The Florida men maintain their lead, while the Texas A&M women move to first place after day three of the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Missouri.
On the women’s side, the Aggies take over first place with a total of 657.5 points, while Tennessee moves to second with 645.5 points. For the men, Florida stays in first with 723 team points, and Auburn is in second place with 669 points.
To begin the evening session, Texas A&M went 1-2-3 in the women’s 400 IM. Freshman Sydney Pickrem set a pool record as she took the top spot with a time of 4:05.32, followed by sophomores Lisa Bratton (4:05.44) and Bethany Galat (4:05.77).
A pool record was also set in the men’s 400 IM, as Jay Litherland of Georgia claimed first place with a time of 3:40.33. Mark Szaranek of Florida came in second at 3:41.88, and Joe Patching of Auburn took third at 3:42.71.
Sarah Gibson of Texas A&M was crowned the individual champion in the women’s 100 fly, finishing with a time of 51.17. Fellow Aggie Béryl Gastaldello took second place with a time of 51.46, and Madeline Banic came in third at 51.79.
An SEC meet record was set in the men’s 100 fly as Florida’s Caeleb Dressel defended his title in the event with a time of 44.80, besting the top time set in 2009 by Auburn’s Matt Targett (45.02). LSU’s Logan Rysemus took second with a time of 45.59, while Auburn’s Arthur Mendes came in third at 45.98.
Florida’s Kahlia Warner, who won the 1-meter springboard on Tuesday night, earned a first-place finish in the 3-meter springboard with a total of 383.75. LSU’s Cassie Weil came in second with a final score of 372.55, and Tennessee’s Rachel Rubadue took third with a score of 354.00.
Brittany MacLean of Georgia took first place in the women’s 200 free, setting a pool record with her time of 1:43.64. Fellow Bulldog Meaghan Raab claimed second with a time of 1:44.61, and Geena Freriks of Kentucky earned third place with a time of 1:44.98.
Matias Koski of Georgia defended his title the men’s 200 free with a time of 1:33.43, while Hugo Morris of Auburn (1:33.65) and Michael Chadwick of Missouri (1:34.11) took second and third, respectively.
The 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships continues on Friday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. CT with the preliminaries for the 200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast and men’s platform diving, followed by the finals of those four events plus the 400 medley relay starting at 6 p.m. CT. Both sessions can be viewed on SEC Network+.
2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships – Day Three (Feb. 18 – Columbia, Mo.)
Thursday’s Final Results:
Men’s Team Results (through 11 events): 1. Florida 723; 2. Auburn 669; 3. Georgia 572; 4. Alabama 449; 5. Missouri 429; 6. Tennessee 360; 7. South Carolina 315; 8. Texas A&M 291; 9. LSU 288; 10. Kentucky 264
Women’s Team Results (through 11 events): 1. Texas A&M 687.5; 2. Tennessee 645.5; 3. Georgia 584.5; 4. Florida 426; 5. Auburn 354.5; 6. Missouri 352.5; 7. LSU 337; 8. Arkansas 303; 9. Kentucky 286; 10. South Carolina 261; 11. Alabama 234.5; 12. Vanderbilt 93
Alabama
Alabama sophomore Mia Nonnenberg dropped more than six seconds from her preliminaries time to break her own school record in the finals of the 400 individual medley on day three of the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championship being held in the Mizzou Aquatic Center on the University of Missouri campus this week.
“It really just clicked,” Nonnenberg said after the race. “I knew that I didn’t have anything to lose being in the B final, so I just went after it.”
Nonnenberg touched the wall with a 4:06.99 to win the B final of the 400 IM and take ninth overall, becoming the first UA swimmer under 4:07 and shaving more than a half second off her previous best.
“The team support was amazing tonight,” Nonnenberg said. “Behind the block before the race I could hear them all cheering for me and it was really comforting knowing that I wasn’t doing it alone.”
The Tide men had their biggest event of the night in the 100 butterfly, with five scoring in the event, led by Luke Kaliszak who posted a huge swim from lane eight of the B final. The sophomore posted a career-best 46.34, dropping nearly a second off his previous best to win the B final and take ninth overall.
“Tonight was great,” Kaliszak said. “I think the big difference was that I was in lane eight, right next to the team and they were cheering me on and I could hear it. Some of us, myself included, aren’t shaved and tapered, so we’re not feeling so hot, so to have a best swim is really exciting with NCAA (Championships) coming up.”
The other three Tide swimmers in the 100 butterfly B final included freshman Laurent Bams who took 11th (46.92) overall, junior Connor Oslin who was 14th (47.03) and senior Brett Walsh who took 16th (48.16). Senior Abbas Qali took third in the C final and 19th overall in the 100 butterfly with a 47.42.
The Tide men are in fourth place after three days with 449 points while the women are in 11th place with 234.5 points.
