2018 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 14 – Sunday, February 18
- Rec Center Natatorium, College Station, TX (Central Time Zone)
- Prelims 10AM / Finals 6PM
- Defending Champion: Florida (5x) (results)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live results
- Live Video (finals)
The penultimate finals session of the 2018 SEC Championships will feature the men’s and women’s 200 fly, 100 back and 100 breast, along with timed finals in the 400 medley relay.
All eyes will be on Caeleb Dressel, as he looks to improve upon his 51.07 prelims swim in the 100 breast that made him the 9th fastest performer in history. After crushing the American record in the 200 IM on Thursday, him becoming the first man sub-50 seems like a realistic possibility. The fastest time ever recorded was done by Kevin Cordes at 50.04 in 2014.
Megan Kingsley of Georgia is the big favorite in the women’s 200 fly after her 1:52.62 morning swim, while Texas A&M’s Brock Bonetti (1:41.83) will have his hands full with Fynn Minuth, Jose Martinez and Jan Switkowski all under 1:43 in the men’s event.
Kentucky’s Asia Seidt leads a group of four who were sub-52 in the women’s back, holding the top time at 51.16. In the men’s race, Georgia sophomore Javier Acevedo was the only man under 46 in the morning at 45.68.
The women’s 100 breast saw Texas A&M freshman Anna Belousova hit an ‘A’ cut of 58.40 in the morning, leading the field by nearly a full second. Her teammate Jorie Caneta (59.22) and Tennessee’s Katie Armitage (59.44) hold the 2nd and 3rd seeds.
WOMEN’S 200 FLY FINAL
- SEC Meet Record: 1:52.19, Cammile Adams (TAM), 2014
- Jing Quah, TAM, 1:53.05
- Megan Kingsley, UGA, 1:53.27
- Sharli Brady, UMIZ, 1:54.01
Texas A&M freshman Jing Quah got out to the early lead in the women’s 200 fly and held on until the end, touching in 1:53.05 to earn the win and an NCAA ‘A’ cut. Top seed Megan Kingsley of Georgia was right on her tail the whole way but couldn’t quite run her down, taking 2nd in 1:53.27. Kingsley was faster in the morning at 1:52.62.
Mizzou senior Sharli Brady lowered her school record to grab 3rd in 1:54.01, using a blistering 28.90 third 50, and Meghan Small (1:54.08) of Tennessee took 4th. Georgia Bulldogs Chelsea Britt (1:54.34) and Caitlin Casazza (1:55.38) were 5th and 6th.
MEN’S 200 FLY FINAL
- SEC Meet Record: 1:40.59, Hugo Morris (AUB), 2016
- Fynn Minuth, SCAR, 1:41.25
- Jose Martinez, TAM, 1:41.56
- Brock Bonetti, TAM, 1:41.57
The men’s 200 fly turned out to be a shootout at the wall, as four men went toe-to-toe the entire race.
Top seed Brock Bonetti of Texas A&M held the lead at the 150 mark, but South Carolina’s Fynn Minuth stormed home in 26.77 to overtake him and earn the win in 1:41.25, slipping under the ‘A’ cut of 1:41.44.
Bonetti’s Aggie teammate Jose Martinez also passed him on the last 50, splitting the fastest of anyone at 26.60, to take 2nd in 1:41.56, .01 ahead of Bonetti. Martinez’s swim broke the Texas A&M school record. Florida’s Jan Switkowski was in the thick of things the entire way as well, touching 4th in 1:41.60.
LSU’s Harrison Jones and Georgia’s Camden Murphy tied for 5th in 1:42.84, with Gunnar Bentz (1:43.56) 7th and Maxime Rooney (1:43.11) posting a lifetime best to win the B-final.
WOMEN’S 100 BACK FINAL
- SEC Meet Record: 50.53, Gemma Spofforth (FLOR), 2009
- Asia Seidt, UKY, 50.86
- Hannah Stevens, UMIZ, 50.91
- Lisa Bratton, TAM, 51.10
Missouri senior Hannah Stevens used her signature speed to get out ahead in the women’s 100 back final, but Kentucky sophomore Asia Seidt stormed home to overtake her at the end and win gold. Stevens turned at the 75 wall with a lead of six tenths, but Seidt made up .65 on the last 25 to touch first in 50.86. Stevens was .05 back in 50.91.
Lisa Bratton of Texas A&M took 3rd in a lifetime best 51.10, as all three women were under the ‘A’ cut. Georgia senior Kylie Stewart took 4th in 51.71, and Florida’s Sherridon Dressel (51.85) earned a lifetime best in 5th.
Haley Hynes of Missouri had an impressive showing from the B-final clocking 51.50.
MEN’S 100 BACK FINAL
- SEC Meet Record: 44.73, Connor Oslin (BAMA), 2017
- Javier Acevedo, UGA, 45.26
- Luke Kaliszak, BAMA, 45.68
- Zane Waddell, BAMA, 45.83
The men’s 100 back proved to be a similar narrative to the women’s, as Alabama’s Luke Kaliszak used his blinding speed to get out to a massive lead at the 50. Flipping in 21.31, Kaliszak was more than a second clear of the field, but he wasn’t safe.
Similar to how Asia Seidt made up six tenths on Hannah Stevens in the women’s race, Javier Acevedo made up an eight tenth deficit with 25 to go to win fairly comfortably, clocking 45.26, just missing the ‘A’ cut by .01. Kaliszak, outsplit by Acevedo by 1.22 seconds on the last 25, did hang on for 2nd in 45.68.
His teammate Zane Waddell nearly ran him down as well, touching 3rd in 45.83. The Gators took 4th and 5th with Bayley Main (46.53) and Michael Taylor (46.60), and Tennessee’s Matthew Garcia took 6th in 46.69. Aggie Anthony Kim dropped nearly eight tenths from the morning to win the B-final in 46.18.
WOMEN’S 100 BREAST FINAL
- SEC Meet Record: 57.28, Breeja Larson (TAM), 2014
- Anna Belousova, TAM, 58.86
- Jorie Caneta, TAM, 58.91
- Madison Winstead, UKY, 59.38
She was a little slower than this morning, but Texas A&M’s Anna Belousova secured her first ever SEC title with a 58.86 in the women’s 100 breast. Her teammate Jorie Caneta nearly ran her down on the last 25, ultimately touchign 2nd in 58.91.
Kentucky sophomore Madison Winstead took 3rd in 59.38, with her freshman teammate Bailey Bonnett 4th in 59.48.
MEN’S 100 BREAST FINAL
SEC Meet Record: 51.07, Caeleb Dressel (FLOR), 2018
- Caeleb Dressel, FLOR, 50.03
- Mauro Castillo Luna, TAM, 52.11
- Peter Stevens, TENN, 52.29
Caeleb Dressel did it again. Yes, the 21-year-old Florida Gator snagged his fifth individual NCAA/American Record tonight in the 100 breast, touching in 50.03 to edge past Kevin Cordes‘ 2014 mark of 50.04.
Dressel was out like lightning, hitting the 50 wall in 23.42 before closing in 26.61 to win the race by more than two seconds.
Mauro Castillo Luna of A&M touched 2nd in 52.11, with Tennessee’s Peter Stevens 3rd in 52.29. Stevens was the only one close to matching Dressel’s opening speed, just over a tenth behind him at the 25 before Dressel rocketed away. Italy Goldfaden of South Carolina was 4th in 52.44.
WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY
- SEC Meet Record: 3:28.93, Texas A&M, 2013
- Tennessee, 3:29.26
- Texas A&M, 3:29.40
- Auburn, 3:30.93
With a scorching 49.11 fly leg from Erika Brown, the Tennessee Volunteers triumphed in the women’s 400 medley relay in a time of 3:29.26. Joining Brown on the relay was Micah Bohon (52.45), Katie Armitage (59.43) and Stanzi Moseley (48.27). Brown’s split passes Kelsi Worrell (49.25) for the fastest of all-time.
