2025 SEC Championships: Day 5 Finals Live Recap

2025 SEC Championships

• Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
  • Prelims: 9:30 am EST/ Finals 5:30 pm EST (Tuesday-5:00 EST)
• Location: Gabrielsen Natatorium — Athens, GA
• Defending Champions: Florida women (2x); Florida men (12x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: SEC Network+
• Championship Central
• Fan Guide (Men)
• Fan Guide (Women)
• Psych Sheets
• Teams: Alabama, Arkansas (women), Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas*, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women)
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Day 5 Finals Heat Sheet 

Women’s 200 Butterfly — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:49.16 — Alex Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• SEC Record: 1:49.54 — Emma Sticklen, Texas (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 1:50.01 — Emma Sticklen, Texas (2025)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:52.47

Final:

1. Emma Sticklen (TEX), 1:49.17 SEC Record
2. Campbell Stoll (TEX), 1:51.64
3. Olivia Bray (TEX), 1:52.61
4. Greta Pelzek (SCAR), 1:52.80
5. Sara Stotler (TENN), 1:53.26
6. Emily Brown (TENN), 1:53.31
7. Sofia Sartori (LSU), 1:54.05
8. Ella Jansen (TENN), 1:54.44

Emma Sticklen continued to shine at the 2025 SEC Championships in her signature event, the 200 butterfly. This morning, Sticklen swam an SEC Championship record, clocking 1:50.01 as she backed off during the final 50 yards. There was no backing off this evening, as hse led the race from start to finish and set an SEC record of 1:49.17, just a hundredth off Alex Walsh’s NCAA record.

Sticklen was out in 23.79 and hit the 100-yard mark at 51.11, well ahead of the rest of the field. She split 58.06 (28.70/29.36) on the back half of the race, continuing to extend her lead. This is Sticklen’s third individual event win at these championships, as she won the 200 IM and 100 butterfly earlier in the meet.

She’s now the third-fastest performer in history and the second-fastest NCAA swimmer all-time.

The Longhorns showed out in the 100 butterfly and they had an event stronger performance in the 200 fly, which they’ve developed a reputation for over the last four years. Texas swept the podium in this race as Campbell Stoll won silver (1:51.64) and Olivia Bray earned bronze (1:52.61). Stoll’s swim is her second lifetime best of the day, improving on the 1:52.97 she swam in prelims. Coming into the meet, her best was 1:53.94.

Bray’s 1:52.61 marks a season-best for her by .54 seconds. She held off a late charge from South Carolina’s Greta Pelzek to secure the last spot on the podium. After setting a program record of 1:52.66 in prelims, Sara Stotler took fifth in 1:53.26.

Syd Craft lost the swim-off for the last lane in the ‘B’ final this morning, though she swam her second lifetime best of the day. She swam in the ‘C’ final finsihed18th in 1:56.21, her third lifetime best of the day.

Men’s 200 Butterfly — Final

• NCAA Record: 1:37.17 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• SEC Record: 1:37.17 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• SEC Championship Record: 1:38.86 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2025)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:40.05

Final: 

1. Luca Urlando (UGA), 1:37.18 CR 
2. Martin Espernberger (TENN), 1:39.69
3. Jake Magahey (UGA), 1:39.91
4. Bjoern Kammann (TENN), 1:40.18
5. Ryan Merani (KY), 1:40.82
6. Danny Schmidt (AUB), 1:41.27
7. Ryan Branon Jr (TEX), 1:41.64
8. Drew Hitchcock (UGA), 1:42.17

Through two events of day five finals, the common thread is one hundredth. One event after Sticklen came a hundredth from the NCAA record in the women’s 200 butterfly, Luca Urlando did the same in the men’s 200 butterfly.

Urlando was flirting with his record line for the entire race. He opened the race ahead of his pace, turning in 21.96, but fell off the pace slightly at the halfway points (46.36). He was back ahead of the line with 50 yards to go with a 24.60 split on the third 50, but the final 50 of his January pace (26.06) just got the better of him on the final touch.

Still, the swim is a championship record for Urlando, improving on the 1:38.86 he swam this morning. He also now owns the two fastest swims in event history.

Martin Espernberger, last year’s runner-up, got back onto the podium this year, earning the silver medal. He swam 1:39.69, pulling ahead of Georgia’s Jake Magahey, who was a hundredth ahead of him with 50 yards remaining. Espernberger’s time is a season-best and just a few tenths from his lifetime best of 1:39.34.