Sophomore Hannah Musser posted a career-best 53.25 to take 11th in the women’s 100 butterfly while junior Caroline Korst took 16th with a 53.71 after posting a career-best 53.49 in prelims.
Junior Taylor Zablocki took 10th off the women’s 3-meter springboard after scoring 293.70 points while sophomore Kara Fredlock took 24th with 266.90 points.
Senior Emma Saunders was 13th in the women’s 200 freestyle after touching the wall with a 1:47.10 while sophomore Temarie Tomley posted a career-best 1:46.89 in the C final, taking 19th overall and moving up to second all-time at Alabama, behind Saunder’s school record.
Sophomore Taylor Charles bettered his career-best time in the men’s 400 IM twice on Thursday, including a 3:49.65 in the finals which put him 15th on the night. Senior Brian Westlake finished 22nd in the 400 IM after touching the wall with a time of 3:52.98.
In the men’s 200 freestyle, senior Crews Wellford took 21st while junior Alex Gray was 22nd. Wellford posted a career-best 1:36.46 in prelims, which ranks him 10th all-time at Alabama.
Arkansas
After three days of competition, the Arkansas swimming and diving team remains in eighth place with 303 points through 21 events at the Southeastern Conference Championships held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Missouri.
“I thought we did a nice job this morning,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Sean Schimmel said. “We’re doing everything we can to take care of our business and put ourselves in scoring positions. Tomorrow is an important day for us.”
Day three began with preliminaries in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and 3-meter diving. The Razorbacks posted four lifetime bests, and seven swimmers earned spots in the evening finals.
In the 400 IM, all four Razorback swimmers that competed captured a spot in the finals.
“Going four-for-four was really big for us,” Schimmel said. “It definitely got things going.”
Sophomore Chloe Hannam led the way with a time of 4:13.57, good for 13th overall. Sophomore Chelsea Tatlow followed with a season-best 4:16.12 to grab 16th. Dropping 2.44 seconds off her lifetime best, sophomore Jessie Garrison clocked a 4:16.87 to finish 18th, while junior Mary Margaret Soderberg checked in at 22nd with a time of 4:17.71.
Focus then shifted to the 100 fly. Junior Natalie Burnett clocked a lifetime-best 53.19 en route to an 11th-place finish overall for a spot in the finals. Sophomore Olivia Weekley recorded a lifetime-best 54.3 to get an NCAA ‘B’ cut in the event.
In the 200 free, seniors Maddie Monroe (1:46.55; ninth) and Anna Mayfield (1:46.62; tenth) each garnered spots in the B-Final. Freshman Kiera Michailoff-Russell swam a lifetime-best 1:51.74.
In 3-meter diving, sophomore Nicole Gillis (289.75) placed 13th while seniors Hannah Bortnick (276.45) and Shelby Bartlett (268.05) checked in at 19th and 23rd respectively. Bortnick’s finish marks a career high at the SEC Championships.
The Razorbacks opened up the evening finals with a pair of lifetime bests in the 400 IM C-Final. Soderberg touched second with a time of 4:15.54, dropping 2.17 seconds off her lifetime best. After improving her lifetime best by 2.44 seconds in the prelims, Garrison bettered her mark, clocking a 4:16.75 to capture sixth place. Tatlow took seventh in the B-Final with a time of 4:17.96.
“Jessie works extremely hard day in and day out,” Schimmel said. “She has a consistency with the best of them on our team. Two best times in one day is a reflection of her determination, work ethic and what she’s trying to accomplish. It’s just really exciting.”
In the 100 fly B-Final, Burnett finished seventh with a time of 53.60.
To close out the night, Monroe placed fourth in the 200 free B-Final with a time of 1:46.89, and Mayfield was sixth in 1:47.30.
Auburn
Thursday was moving day for the Auburn women’s swimming and diving team as the Tigers moved from ninth place to fifth with a day full of solid swims. Auburn came into the night with 217.5 points and left the Mizzou Aquatic Center with 354.5 points. The men’s team saw the gap between it and Florida widen but the Tigers remain in second place, 54 points behind.
“This morning in our meeting we talked about how we had seven girls that had not raced individually yet as of last night; six of those girls scored points for us tonight and the seventh swam faster than she’s ever swum while at Auburn,” Associate head coach for women Lauren Hancock said. “That was an injection of energy and an injection of performance that we somewhat saved until this day and it really paid off.”
The Auburn women wasted little time picking up quality points when Zoe Thatcher (4:14.12) and Annie Lazor (4:16.46) finished 13th and 14th, respectively, and Bailey Nero took 23rd (4:17.89) in the 400 IM. The three finishes tallied 29 points and was enough to vault Auburn up to sixth place.
Auburn’s biggest points grab came one event later - in the 100 butterfly - when Aly Tetzloff placed seventh (52.38), Sarah Reynolds placed 13th (53.57), Caroline Baddock took 14th (53.58) and Alex Merritt took 18th (53.71), giving the team 57 points. Tetzloff’s finish was the first top-eight finish in the event for Auburn since Olivia Scott took second in 2013.
“When you have five athletes scoring in any one event you are going to pass people,” Hancock said. “Those five girls represented three different training groups. It’s all about stepping up and doing it for the team.”
Maddie Cox, who is competing in the SEC Championships for the first time, brought home an 11th-place finish, scoring 292.75 on the 3-meter, and Morgan Mullins scored 270.00 to place 21st, giving Auburn 20 more points.
The women closed out the night by collecting 27 points in the 200 free. Jillian Vitarius won the B Final in 1:46.25 while Erin Falconer swam a personal best 1:46.67 to finish 18th.
In the men’s team race, Auburn maintained its footing on second place thanks to six top-eight finishes, including three on the medal stand.
“Right now it seems to be a two-team race between us and Florida,” Associate head coach John Hargis said. “Florida is an unbelievable team and our guys are swimming as expected. We just have to keep plugging away. It’s like a boxing match between us and Florida - they jab and we jab back. Ultimately we have to continue to jab and see what happens over these next two days.”
Hugo Morris recorded the highest finish of his career in the 200 free, finishing second in 1:33.65. Peter Holoda joined him in the Championship Final, finishing eighth in 1:36.20. Zach Apple finished 23rd in 1:37.62.
“Guys this morning stepped up big,” Hargis said. “We knew we needed swims and Peter had a monster swim and Hugo followed that up with a great swim as well. They came in tonight in a good situation. Hugo laid it out there and put himself in position to win.”
Joe Patching narrowly missed sweeping the IM events, finishing the 400 in third in 3:42.71, the second-best time in school history. Sam Stewart was just three places behind him in sixth in 3:45.43. Jordan Jones finished 20th (3:52.61).
“Joe knew he needed to create space between him and the field at the 200 and so that’s what he did,” Hargis said. “I think he forced the backstroke maybe a hair much, and maybe the fly a bit much and that’s what cost him in the end. But another best time, and a bronze medal, we’ll take it. He laid it out there and we’re proud of him.”
Arthur Mendes also grabbed his best finish in the 100 fly, swimming a 45.98 to place third. Luis Martinez was eighth (46.61) and Liam McCloskey was 12th (46.99).
Florida
Sophomore Caeleb Dressel and senior Kahlia Warner each brought home Southeastern Conference Titles in Day Three competition at the 2016 SEC Championships on Thursday night. The Gators have a combined total of eight SEC Titles this week as the men lead the field with 723 points, and the women sit in fourth at 426.
For the second year in a row, Dressel, who shocked many with his 50-Yard freestyle races on Wednesday night, took the 100-Yard Butterfly crown with a blazing time of 44.80 -- a personal best for the Green Cove, Springs, Florida native. The two-time Butterfly Champion’s mark stands as a new all-time SEC Meet record (Matt Targett, 45.02).
Following Dressel’s dominant performance in the pool, senior Kahlia Warner kept the crowd on their feet with a remarkable routine in the diving well. Warner, who won the women’s 1-meter SEC Title on Tuesday night, posted a six-dive score of 383.75. She is the first diver to post SEC Titles on both the one and 3-Meter springboards in the same year since Allison Brennan (South Carolina) won the two titles in 2006. The mark not only brought home an SEC Title for the Queensland, Australia, native -- it also broke the former school record (373.85, 2011) that Warner had been chasing since her arrival at UF.
In addition to Dressel and Warner’s success, five Gators posted Top-5 finishes in tonight’s ‘A’ finals. Sophomore Mark Szaranek came in second in the 400-Yard IM (3:41.88), sophomore Jan Switkowski finished fourth in the 100-Yard Butterfly (46.16), and sophomore Amelia Maughan (1:45.76) and junior Mitch D’Arrigo (1:34.26) posted fourth-place showings in the 200-Yard freestyle.
Georgia
Jay Litherland, Brittany MacLean and Matias Koski earned individual titles to highlight Georgia’s showing on Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The No. 2-ranked Lady Bulldogs closed the night in third place with 584.5 points, following a win from MacLean in the 200 freestyle. Georgia trails Texas A&M, who leads with 657.5 points, and Tennessee with 645.5 points.
On the men’s side, the No. 3 Bulldogs finished the night in third with 572 points and were led by wins from Litherland in the 400 individual medley and Koski in the 200 freestyle. Florida leads the meet with 723 points, followed by Auburn with 669 points.
“Being an individual champion in this conference is a real chore,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “Having three more today means the world to us. We are so proud of Brit, Jay and Matias. All three of them raced hard and with a purpose and got to the walls first. I am proud of the way our teams are competing. This is a fun meet, an exciting meet. We’ve got a couple of more days and we’re going to keep giving it everything we have. We’re just going to keep punching.”
Litherland, a sophomore, won the men’s 400 individual medley in 3:40.33, also setting a pool record. Litherland’s win was the Bulldogs’ fourth consecutive and 10th overall in the event.
“Winning the 400 IM means a lot to me,” Litherland said. “We put in so much hard work and training, and getting to race these guys is awesome. It really was a great race for everyone. After the breaststroke, I was (2.68 seconds) behind and I didn’t know if I could catch up. I was kind of blacking out toward the end, but I saw him and I knew I wanted to do it for the Bulldogs.”
Koski, a senior, defended his 2015 title in the men’s 200 freestyle, posting a time of 1:33.43. Koski’s win is Georgia’s third overall title in the event. This is also the first year that Georgia has won both the men and women’s 200 freestyle.
“During the race, I was focusing really hard,” Koski said. “I was trying to bounce back from yesterday because yesterday wasn’t the greatest day for me. It was definitely awesome to defend my title, especially since it’s my senior year. There’s still room for improvement and I want to help the team finish as strong as possible.”
MacLean, a senior, earned her second individual title of the meet, posting a 1:43.64 in the women’s 200 freestyle, also a pool record. MacLean’s win represents Georgia’s fifth win in the last seven years and the 11th win overall.
Meaghan Raab followed MacLean in second in 1:44.61. Shauna Lee earned 10th in 1:46.42 and Stephanie Peters reached the wall in 1:47.22, earning 20th.
“Winning the 200 feels great and having (teammate Meaghan) Raab right there with me was awesome,” MacLean said. “Right now, we’re just trying to get our team back on top. Everyone is giving her all and I’m so proud of the way we’ve trained and the way we’re swimming. A few things haven’t gone our way, but we’re ready to fight the next couple of days. This is the toughest team I’ve ever been a part of.”
Emily Cameron finished fourth in the women’s 400 individual medley, reaching the wall in 4:06.70. Kylie Stewart paced the Lady Bulldogs in the women’s 100 butterfly as she took fourth in 52.13, while Caitlin Casazza came in 12th in 53.21 and Courtney Weaver 20th in 53.80.
In the men’s 400 individual medley, Gunnar Bentz finished fourth (3:43.73), Aidan Burns touched in 11th (3:47.34), James Guest came in 14th (3:48.72) and Mick Litherland finished 16th (3:50.33).
Pace Clark tied for fourth in the men’s 100 butterfly, touching in 46.14, while Taylor Dale earned 11th in 46.90 and Ty Stewart tied for 18th in 47.30. Jay Litherland finished 10th in the 200 freestyle in 1:35.22 while his brother Kevin earned 15th in 1:36.83.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s swimming and diving team completed the third day of the SEC Championships, with the women sitting in ninth with 286 points while the men are in 10th with 264 points.
Moving into the lead on the women’s side was Texas A&M with 657.5 points, followed by Tennessee (645.5), Georgia (584.5), Florida (426), Auburn, (354.5), Missouri (352.5), LSU (337), Arkansas (303), Kentucky, South Carolina (261), Alabama (234.5), and Vanderbilt (93).
Florida has expanded its lead on the men’s side with 723 points, trailed by Auburn (669), Georgia (572), Alabama (449), Missouri (429), Tennessee (360), South Carolina (315), Texas A&M (291), LSU (288) and Kentucky.
The third day of action was highlighted by a pair of freshmen on the women’s side who both broke UK records in both the preliminary heats and finals. Geena Freriks became one of the youngest medalists in school history when she shattered the UK record in a blazing 1:44.98 to take home bronze in the championship final of the 200 free. Freriks started off her day by breaking the record previously set by teammate Danielle Galyer’s 800 relay leadoff time on Tuesday, earning the fifth seed in the A final in 1:46.13. With her time, Freriks now ranks 18th in the nation and is the sixth-fastest freshman among NCAA competitors. Also earning a second swim in the 200 free was Kendal Casey, who finished seventh in the C final in a season-best 1:47.37.
“Making the A finals as a freshman, I was very excited,” commented Freriks. “Breaking the record this morning, I knew I could do it. My best time before was (1:)46-high and I went (1:)46.9 on the relay. So going (1:)46.1 this morning, I knew I could go faster at night. I’m more of a night swimmer, so I was ready for going even faster this evening.”
“Geena’s swim was amazing, third place,” remarked head coach Lars Jorgensen. “Hats off to her, she’s trained so hard. She’s come a long way in a short period of time and I think she’s got some great upside. She’s been a great leader, so we look forward to NCAAs and getting better.”
Another record fell when Kathryn Painter broke one of Kentucky’s oldest standing records in the 400 IM, previously set in 1999 by Melissa Olson. Painter swam a 4:11.30 to upend the standard for the first time, earning a second swim in the B final. The freshman went on to place fifth in the consolation final, clocking in at 4:10.92 for a mark that now sits at 23rd in the nation.
