2024 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships
The second day of introductory heat papers
After things got rolling and diving Monday and Tuesday, the first full day of competition at the 2024 SEC Championships is ready.
Following the traditional NCAA schedule, this first preliminary session features heats in the women's and men's 500 free, 200 free, and 50 free.
The big news of heat sheets and primer report is just that Bella Sims She will not compete in the 500 freestyle, the event in which she has the best time in the NCAA this season (4:32.53). Instead, Sims NT is entered at 200 IM. Her best time in the event is 1:52.73 from the 2022 Winter Juniors. Her teammate Isabel Ivey She has the best time in the conference this season (1:54.18) and will also race in the 200 IM today.
Sims dropping 500 for free paves the way for Rachel Steeg To really control the race. Sims and Stege had a great fight at the Georgia Fall Invite; Sims won the race but Stege swam a massive personal best time of 4:32.87. This time gives her an advantage of about three seconds over the rest of the field heading into today.
In the men's 500 freestyle race, Jake Magahi And Charlie Hook They will race side by side in the final heat. Leading the way in the 800 freestyle relay yesterday, Hawk swam a time of 1:30.75, just 0.45 seconds off his personal best. He reached the 500 freestyle with a personal best of 4:12.91 from midway through the season and Magahy retains the top seed with a time of 4:10.60. Title holder Jake Mitchell Races heat up earlier.
Along with Mitchell, Baylor Nelson And Jordan Crocs They are also preparing to defend their crowns for 2023. Nelson and Crooks are the top two seeds in their respective events. Nelson is seeded with a time of 1:41.33 in the 200 freestyle and Crooks comes in with a time of 18.40 in the 50 freestyle from midseason. He and Josh Lindo— who raced the 800 freestyle relay on the first day instead of the 200 medley — are the only ones in the conference to run under 19 seconds this season but are looking to change that this morning.
Team results during the first day
slim:
- Auburn – 167
- Florida – 160
- Tennessee – 147
- LSU – 146
- Georgia – 134
- Texas A&M – 129
- Alabama – 127
- Missouri – 107
- South Carolina – 99
- Kentucky – 98
- Vanderbilt – 62
men:
- Texas A&M – 199
- Florida – 180
- Tennessee – 155
- Georgia – 150
- Auburn – 127
- Alabama – 116
- Missouri – 111
- LSU – 106
- Kentucky – 101
- South Carolina – 93
Women's 500 freestyle – preliminary heats
- NCAA Record: 4:24.06, Katie Ledecky (Stan) – 2017 NCAA Championship
- SEC record: 4:32.53, Brittany McLean (UGA)/ Bella Sims (FLOR) – 2014 NCAAs/2023 Georgia Fall Invitational
- SEC Championship Record: 4:33.10, Brittany McLean (UGA) – 2016
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 4:37.89
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 4:41.09
Final A:
- Abby McCulloh (UGA) – 4:37.43 (NCAA Standard A)
- Emma Wyant (Fluor) – 4:38.83
- Rachel Steeg (UGA) – 4:39.10
- Hayden Miller (TAMU) – 4:39.72
- Julia Mrozinski (Ten) – 4:40.85
- Kate McCarville (Tenn) – 4:41.33
- Jillian Barczyk (UGA) – 4:41.38
- Abby Grotel (TAMU) – 4:41.97
Georgia Abby McCulloh She went to work in her first classified circuit competition in the women's 500 freestyle. She swam the first 4:40 of the session with a time of 4:37.43, the fastest morning time of the event's last two qualifiers. It's another personal best time for McCulloh, who had been losing time in the 200/500 freestyle all season. Her time of 4:37.43 is another drop of 0.68 seconds, besting the 4:38.11 she swam at the Georgia Fall Invite.
Emma Wyantrachel stage, And Hayden Miller He joined McCulloh under the 4:40 mark in the intros. Weyant clocked 4:38.83 to win the penultimate heat comfortably. Stage – the defending champion – fought her way into the race, swimming past Tennessee Kate McCarville In the back half to win the final heat with a time of 4:39.10.
Miller, who transferred to Texas A&M from Florida this season, went under 4:40 for the first time this season with a new personal best of 4:39.72, down 0.16 from her old PB (set at 2,023 seconds). Her Aggie teammate Abby Grotel She joins her in the A Final after finishing 15th last year.
Moving on from the 2023 B final with McCulloh and Grotel is McCarvill. She and her colleague Julia Mrozinski Make it two volumes in Final A. UGA leads the way with three finalists, while Tennessee and Texas A&M each have two.
Men's 500 freestyle race – preliminary heats
- NCAA record: 4:06.32, Kieran Smith (Fluor) – 2020 SEC Championship
- SEC record: 4:06.32, Kieran Smith (Fluor) – 2020 SEC Championship
- SEC Championship record: 4:06.32, Kieran Smith (Fluor) – 2020
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 4:10.74
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 4:14.36
Final qualifiers:
- Mason Mathias (AUB) – 4:12.26
- Jake Magahi (UGA) – 4:12.36
- Giovanni Lencher (FLOR) – 4:13.10
- Andrew Taylor (Fluor) – 4:13.48
- Charlie Hoke (Bama) – 4:13.63
- Jovan Lekic (LSU) – 4:13.93
- Jake Mitchell (Fluor) – 4:14.33
- Michael Ponson (AUB) – 4:14.84
Mason Mathias He took the lead early in Round 5 and hasn't looked back. Mathias stopped an attack from the crocodile pair Giovanni Lensherr And Andrew Taylor, posted 4:12.26. It was the fastest time in the morning Jake Magahi He won the final heat with a time of 4:12.36, one-tenth of Matthias' time. A year after winning the B Final, Mathias heads into the final as the top qualifier and gives the home team their first seed in the tournament.