Magahey won bronze for the second-straight year. He broke 1:40 for the first time in his career to earn his trip to the podium at these championships, swimming 1:39.91. His previous lifetime best stood at 1:40.07 from earlier this season. This was a strong event for the hosts, as Georgia held their seeds from prelims and took 1st-3rd-8th. Freshman Drew Hitchcock swam 1:42.17 after swimming a lifetime best 1:41.09 in prelims. Meanwhile, Tennessee went 2-4 with Espernberger Bjoern Kammann (1:40.18).

Women’s 100 Backstroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 48.10 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• SEC Record: 49.93 — Bella Sims, Florida (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 50.02 — Rhyan White, Alabama (2020)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.66

Final: 

1. Bella Sims (FLOR), 49.20 SEC Record
2. Josephine Fuller (TENN), 50.05
3. Emily Jones (BAMA), 50.92
4. Berit Berglund (TEX), 51.02
5. Lora Komoroczy (AUB), 51.21
6. Eboni McCarty (UGA), 51.34
7. Catie Choate (FLOR), 51.58
8. Zoe Carlos-Bloc (LSU), 51.60

Bella Sims first took over the SEC record in the women’s 100 backstroke at mid-season, breaking 50 seconds for the first time in her career with a 49.93. She torched that swim in tonight’s championship final, winning her first SEC title of the meet in 49.20.

The swim is a .73 second drop for Sims and catapults her from 11th up to fifth-fastest performer in history in this event. Sims joked after the race that she’s hoping this swim will get her into the Florida sprint group.

Josephine Fuller had the lead at the first 25 and though Sims used her strong underwaters to push ahead of her and win by almost a second, Fuller repeated as the SEC runner-up with a lifetime best of 50.05. She continues to approach the 50-second barrier herself as she sliced .15 seconds off her best with this swim.

Alabama’s Emily Jones dropped .76 seconds from her prelims swim to win bronze in 50.92, rounding out the swimmers who broke 51 seconds in this final. Her lifetime best stands at 50.75 from the UGA Fall Invitational in November.

Men’s 100 Backstroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• SEC Record: 43.35 — Luca Urlando, Georgia (2022)
• SEC Championship Record: 44.10 — Zane Waddell, Alabama (2020)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 44.48

Final:

1. Jonny Marshall (FLOR), 43.73 CR
2. Hubert Kos (TEX), 44.03
3. Will Modglin (TEX), 44.22
4. Harrison Lierz (TENN), 44.87
5. Nate Stoffle (AUB), 45.07
6. Ruard van Renen (UGA), 45.13
7. Scotty Buff (FLOR), 45.37
8. Kyle Peck (TEX), 45.49

Title defended. Sophomore Jonny Marshall backed up his upset win as a freshman by winning against a stacked field that included Will Modglin and Hubert Kos. He got in on the record-breaking party that’s been going on this session as well by breaking 44 seconds for the first time in his career with a 43.73.

Marshall held the lead at the 50-yard mark, splitting 20.81 to the feet. He came home in 22.92 to become the seventh-fastest performer in event history, per the USA Swimming database.

Kos and Modglin, two of the three Longhorns in the ‘A’ final, finished second and third. Kos had a huge underwater off the final turn and out-split Marshall on the back half of the race with a 22.77. But, he ran out of room to chase down the Gator, and earned silver in a season-best 44.03.

Before this event, Modglin was the only swimmer in the NCAA that had broken 44 seconds this season. A sophomore himself, he swam a lifetime best 43.91 at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational. In this final, Modglin improved on his time from prelims with a 44.22.

The top three swimmers pulled away from the rest of the field, as Harrison Lierz maintained his fourth place from prelims with a 44.87. The time is a lifetime best for Lierz, breaking the 44.98 he swam leading off the 400 medley relay at last year’s SECs.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 55.73 — Lilly King, Indiana (2019)
• SEC Record: 56.64 — Mona McSharry, Tennessee (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 57.06 — Mona McSharry, Tennessee (2024)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 58.01

Final: 

1. Mona McSharry (TENN), 57.26
2. McKenzie Siroky (TENN), 57.27
3. Anita Bottazzo (FLOR), 57.65
4. Piper Enge (TEX), 57.86
5. Abby Arens (TEX), 58.49
6. Avery Wiseman (BAMA), 58.51
7. Molly Mayne (FLOR), 58.90
8. Stasya Makarova (AUB), 59.68

From the Olympics to the SEC Championships, Mona McSharry has proven over the last 12 months that she knows how to get her hands on the wall when it matters. She edged out her freshman teammate McKenzie Siroky by a hundredth to win her fourth-straight women’s 100 breaststroke SEC title, 57.26 to 57.27. She becomes just the second woman to four-peat in this event at the SEC Championships, joining Kristy Kowal, per the ESPN broadcast.