The freshman class continued to shine when Haley McInerny moved up in the top-10 in the 100 fly, swimming a 53.81 in the prelims for a time that is the sixth-fastest in program laurels. All four of the times that scored for the Wildcats were NCAA consideration qualifying marks, or B cuts.
In the 3-meter dive, Rebecca Hamperian paced the team with a 12th-place finish with 290.30 points. Maddie Gordon also scored for the Blue and White with 269.15 points for 22nd, followed by Kailey Francetic in 25th with 262.30 points.
On the men’s side, four Wildcats earned second swims after their preliminary swims. The team was most heavily represented in the 200 free, led by Sean Gunn with a 1:36.04 for the second-fastest swim of his career and a 12th-place finish. Scott Crosthwaite clocked in at 1:36.96 in the B final, while Isaac Jones swam a 1:37.89 in the C final. All three swims go down as NCAA B cuts for the trio of Wildcats.
Kyle Higgins had his fastest swims of the year in the 100 fly, swimming a 47.83 in the prelims before going 47.63 to take seventh in the C final. Higgins’ time fell under the B cut standard, as did Matt Roman’s time of 48.08 seconds, David Dingess’ mark of 48.14, and Josh Swart’s 48.26 as the three took 31st, 32nd and 33rd, respectively.
The men did not have a representative in the finals of the 400 IM, but had Brandon Flynn and Austin Haney finish 29th and 30th in 3:54.88 and 3:55.75.
Jorgensen keeps a positive outlook throughout the remainder of the meet, saying, “tomorrow is a really big day for us. We’ve got the breaststrokes and the backstrokes should be really good. We just keep wanting to get better and just make improvements all the way to the last day, in which we’ve got some big races.”
LSU
LSU ‘s Logan Rysemus and Cassie Weil each took home silver medals to lead the way for the Tigers at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday evening at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Rysemus’ 100 fly silver medal came in a school record time of 45.59. In addition to the school record, the junior also posted an ‘A’ cut. Rysemus owns the fourth-fastest time in the country and is one of only seven male swimmers to register an ‘A’ cut in the 100 fly.
“That was an incredible swim for Logan in his first SEC final,” LSU swimming coach Dave Geyer said. “He maintained his composure and swam his own race. He was coming home like a freight train and split an incredible last 50. Walking away with a silver medal and solidifying that with an NCAA ‘A’ cut is awesome.”
Weil finished second on three-meter with a score of 372.55. The silver was the senior’s fourth SEC medal as a Lady Tiger and just .14 points off of breaking her school record score.
“The ladies were remarkable today,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Cassie almost tied her school record. She rose to the occasion and took advantage of the moment. It was a pleasure to watch Cassie perform at a level that she competed at.
In the 100 fly, Kara Kopcso finished sixth with a school record time of 52.07. Kopcso now owns four school records, which is the most by any LSU athlete.
“Kara was able to put together a solid swim in her final,” Geyer said. “One of her personal goals for this season was to get the school record and with our approach to this meet I’m glad she got it.”
Jake Markham, Alex Linge and Danielle Stirrat all reached the championship finals Thursday night. It was Linge’s second consecutive appearance in the 100 fly ‘A’ final. Linge finished sixth in the event with a time of 46.36. Stirrat finished eighth in the ‘A’ final of the 200 free with a time of 1:47.26.
In his first championship appearance as a Tiger, Markham finished seventh in the 200 free with a time of 1:35.80. His time of 1:35.08 in prelims was enough for a school record. Markham has now broken the 200 free record twice this week.
“It was a great day for our teams,” Geyer added. “We talk about taking care of business in the morning to ease the pressure at night. Jake, Danielle and Alex put themselves into finals with their work this morning and gained great experience for the remainder of the week.”
Senior Sophie Weber posted a season-best time of 4:16.35 in prelims to reach the ‘C’ final of the 400 IM. In the night session, Weber finished fourth in the event with a time of 4:16.47.
Junior Leah Troskot touched the wall third in 1:46.71 during the ‘B’ final. Troskot’s time was enough for fourth on LSU’s top-10 list. Megan Cox finished fifth in the ‘C’ final of the event with a time of 1:47.24.
In addition to Weil’s performance on the boards, Allie Alter and Rileigh Knox provided huge scoring performances for the Lady Tigers. Knox registered a score of 276.80 for 18th place and Alter tallied a score of 270.05 for 20th place.
“The other remarkable performance was Rileigh Knox coming off of an injury,” Geyer said. For her to step in and step out shows true heart and character.”
Brandon Goldman and Alarii-Levreault Lopez were both alternates in the 400 IM. In prelims, Levreault-Lopez set a personal best time of 3:54.67 to finish 26th overall. The freshman’s time was enough for eight on the top times list. Harrison Jones posted a time of 47.95 in prelims of the 100 fly for the ninth-fastest time in school history.
Devon Dabney clocked a time of 1:47.77 in prelims of the 200 free. Dabney’s time was seventh on LSU’s top times list.
The LSU women sit in seventh place with 337 points and the men are in ninth place with 288 points. The squad returns to action Friday with the 200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, men’s platform and 400-medley relay.
Missouri
The Mizzou swimming and diving teams claimed seven top-eight finishes, including three top-six finishes in the men’s 200 free alone, to highlight day three competition at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center. In the final race of the night, junior Michael Chadwick, freshman Mikel Schreuders and junior Carter Griffin went 3-5-6 in the men’s 200 free, with Chadwick breaking his own school record.
The men’s team sits fifth with 429 points and the women’s team sixth with 352.5 points with two days remaining in the meet. Florida leads the men’s field with 723 points, followed by Auburn (669), Georgia (572) and Alabama (449). On the women’s side, Texas A&M has 657.5 points for first, while Tennessee is second (645.5), Georgia third (548.5), Florida fourth (426) and Auburn fifth (354.5).
Chadwick’s school record 1:34.11 was good enough for his second third-place finish in as many days, as the junior also took third in Wednesday’s 50 free. His Thursday finals time bettered his old program mark of 1:34.38 set in November. Schreuders took fifth in the final after a swim of 1:34.38, good enough to jump him into second all-time at Mizzou in the event, while Griffin’s 1:34.48 earned him sixth and the No. 3 spot in the Tiger record books.
The Tigers excelled in the diving well on Thursday as well, as sophomores Alexa Beckwith (326.85) and Kendra Kieser (312.35) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the women’s 3-meter competition. The duo both set personal bests in afternoon preliminaries, with Beckwith notching a 332.35 and Kieser a 320.35. Additionally, sophomore Madeleine McKernan earned points for the squad after placing 15th overall.
The men’s 100 fly race saw junior Andrew Sansoucie claim seventh with a finals swim of 46.39, only 0.03 out of sixth-place.
Sophomore Sharli Brady claimed Mizzou’s seventh top-eight finish of the evening as she took eighth in the women’s 400 IM. After a prelims swim of 4:09.81, a 2015-16 best, the sophomore went 4:13.71 in the evening session.
In the women’s 100 fly, senior Anna Patterson took ninth overall after placing first in the B final in a season best time of 52.86, exactly 0.01 faster than her morning prelims swim.
Senior Daniel Graviss earned a 10th-place finish in the men’s 400 IM with a finals time of 3:47.07, not much off his prelims season best time of 3:46.63.
South Carolina
A record-breaking swim from Tomas Peribonio and phenomenal diving performances from Marissa Roth and Lauren Lamendola set the tone for the University of South Carolina Swimming & Diving team as the Gamecocks finished day three at the 2016 SEC Championships. With two days left at the Mizzou Aquatic Center, the Gamecock men hold the seventh position, while the Carolina women are in 10th.
Florida continues to lead the men’s competition, with 723 points, while Auburn is second at 669. The Gamecocks leapfrogged Texas A&M on Thursday and now have 315 points as a squad.
On the women’s side, Texas A&M moved into the lead on Thursday with 657.5 points, just ahead of Tennessee’s 645.5. The Gamecocks have accumulated 261 points through three days.
Peribonio broke the Carolina record in the 400-yard IM with a swim of 3:45.26 in the morning session. The previous record was set by Istvan Bathazi, a time of 3:45.76 in 2002.
Roth qualified for an SEC Final for the first time in her career and placed fourth in the 3-meter dive, with a finals score of 329.85. Lamendola, who earlier in the meet finished fourth in the 1-meter, came in sixth in the 3-meter on Thursday with an evening score of 319.80.
Peribonio shattered Carolina’s 400-yard IM record in prelims with a time of 3:45.26 and booked a spot in the A Final with his performance. In the A Final, he came in seventh with a time of 3:45.68. Cody Bekemeyer set a personal best in the B Final, a swim of 3:48.13 to finish 12th, and two Gamecocks competed in the C Final. Phillip Willett came in 21st at 3:52.77, and Jack Smith was 23rd at 3:53.32.
Jonathan Boland represented the Gamecocks in the C Final of the 100-yard butterfly. His evening time of 47.75 was good for 22nd overall and ranks seventh in Carolina history.
Two Gamecocks qualified for evening swims in the 200-yard freestyle. Fresh off a program record-setting performance in the 500-yard freestyle on Wednesday, Akaram Mahmoud turned in a finish of 13th place, with a finals swim of 1:36.26. Kevin Leithold came in 19th, and third in the C Final, swimming 1:36.76 in finals.
Emma Barksdale advanced to the evening session for a second consecutive day and made the B Final of the 400-yard IM. Her finals swim of 4:10.21 set a personal best and was the second-fastest performance in South Carolina history. The time was good for 11th place overall.
Roth turned in a score of 329.85 in the 3-meter finals. Her best dive of the evening was her fourth, a Reverse 2 1/2 Somersault Tuck that received a 61.60. Lamendola finished with a score of 319.80, including a Back 2 1/2 Somersault Pike that was graded at 63.00.
Though they didn’t reach finals, two more Gamecocks scored points in the 3-meter dive. Julia Vincent finished 14th with a prelims score of 287.55, and Allyson Nied came in 17th, at 282.10.
Paige Maynard was the top Gamecock in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing 33rd. Her time of 54.46 was a personal best and the second-fastest time in school history. It was also the fastest 100 fly swim by a Gamecock since 2007.
One night after reaching the A Final and setting a school record in the 500-yard freestyle, Taylor Worrell led Carolina in the 200-yard freestyle. Her swim of 1:47.90 was good for 26th position.
Tennessee
Freshmen Madeline Banic and Rachel Rubadue led Tennessee with bronze-medal finishes Thursday at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
Banic collected her second individual bronze medal of the week, finishing third in the 100-yard butterfly in 51.79 seconds. She also took bronze in the 50 freestyle in addition to two relay gold medals.
Rubadue reached her second final of the meet and took third on 3-meter with a career-best score of 354.00.
After three days of competition, Tennessee has moved from first to second in the women’s team standings with 645.5 points, while Texas A&M surged from third to the top of the leaderboard with 657.5 points.
The Tennessee men, who have most of their big events on the final two days of the meet, are in sixth place with 360 points. Florida leads with 723.
The Vols earned plenty of spots in the finals after the preliminary session. In contention for the team title, six women qualified for a championship final and six others competed in B and C finals.
The UT men had seven swimmers qualify for the finals, eventually headlined by a fifth-place finish by Sam McHughin the 400 IM.
“The morning was really really good,” Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich said. “We won a lot of heats and a lot of people moved up from where they were seeded and recorded a lot of best times. I was really proud of our team performances this morning.
Tonight, we seemed kind of flat and the rest of the competition stepped up. I think we pressed a little bit, but I’m really pleased with the way we’re racing. We competed really well.”
Two more days of competition remain. Friday’s events include the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, men’s platform diving and the 400 medley relay.
WOMEN’S 400 IM: Seniors Amanda Carner and Lauren Driscoll, the Vols’ two finalists, took fifth (4:08.59) and sixth (4:09.15) respectively in the championship heat. They picked up 49 points in their effort. It was Carner’s second A final of the meet, having finished fourth in the 200 IM on Wednesday. Junior Colleen Callahan gave the Vols a 10th-place finish in the event, lowering her time from the prelims to 4:08.57. Morgan Dickson finished 24th (4:18.61).
Texas A&M picked up big points in the event, sweeping the top three places. Sydney Pickrem won in 4:05.32.
MEN’S 400 IM: Sophomore Sam McHugh placed fifth in the 400 IM in a time of 3:44.27. He swam faster than his preliminary-leading morning time, but Georgia’s Jay Litherland went even faster, winning in 3:40.33. The top five swimmers in the final heat swam faster than the previous Mizzou Aquatic Center pool record.
McHugh has competed in five individual events during his SEC career thus far, making the finals in all five. He will be back in the pool Friday for the 200 butterfly, an event in which he won a silver medal last year.
WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY: Freshman Madeline Banic added to her medal haul at her first SEC championship by taking bronze in the 100 butterfly. She reached the wall in 51.79 behind a pair of Texas A&M swimmers, Sarah Gibson (51.17) and Beryl Gastaldello (51.46).
Banic has enjoyed a breakout debut championship. She has been a part of two winning relays, the 200 freestyle and 200 medley, and earned a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle Wednesday.
Picking up points in consolation heats, Anna DeMonte was 10th overall (53.19) and Michelle Cefal was 22nd (53.94).
MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY: Ryan Coetzee paced the Vols with a 15th-place finish (47.33). Tyler Mills finished second in the final heat to take 18th overall (47.30) and Chris Sadsad took 23rd (47.91).
WOMEN’S 3-METER SPRINGBOARD: Freshman Rachel Rubadue won her first career SEC medal, taking third on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 354.00. It is her best 3-meter result at Tennessee and is the fourth-best six-dive score in UT history.
Rubadue has reached the finals of both diving events thus far, having finished seventh on the 1-meter. She enters the meet with the highest score this season on platform (301.05), which will be held Saturday.
“It was a fantastic day for Rachel to come in and become the only freshman to make both springboard finals,” Tennessee diving coach Dave Parrington said. “She had a solid, composed prelim in the afternoon. I was pleased with her composure again tonight against a tough field. She’s got her favorite event to come. I’m very proud of her.”
Competing in her first career SEC final, senior Sarah Chewning had an incorrect dive on her third attempt which put her out of medal contention midway through the list. She was solid on her final three dives — hitting her fifth for 67.50 — to finish with 279.50 points.
