Day 5 Finals Live Recap
2023 SEC SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIP
The final session of the 2023 SEC Championship should feature some exciting matchups Saturday night at Texas A&M’s Rec Center Natatorium.
In the women’s 100 free, LSU star Maggie MacNeil enters as the top seed in 47.46, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Alabama senior Kalia Antoniou.
After Jordan Crooks won the 50 free and Josh Liendo triumphed in the 100 fly, we’re ready for Round 3 of this exciting sprint battle in the men’s 100 free. Liendo’s time of 41.22 in prelims this morning made him the second-fastest freshman ever in the event, just 0.06 seconds behind Crooks.
Florida fifth-year Dillon Hillis broke the SEC meet record in the prelims with a 1:51.53, but he could be challenged in tonight’s final by freshman teammate Aleksas Savickas, who was within a tenth of Hillis this morning.
The 1650 free, 200 back, men’s platform diving and 400 free relay are also available for this evening. In the mile, two-time defending champion Kristen Stege of Tennessee will try to defend her title against 2020 champion Kensey McMahon of Alabama. Notably, Alabama standout Rhyan White missed the A final of the women’s 200 back this morning.
Stay tuned for live updates below:
SCORES AFTER DAY 4 WOMEN: Florida – 962 Tennessee – 709.5 Kentucky – 698 LSU – 624 Georgia – 577.5 Alabama – 560 Auburn – 499 South Carolina – 489 Texas A&M – 470 Medical A&M – 470 Arkansas – 470 – 150 774.5 Texas A&M – 765 Tennessee – 727.5 Georgia – 584.5 Missouri – 517.5 Alabama – 464 Kentucky – 369 South Carolina – 366.5 LSU – 240 WOMEN 1650 1650: FREESTYLESTANY 3. (Georgia) ): 15:27.84 Meet Record: Brittany MacLean (Georgia): 15:36.52 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 15:52.41 2022 Champion: Kristen Stege, Tennessee (15:42.37)
Top 8:
Kensey McMahon (Alabama) – 15:47.02 Aly Breslin (Tennessee) – 15:52.71 Kristen Stege (Tennessee) – 15:53.47 Abby McCulloh (Georgia) – 15:58.45 Hayden Miller (Florida) – 16:00.96 Emily Hetzer (Florida) – 16:00.96 Auburn) – 16:03.46 Tylor Mathieu (Florida) – 16:03.99
Alabama fifth-year Kensey McMahon is back at the helm.
After losing the mile to Tennessee’s Kristen Stege the past two years, McMahon rallied after 10 minutes into the race and never looked back en route to victory in 15:47.02. That time shaved 12 seconds off her season best.
“This is something that my coach and I have been working on for the last three years,” McMahon said. “So it definitely feels good that it turned out this way.”
Tennessee junior Aly Breslin swam earlier this afternoon, but her massive personal best earned her second place to Stege, who faded. Breslin shaved more than 10 seconds off her lifetime best from last year’s Big Ten Championships.
MEN’S 1650 FREE – FINALS NCAA Record: Bobby Finke (Florida): 14:12.08 SEC Record: Bobby Finke (Florida): 14:12.08 Meet Record: Bobby Finke (Florida): 14:12. 2022 Champion: Trey Freeman, Florida (14:39.74)
Top 8:
Levi Sandidge (Kentucky) – 14:31.47 Jake Magahey (Georgia) – 14:38.45 Tyler Watson (Florida) – 14:38.50 Mason Mathias (Auburn) – 14:42.99 Eric Brown (Florida) – 14:40.40 – 14:46.91 Victor Johansson (Alabama) – 14:47.51 Grant Davis (Auburn) – 14:51.37
In one of the swims of the week, Kentucky freshman Levi Sandidge got off to a fast start in the mile and held on for an upset win.
His winning time of 14:31.47 shaved 20 seconds off the previous best, shocking the rest of the field as well as himself. It’s the fastest time in the country this season ahead of Alabama’s Victor Johansson, who finished seventh about eight seconds off his season best.
Sandidge made history as the first Kentucky man to win an SEC title since 2006 and the first Wildcat to win the mile in program history.
Georgia’s Jake Magahey (14:38.45) and Florida’s Tyler Watson (14:38.50) were separated by just 0.05 seconds in the battle for second place.
WOMEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS NCAA Record: 1:47.24, Beata Nelson (2019) SEC Record: 1:48.06, Rhyan White (2020) Meet Record: 1:48.06, Rhyan White (2021) 111th Record, 2022:11:41 , Pool. (2009) NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:50.50 2022 Champion: Rhyan White, Alabama (1:50.22
Top 8:
Ella Varga (LSU) – 1:51.74 Josephine Fuller (Tennessee) – 1:52.21 Caitlin Brooks (Kentucky) – 1:52.38 Daisy Platts (Auburn) – 1:52.62 Lydia Hanlon (Kentucky) – 1:52.21 3:52. – 1:53.97 Emma Weyant (Florida) – 1:54.06 Mabel Zavaros (Florida) – 1:54.35
With defending champion Rhyan White out of the A final, this race was wide open and LSU freshman Ella Varga took advantage of that opportunity with another breakout performance.