Magahi swam away from Charlie Hook In Heat 6 and the only other sub-clock posted 4:13 AM. Lensherr, Taylor and the defending champion Jake Mitchell Make it three Gators in the A final. Mitchell won the first seeded circuit heat with a time of 4:14.33 which will give him an outside pass into tonight's final.
LSU Jovan Lekic He had a huge swim outside the uncirculated classified heat. Lekic, a freshman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, swam a time of 4:13.93, taking 9.08 seconds off his personal best time. It was only his fourth time swimming in the event and he broke the mark he set at a dual meet in January (4:23.01). The first two times he swam the event, he posted a time of 4:31 seconds; It is now within the 2023 calling time.
Last year, it took her 4:15.04 to reach the A final, this year Michael Bonson He finished eighth with a season-best time of 4:14.84.
Women's 200 meters – preliminary heats
- NCAA record: 1:48.37, Kate Douglas (UVA) – 2023 NCAA Championships
- SEC Record: 1:51.62, Megan Small (TENN) – 2019 SEC Championship
- SEC Championship Record: 1:51.62, Megan Small (TENN) – 2019
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 1:53.66
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 1:56.90
Final qualifiers:
- Josephine Fuller (Tenn) – 1:53.59 (NCAA Standard A)
- Zoe Hartman (UGA) – 1:54.36
- Zoe Dixon (Fleur) – 1:54.55
- Isabel Ivey (Fleur) – 1:54.67
- Bella Sims (Fluor) – 1:55.12
- Brooklyn Duthright (Tenn.) – 1:56.40
- Hannah Ownby (AUB) – 1:56.70
- Sarah Stotler (Tenn) – 1:57.12
Florida and Tennessee dominated the women's 200 individual, each advancing three swimmers to tonight's A final. He leads the way Josephine Fullerwho swam a new personal best of 1:53.59 for the first time outside of qualifying.
Fuller had great success last season and finished second in the 200 IM/100 backstroke/200 again in 2023. She prepared herself well heading into the final, smashing her old best of 1:54.09 and achieving the NCAA “A” standard. She heads into the final 0.77 seconds over the second seed Zoe Hartman. Hartmann is the defending champion in the event and swam a season-best time of 1:54.36 to safely move into the final in second place.
The final heat saw great racing between his Gator teammates Zoe Dixon And Isabel Ivey. Ivey had a slight lead at the halfway point but Dixon fought back in the breaststroke and freestyle legs. At the touch, Dixon edged Ivey with a time of 1:54.55 to 1:54.67. This marks a new PB for Dixon and her first time under 1:55.
From the first heat, Bella Sims Compiled a 1:55.12, which stood as the fastest time until Fuller's heat 6 swim and is good enough for fifth place overall. Sims was under SEC record pace through the first 100 yards thanks to her 24.16/27.63 splits. The record pace in the breaststroke eluded her, but it looks like Sims has more in her tank for tonight.
Brooklyn Duthwright And Sarah Stotler They are the other two volumes to qualify for the final. Hannah Ownby She qualified for the A final with a time of 1:56.70, ensuring an improvement on her 12th place finish in 2023.
Men's 200 IM – Preliminaries
- NCAA record: 1:36.34, Leon Marchand (ASU) – 2023 NCAA Championship
- SEC record: 1:38.13, Caleb Dressel (FLOR) – 2018 SEC Championship
- SEC Championship record: 1:38.13, Caleb Dressel (Fluor) – 2018
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 1:41.03
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 1:43.14
Final qualifiers:
- Joaquin Gonzalez Pinheiro (FLOR) – 1:42.07
- Zach Hills (UGA) – 1:42.69
- Baylor Nelson (TAMU) – 1:42.82
- Julian Smith (Fluor) – 1:42.92
- Alex Sanchez (TAMU) – 1:43.52
- Danny Schmidt (AUB) – 1:43.56
- Mason Lore (Fleur) – 1:43.70
- Sean Sullivan (Fluor) – 1:43.77
Women's 50 freestyle – preliminary heats
- NCAA record: 20.79, Maggie McNeil (LSU) / Gretchen Walsh (UVA) – 2023 NCAAs / 2023 Tennessee Invite
- SEC Record: 20.79, Maggie MacNeil (LSU) – 2023 NCAA Tournament
- SEC Championship Record: 20.98, Maggie McNeil (LSU) – 2023
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 21.63
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 22.15
Final qualifiers:
Men's 50 Freestyle – Preliminaries
- NCAA record: 17.63, Caleb Dressel (Fluor) – 2018 NCAA Championship
- SEC record: 17.63, Caleb Dressel (Fluor) – 2018 NCAA Championship
- SEC Championship Record: 17.93, Jordan Crocs (TEN) – 2023
- 2024 NCAA A standard: 18.82
- 2023 NCAA Invitational time: 19.21
Final qualifiers:
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