“For Sarah, just getting into the final was a great achievement,” Parrington said. “We rolled the dice a little in the prelims with some big dives that she doesn’t use very often. She came back on her second-to-last dive and knowing what she’d been through earlier in the contest, I couldn’t have been more proud.”
WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE: Tennessee had a pair in the B final of the 200 freestyle with Mary Griffith finishing 15th in 1:47.54 and Micah Bohon taking 16th in 1:47.58.
MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE: Senior Sean Lehane, swimming his first individual event of the meet, finished 11th in 1:35.58. Senior Gustav Aberg Lejdstrom won the C final to end 17th overall in 1:36.04, and freshman Joey Reilman was 20th in 1:36.84.
Texas A&M Men
Texas A&M sophomore transfer Austin Van Overdam’s win in the consolation final of the 400-yard IM highlighted the Aggie men’s day three action at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Thursday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
After three days of competition, the Aggies stand in eighth place with 291 points. Florida leads the team standings with 723 points, followed by Auburn (669), Georgia (572), Alabama (449), Missouri (429), Tennessee (360), South Carolina (315), the Aggies, LSU (288) and Kentucky (264).
Van Overdam, from Cypress, Texas via the University of Arizona, rallied in the back half of the 400 IM to grab the victory in a lifetime best time of 3:46.16. Not ranked on the Aggies’ top 10 list in the 400 IM entering the SEC Championships, he finished the day ranked No. 2 on the list behind only school record holder Simon Frank. Also contributing points and debuting on the top 10 list was sophomore Jonathan Tybur, who finished 19th in a time of 3:52.23. Tybur’s effort moved him to No. 8 on the list.
Junior Turker Ayar grabbed a 20th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 47.50. In the morning prelims Ayar swam a lifetime best of 47.24 that ranks No. 5 on the Aggies’ top 10 list.
Texas A&M Women
The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team vaulted to the top of the team standings with a huge day three performance at the 2016 Southeastern Conference Championships on Thursday at the Mizzou Aquatics Cetnter.
The Aggies jumped from third to first in the team standings with 657.5 points after three days of competition, followed by Tennessee (645.5), Georgia (584.5), Florida (426) and Auburn (354.5) to round out the top five.
“There’s still a lot of swimming left, but today definitely gave us a chance (in the chase for the SEC team title),” Aggie head coach Steve Bultman said. “Now it’s a matter of four more sessions and we just need to keep on battling away.”
The Aggies’ big night started with a 1-2-3 sweep of the 400-yard IM with freshman Sydney Pickrem taking first, sophomore Lisa Bratton placing second and sophomore Bethany Galat finishing third. Pickrem rallied past Bratton down the stretch to take the win in a pool record and NCAA “A” cut time of 4:05.32. Bratton was right behind with a lifetime best of 4:05.44 while Galat finished in 4:05.77. Also contributing points was sophomore Esther Gonzalez, who won the “C” final in a lifetime best time of 4:13.95.
“It was amazing to finish 1-2-3,” Pickrem said. “That’s what meant the most to me – not the winning, it was the standing on the podium with two teammates that swim next to you every day. We all train 4-IM and 2-IM together and we’re always racing. Every day it’s back and forth, back and forth. To be that close, all three of us, and to get on the podium together is amazing.”
Texas A&M stayed hot by sweeping the top two spots in the 100-yard butterfly with junior Sarah Gibson rallying past 2015 SEC 100 fly champion and teammate Beryl Gastaldello for the win. Gibson trailed Gastaldello after the first 50 but charged past her teammate to win in a time of 51.17, while Gastaldello touched in 51.46. Gibson was the top seed in the final after posting her lifetime best of 50.99 in the prelims, which made her and Gastaldello the only swimmers in school history under 51 seconds in the 100 fly. Also contributing points in the 100 fly was sophomore Laura Norman, who placed 19th in a time of 53.89.
“Coming from more of a distance background than most of the girls that do the 100 fly, I knew I had to go out with them even though that’s not really my strength,” Gibson said. “I knew I could finish the race, so I thought if I could go out and hang with them that I’d have the chance to come back and be able to finish. I got to the end of it and I closed my eyes. I saw Beryl (Gastaldello) out there and I knew it was going to be one of us, I just didn’t know which. I was thinking, ‘we’ll get to the wall and see what happens.’ It was kind of surprising, to me at least.”
Junior diver Madison Hudkins chipped in 11 points with a 16th place finish in the three-meter springboard with a point total of 282.70.
The Aggies closed out the night with a strong effort in the 200 freestyle with three swimmers competing in the Championship final. Senior Meredith Oliver led a 5-6-7 finish for the Aggies with a time of 1:46.34 and she was trailed by sophomore Kristin Malone (1:46.34) and freshman Claire Rasmus (1:46.49).