Varga’s best time was just 1:56.68 last month, but she dropped four seconds in the prelims this morning before clocking 1:51.74 tonight for the win. Varga sealed her victory with a 28.44 split in the 50 final, the fastest in the field.
Tennessee sophomore Josephine Fuller (1:52.21) and Kentucky senior Caitlin Brooks (1:52.38) rounded out the podium. Brooks joined a pair of Kentucky teammates in freshmen Lydia Hanlon (1:52.83) and Grace Freericks (1:53.97) in fifth and sixth, respectively. The Wildcats starters are showing up so far this evening.
MEN’S 200 BACK – FINALS NCAA Record: 1:35.73, Ryan Murphy (2016) SEC Record: 1:35.75, Shaine Casas (2021) Meet Record: 1:36.85, Shaine Casas (2021) 21: Shaine Casas (2020) ) NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:39.13 2022 Champion: Kieran Smith, Florida (1:39.51)
Top 8:
Bradley Dunham (Georgia) – 1:39.27 Baylor Nelson (Texas A&M) – 1:39.79 Jack Dahlgren (Missouri) – 1:39.80 Aidan Stoffle (Auburn) – 1:39.88 Nick Simons (Tennessee A&M) – 1:39.88 :40.59 Nate Stoffle (Auburn) – 1:40.75 Ian Grum (Georgia) – 1:40.96
For the past two years, Bradley Dunham has finished just off the podium in fourth place. This time, the Georgia senior would not be denied a medal.
Dunham was slightly slower than his best time from prelims this morning (1:38.90) at 1:39.27, but it was still enough to beat Texas A&M freshman Baylor Nelson (1:39.79) by about half a second.
“It’s surreal,” Dunham said. “I’m very grateful to my family, my friends, my team, my coaches who believed in me.”
For Nelson, the time was a personal best, shaving off several previous bests from this morning. Missouri senior Jack Dahlgren rounded out the podium in third place in 1:39.80, and Auburn senior Aidan Stoffle was the only other swimmer in the sub-1:40 field in 1:39.88.
WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS NCAA Record: 45.56, Simone Manuel (2017) SEC Record: 45.83, Erika Brown (2020) Meet Record: 45.83, Erika Brown (2020) Pool Record: 414.62NC : 47.18 2022 Champion: Morgan Scott Alabama (47.32)
Top 8:
Maggie MacNeil (LSU) – 46.27 Kalia Antoniou (Alabama) – 47.46 Ekaterina Nikonova (Florida) – 47.97 Micayla Cronk (Florida) – 47.99 Chloe Stepanek (Texas (A&M) – 48.20 Brightness (Brove and Medical) – 48.20 vs. 48.65 Katie Mack (Florida) – 48.89
LSU grad transfer Maggie MacNeil cruised to the 100 free title by more than a second with a time of 46.27, breaking Simone Manuel’s record from 2014. That time would be the no. 1 in the country if it had been an hour earlier, but Kate Douglass just dropped a 45.86 to win the ACC title.
“I love it,” MacNeil said of her fifth year with the Tigers. “I’m happy to get back to what I know I need to do on the road to Paris 2024 next year.”
Alabama senior Kalia Antoniou took second with a time of 47.46, and Florida sophomore Ekaterina Nikonova held off Florida sophomore Micayla Cronk by just 0.02 seconds for the final podium spot.
MEN’S 100 FREE – FINALS NCAA Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (2018) SEC Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (2018) Meet Record: 40.87, Caeleb Dressel (2018) Pool Record: 2018 CAA Record: 39.90, Caeleb Dressel (2018) CAAele. : 41.64 2022 Champion: Brooks Curry, LSU (40.99)
Top 8:
WOMEN’S 200 BACK – NCAA FINALS Record: 2:01.43, Kate Douglass (2023) SEC Record: 2:03.26, Bethany Galat (2018) Meet Record: 2:04.62, Sydney Pickrem 2:06, 2011 Record. (2018) NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 2:06.18 2022 Champion: Gillian Davey, Kentucky (2:06.21)
Top 8:
MEN’S 200 BREAST – FINALS NCAA Record: 1:47.91, Will Licon (2017) SEC Record: 1:50.80, Nic Fink (2015) Meet Record: 1:51.53, Dillon Hillis (2023) Pool Record: 1:51.53, Alex Fink (2015) .(2022) NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:51.54 2022 Champion: Derek Maas, Alabama (1:51.56)
Top 8:
MEN’S PLATFORM – FINALS SEC Record: 507.15 – Zhipeng Zeng, Tennessee (2018) SEC Meet Record: 496.55 – Juan Celaya Hernandez, LSU (496.55) 2022 Champion: Juan Hernandez, LSU (4)
Top 8:
NCAA 400 FREE RELAY Record: California: 3:06.96 SEC Record: Georgia: 2:08.97 SEC Meet Record: Georgia: 3:09.18 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:14.10 2022 Champion: Alabama (3:1).
Top 8:
Men’s NCAA RELAY 400 FREE Record: NC State: 2:44.31 SEC Record: Florida: 2:45.73 SEC Meet Record: Florida: 2:46.03 NCAA A Standard: 2:50.52 2022 Champion: Florida (2:46.91)
Top 8:
