior Pavel Romanov was 12th in the 200 breaststroke after swimming a 1:56.94 while senior Szymmy Day took 21st with a 1:59.53.
“It was real nice to see Anton come back from winning his freshman year to now winning as senior,” Pursley said.
In the team standings, Alabama’s men finished fourth with 897 points while the women were 10th with 464 points.
The Crimson Tide closed out the night with school records in the men’s and women’s 400 freestyle relays. The men’s squad of freshman Zane Waddell, sophomore Robert Howard, Reid and sophomore Laurent Bams took second with a time of 2:49.68. In the women’s race, junior Temarie Tomley, junior Lindsay Morrow, junior Hannah Musser and junior Bailey Scott combined to post a 3:17.98 and take eighth place.
“Everybody kind of got in on the action tonight and it was real exciting finish for us,” Pursley said.
Bams led the scoring in the men’s 100 freestyle, taking fourth with a 42.75, while Howard was seventh after touching the wall at 42.96. Waddell won the B final of the 100, taking ninth overall, with a career-best 42.30, which ranks him second all-time at Alabama. Senior Alex Gray turned in a 43.58 to take second in the C final and 18th overall.
Junior Mia Nonnenberg was sixth in the 1,650 freestyle after turning in a time of 16:13.60 while senior Brent Sagert finished eighth in the men’s platform event after totaling 374.60 points.
Scott, third in the 50 freestyle earlier in the meet, won the B final of the 100 freestyle with a school-record 48.48, taking ninth overall. Tomley also scored in the 100 freestyle, posting a 49.40 to finish 13th.
Senior Bridget Blood, third in the 100 breaststroke earlier in the week, was 14th in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:11.72 while sophomore Marian Yurchishin scored with a 23rd-place finish after finishing with a 2:14.56.
In the men’s mile, freshman Daniel Kober finished 16th with a time of 15:07.38, making him the ninth-fastest miler in Alabama history. Senior Jack Hadjiconstantinou also scored in the 1,650 freestyle, taking 19th with a time of 15:14.52.
Sophomore Katie Coughlin (1:57.74) and freshman Kacey Oberlander (1:58.21) both scored in the 200 backstroke, taking 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
Auburn Press Release
One month ago, senior Ashley Neidigh was trying to win a single distance event over Florida for the first time in her career.
On Saturday, she topped the entire SEC, winning the 1650 freestyle.
Neidigh became Auburn’s eighth SEC mile champion, cruising to 15:56.95 to win the race by 10 seconds over second place. She joins Maggie Bird (2008), Hayley Peirsol (2006, 2007), Adrienne Binder (200, 2005) and Liby Pruden (1984, 1985) as Auburn’s SEC Champions in the mile and in the process became Auburn’s first female individual SEC swimming champion since Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace won the 50 free in 2012.
“I came in knowing there was eight to ten girls that could win the event,” Neidigh said. “I really wanted it and I went out there and got it for Auburn. It has been a goal of mine (to win an individual SEC title) since I was 16 so to get one my senior year is very exciting.”
“It’s amazing to see (Ashley’s) transformation over four years,” head coach Brett Hawke said. “She stuck with the process and has grown so much. To come out and perform like that as a senior is a testament to her and how hard she works.”
While Neidigh was leading the charge for Auburn’s women, a trio were grabbing top-four finishes for the men’s team. Scott Lazeroff placed second on the platform, Joe Patching took third in the 200 backstroke and Michael Duderstadt was fourth in the 200 breaststroke.
Lazeroff, a sophomore, grabbed his second straight top-three finish on the platform, finishing second with a career-best 461.00. That came on the heels of his prelims performance in which he scored a 447.85, which at the time was a career-best.
“We all know that platform is Scott’s love and he came this morning with focus and with the mission to make up for his springboard performance,” diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. “Two lists, both were personal-bests, and I’m real proud of his performance tonight.”
“Platform is where I am most confident and where I have the most fun,” Lazeroff said. “I fought as hard as I could.”
In his final SEC race, Patching brought home a bronze medal with a third-place showing in the 200 back in 1:40.46. Newcomer Petter Fredriksson, who raced to a 1:41.99 in the morning, took eighth (1:43.07). Joshua Booth (1:45.72) and Taylor Copeland (1:46.03) were 23rd and 24th, respectively.
Duderstadt became the second-fastest Auburn 200 breaststroker with a 1:53.22, which placed him fourth in a race in which first through fourth were separated by a second. Tommy Brewer, who set a personal-best in prelims, finished 14th in 1:57.12.
Auburn’s men finished third in the team standings with 925.5 points, making it 25 consecutive top-three finishes in a row, the longest active streak in the conference.
“We are a proud, rich tradition at Auburn and we certainly never want that to end, but we are disappointed we are not on the top of the podium holding that trophy,” Hawke said. “It fuels us every year that we are not there. We get hungrier and hungrier.”
The Auburn women finished fifth with 849 points.