Texas A&M was just two tenths back for 2nd in 3:29.40, as Moseley had to hold off Claire Rasmus (48.02) on the anchor leg. Lisa Bratton (51.56), Anna Belousova (58.39) and Jing Quah (51.43) swam the other three legs for the Aggies.
Auburn got by Kentucky for 3rd, out-touching them by .08 thanks to a 47.93 anchor from Julie Meynen.
MEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY
- SEC Meet Record: 3:03.86, Florida, 2016
- Florida, 3:04.55
- Texas A&M, 3:05.13
- Auburn, 3:06.53
The Florida men cap the session with a win in the 400 medley relay, edging out Texas A&M (3:05.13) in a time of 3:04.55.
Dressel was back in action on the breaststroke leg, splitting 50.51, while Bayley Main (46.87), Mark Szaranek (45.25) and Jan Switkowski (41.92) were solid all-around on the other legs.
The Aggies had similar splits to the Gators, with the advantage gained by Dressel making the biggest difference. Their team was comprised of Brock Bonetti (46.66), Mauro Castillo Luna (51.25), Jose Martinez (45.18) and Adam Koster (42.04).
Auburn erased a deficit of nearly a second with 100 to go to grab 3rd over Tennessee, with Peter Holoda popping a nasty 40.80 anchor. The Tigers were 3:06.53 to get by the Vols (3:07.07).
Both Tennessee and LSU were DQed.
….
Am I missing a time somewhere or is Michael Taylor down to the 200 back tomorrow as his last chance to get a qualifying time? Would be a shock if a 46.6 gets through in the 100 bk.
Dressel needs to turn pro ASAP, after NCAAs, theN join the SCM World Cup tour and tear up the earnings. As much money as Le Clos made, imagine Dressel swimming all those 50s and 100s in SCM and crushing it.
Suit/goggles contract (arena?): $100,000 per year
Earnings on the WC tour: $300,000 per year easily
Not bad work if you can get it.
He turns pro automatically after NCAAs. He’s a senior. Eligibility is up. I also don’t think he’s going to need to swim any WC to make money. He’s going to be “the athlete” of the 2020 games. Unlike other swimmer that have to sell themselves to companies, there going to line up for him.
But why not start racing as much as possible as soon as possible? After using up NCAA eligibility, he won’t have quality meets every week like he did at UF, and sharpening racing skills against his 2019 and 2020 competitors is a great idea. The PSS meets don’t have the big names until the summer, and winter seniors is usually pretty slow (and there’s no prize money). Next fall and winter, after Pan Pacs is over, there won’t be many meets until WC trials. Racing every weekend has obviously benefited him, why NOT earn money doing so, in a format that he’s pretty damn good at (short course, even if it is meters)?
Are you saying he should just not swim ncaas his senior year when Florida could do crazy things this year? And go pro 6 weeks early? To make just a little money?
He wouldn’t just abandon his team like that.
Look at Nathan Chen’s twitter homepage and check out his sponsors. His is 18 and his agent has done Nathan well. I think the money you are talking about above is peanuts compared to what is out there.
Really starting to like this Fynn Minuth. Great swimmer and so nice and humble in his interviews.
I didn’t like Javier’s antics after 100 back or his answers to questions after winning! Not as classy as Fynn
With as well as A&M has been swimming, that was a gutsy move for Florida to shift the order of their medley relay, especially to put Switkowski (who now can’t swim the 400 free relay because this is his fourth relay) on free and Szaranek on fly. That relay has a lot of room to improve before NCs.
Prolly figure they can’t lose the 400 FR with Dressel on it
1. Why doesn’t he tuck his strings in.
2. Why would you change suits twice after going two of the fastest times in history.
Answer to Q1 : In an interview, he says he never tuck his strings, its like a good luck charm.
Mr. Dressel, was that a head first dive into the warmup pool? Disgraceful. 😉
Have the medley’s been contested yet? It’s seemed like forever since the last race was posted.
Not yet. Diving.