“I’m really happy with the way team fought from start to finish,” Hawke said. “We always want to compete for championships. In the end we just ran out of numbers.
“I’m super proud of the way the team came together this year and I know we have more in us for NCAAs,” Hawke said.
Florida won the men’s event with 1271.5 points while Texas A&M grabbed the women’s title with 1304 points.
Arkansas Press Release
The Arkansas swimming and diving team concluded competition Saturday from the 2017 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
Arkansas finished the day with seven personal bests, two season bests and four ‘B’ cuts. In total, Arkansas broke 12 season bests, 22 personal bests and clocked 22 ‘B’ cuts during the week. Junior diver Nicole Gillis recorded the only three NCAA Zone diving scores for Arkansas.
On the fifth and final day of competition, senior Mary Margaret Soderberg swam a ‘B’ cut and personal-best 2:11.36 in the 200 breaststroke prelims to advance to the B final. In her final race, Soderberg broke her personal best for the second time in the day, finishing 12th overall in a ‘B’ cut time of 2:10.54. Soderberg’s finals time is the fastest on the team this season, while her prelim time ranks second. She has four of the top-five times on the team this season in the 200 breast.
Freshman Ayumi Macias was impressive in the 1650 freestyle. The distance swimmer finished sixth in her heat in a ‘B’ cut of 16:21.56 to record a ninth place overall finish in the event. It marks the second top-ten overall finish for Macias this week as the Aguascalientes, Mexico, native finished eighth overall in the 500 free on Wednesday in the A final.
Senior Aiden Lister finished 23rd overall in the 1650 free in a season-best 16:42.50.
Arkansas finished the Championships in 11th place with 284 points.
In the morning session, Arkansas broke six personal-bests, including four alone in the 100 free. Freshman Sarah Dalton Chambliss led the Razorbacks with a time of 51.10, tying the fastest on the team this season, which she set. Sophomore Erin Kelly swam the third quickest time by Arkansas this year, finishing first in her prelim heat in a personal-best 51.11.
The team of junior Olivia Weekley, junior Chelsea Tatlow, junior Jessie Garrison and Chambliss went 3:19.92 in the 400 freestyle relay, the fastest by Arkansas this season, to finish 11th to close out the Championships.
Missouri Press Release
The Mizzou men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs earned three individual top three finishes to conclude action Saturday at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tiger men finished fifth with 771 points and the women placed sixth with 786 points, a program-high at the Championships.
The Florida men (1,271.5 points) won their fifth-consecutive team title, while the Texas A&M women (1,304 points) claimed their second-straight. Georgia (985), Auburn (925.5) and Alabama (897) finished ahead of the Tigers in the men’s standings. On the women’s side, Georgia (1,113), Kentucky (938), Tennessee (855) and Auburn (849) rounded out the top five.
Redshirt senior Lauren Reedy (Rochester Hills, Michigan) earned SEC Female Diver of the Meet honors, voted on by the diving coaches. Reedy won the 1-meter title in an SEC record 364.3 points and also placed fifth on 3-meter.
Seniors Michael Chadwick (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Fabian Schwingenschlogl (Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany) and junior Hannah Stevens (Lexington, Kentucky) all recorded their second top three finishes of the Championships to lead the Tigers on Saturday.
Chadwick earned runner-up honors in the 100 free, matching his finish from a season ago, as the senior clocked a finals time of 41.95 behind defending National Champion Caeleb Dressel of Florida. Chadwick, who owns the second-fastest 100 free time in the nation, also placed third in the 50 free on Thursday.
In the women’s 200 back, Stevens was fifth with 25 yards remaining but used a strong push claim her third-place finish. The junior touched the wall in a career-best 1:51.41 to record her second top three finish of the meet, as she was the 100 back runner-up on Friday.
Schwingenschlogl matched his 100 breast third-place finish in the 200 breast on Saturday. Schwingenschlogl split the fastest final 25 yards in the field to take third in the championship final in 1:52.61, his fastest time of the season.
In the final event of the meet, Mizzou set a new school record in the men’s 400 free relay after a 2:51.74 from sophomore Mikel Schreuders (Oranjestad, Aruba), Chadwick and sophomores Luke Mankus (Keller, Texas) and Sam Coffman (Centennial, Colorado).
Senior Nadine Laemmler (Wackersdorf, Bavaria, Germany), freshman Jennifer King (Glasgow, Scotland) and sophomore Kylie Dalgren (Victoria, Minnesota) all swam in the 200 back B final. Laemmler and King nabbed the top two spots to place ninth and 10th, respectively, in times of 1:52.65 and 1:53.84, while Dalgren went a career-best 1:55.16 to touch in 13th overall.
Also claiming points in the 200 breast on the night were senior Eddie Mapel (Hinsdale, Illinois) and sophomore Nick Staver (Bettendorf, Iowa). In his last SEC Championships, Mapel swam a 1:56.43 to place 10th and Staver went 1:58.21, just off his best time, for 17th.
Joining Chadwick with evening swims in the 100 free were Schreuders and Mankus. Schreuders took 13th in a personal-best 43.62 and Mankus was 20th in 44.10.
In the men’s 200 back, senior Carter Griffin (Parker, Colorado) just missed a podium finish as he touched fourth in a season-best 1:40.51, bettering his 2016 placement by one spot. Freshman Nick Alexander (Crestwood, Missouri) notched an 11th-place finish in a personal-best 1:42 and fellow freshman Daniel Hein (Sycamore, Illinois) won the C final in a career-best time of 1:42.97 for 17th.
Junior Kira Zubar (Chaska, Minnesota) earned her second top six finish of the Championships in the 1650 free. She placed fifth in the mile in 16:13.60 on Saturday to follow up a sixth-place finish in the 500 free earlier in the meet. Zubar placed 11th in the 1650 free at last year’s meet.
Senior Nick Davis (Chesterfield, Missouri) concluded his final Championships with a pair of school records on the day. His 1650 free time of 15:06.43, which earned him 15th-place, broke his own Mizzou record of 15:09.06. Additionally, he set a new program 1000 free mark (9:08.14) during the race to give the senior possession of all three distance records.
In the diving well, sophomore Kyle Goodwin (Aurora, Colorado) earned an 11th-place finish with a score of 331.90 and junior Hunter Fritter (Houston, Texas) took 15th in 312.15.
Junior Erin Metzger-Seymour (Westminster, Colorado) clocked a 49.75 in the 100 free C final to finish 21st overall.
The women’s 400 medley relay team of Metzger-Seymour, Stevens, freshman Haley Hynes (Lee’s Summit, Missouri) and senior Victoria Trost (Johnston, Iowa) placed sixth in 3:16.91.
The Tigers set seven school records during the five-day meet. Individually, Davis took down the men’s 1000 and 1650 free marks, Stevens broke the 100 back record and Reedy broke her own school mark on the springboard. Additionally, the men set or tied their records in the 400 free relay and the 200 and 400 medley relays.
South Carolina Press Release
Akram Mahmoud, Nils Wich-Glasen and Cody Bekemeyer put on a show for South Carolina on the final day of the 2017 SEC Championships. Mahmoud defended his SEC title in the 1650-yard freestyle and is going home with the gold for the second consecutive year.
Wich-Glasen earned his second silver medal of the meet as he took second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:52.41. His time set a new school record, topping the record he set in 2015 of 1:52.60. Bekemeyer also took home some hardware as he finished third in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 14:49.09.
On the women’s side, Kersten Dirrane had the best finish for Carolina when she took fourth place in the 200-yard breaststroke, setting a new personal best with a time of 2:08.58.
MEN’S RECAP
South Carolina started the final day of competition with four Gamecocks in the 1650-yard freestyle. Following Mahmoud and Bekemeyer’s medal-winning performances, Tomas Peribonio finished in eighth place with a time of 14:56.77 and Travis Morrin took 31st with a time of 15:33.91.
Bryce Kananowicz was the lone Gamecock in the 200-yard backstroke final and finished with a time of 1:44.98, good for 21st overall. Jonathan Boland also was the sole representative of Carolina in the 100-yard freestyle. He set a PR in the prelims with a time of 43.67 and took 15th overall with a time of 43.84.
Joining Wich-Glasen in the 200-yard breaststroke, Jeremiah Bohon came in 20th with a time of 1:58.81 and Thomas Hang finished at 23rd in 2:00.16. Jordan Gotro made an appearance in the platform finals tonight, setting a new school record and taking seventh with a score of 386.05.
The Gamecocks wrapped up the evening with the 400-yard freestyle relay. The group made up of Boland, Peribonio, Wich-Glasen and Patrick McCrillis finished the race in 10th place with a time of 2:55.70.
WOMEN’S RECAP
Three Gamecocks started the night off with the 1650-yard freestyle, with each one setting a new personal record. Smith led Carolina with a time of 16:26.86 for 16th overall, Elizabeth Maltby followed at 16:39.23 for 21st and Megan Carlson took 22nd with a time of 16:42.28.
Emily Cornell and Heather Merritt represented the Gamecocks in the 200-yard backstroke, where Cornell finished 15th with a time of 1:56.58 and Merritt posted a time of 1:58.47, good for 24th place.
Dirrane was in good company in the 200-yard breaststroke as Albury Higgs and Emma Barksdale each competed in the finals. Higgs earned 13th place with a time of 2:11.49, while Barksdale finished first in the C final with a time of 2:11.30, good for 17th overall.
Setting another school record for South Carolina, Meredith Vay, Edith Lingmann, Barksdale and Merritt finished 10th in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:19.31.
NOTABLE
Akram Mahmoud became the first mal to win an individual SEC title in consecutive years since 2000-01 (Zsolt Gaspar).
The women’s side posted it’s highest finish with ninth place since the team finished eighth in 2012.
Carolina set a total of 21 school records and 81 personal records throughout the course of the meet.