Siroky was out first at the 50, turning in 26.65 to McSharry’s 26.93. McSharry split 30.33 over the back half of the race to win her title. The pair were first and second after prelims and they maintained their grip at the top of this event, as Siroky won silver. Her time is her second lifetime best of the day after she clocked 57.41 this morning.

Anita Bottazzo and Piper Enge maintained their places from prelims as both dropped about a half-second from their morning swims. Bottazzo collected the bronze medal in 57.65. She’s been as fast as 57.49 this season. Enge, a Texas freshman, swam her lifetime best 57.69 last month at the Eddie Reese Invitational.

Avery Wiseman, last year’s runner-up, placed sixth in 58.51.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke — Final

• NCAA Record: 49.53 — Liam Bell, California (2024)
• SEC Record: 49.98 — Julian Smith, Florida (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 50.03 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 51.02

Final: 

1. Julian Smith (FLOR), 49.51 NCAA Record
2. Nate Germonprez (TEX), 50.14
3. Aleksas Savickas (FLOR), 51.15
4. Kaique Alves (BAMA), 51.37
5. Mitch Mason (LSU), 51.55
6. Alex Sanchez (TAMU), 51.87
7. Volodymyr Lisovets (LSU), 51.89
8. Kristian Pitshugin (UGA), 52.17

At the start of the session, we had back-to-back events where swimmers missed the NCAA record by a hundredth. But now, one’s gone down by two-hundredths, as Julian Smith broke the NCAA record Liam Bell swam to win the 2024 NCAA Championship title with a 49.51.

On the first night of this championship, Smith overtook Bell’s fastest 50 breaststroke split, firing off a 22.15 on Florida’s 200 medley relay. So, it was no surprise to see Smith start out fast; he opened the race in a blistering 22.96. Smith was behind the NCAA record pace at the final turn, but he surged on the final 25. His final 50 split was a 26.55 as he got his hands on the wall and break the NCAA, American, U.S. Open, SEC, and Championship records. Smith broke 50 seconds for the first time earlier this season, when he swam 49.98 at midseason to erase Caeleb Dressel‘s SEC record.

Nate Germonprez neared the 50-second barrier as he posted a 50.14 for silver. The swim marks a Texas record for the sophomore, improving on the 50.39 mark he set at the Texas Hall of Fame Invite. He secured second by over a second as last year’s champion, Aleksas Savickas, took bronze in 51.15. Savickas was just .14 seconds from his 2024 title winning time as he helped earn a 1-3 finish for the Gators.

Women’s Platform Diving — Final

• SEC Record: 356.10 — Victoria Lamp, Tennessee (2014)
• SEC Championship Record (Five dives): 356.10 — Victoria Lamp, Tennessee (2014)

Final: 

1. Montserrat Lavenant (LSU), 327.80
2. Alejandra Estudillo Torres (TEX), 318.10
3. Maria Sanchez Moreno (ARK), 304.35
4. Else Praasterink (TAMU), 303.50
5. Emily Halifax (AUB), 303.40
6. Camyla Monroy (FLOR), 298.60
7. Taylor Fox (TEX), 259.00
8. Chloe Brothers (AUB), 250.05

Montserrat Lavenant is back on top in the women’s platform diving event. The former champion earned her second career SEC title in the event with 327.80 points. Texas’ Alejandra Estudillo Torres came in as the top qualifier after prelims. She missed her opening dive but was able to rally and had several strong dives, particularly in the second half of the competition, to pull herself back onto the podium and earn silver with 318.10 points.

After multiple athletes missed dives in round four, Maria Sanchez Moreno narrowly earned bronze in 304.35 points. She finished .85 points ahead of Else Praasterink, who transferred to Texas A&M from Louisville this season. Last year’s champion Camyla Monroy earned 6th place with 298.60 points. She won the 1-meter board earlier this week.

Women’s 400 Medley Relay — Final

• NCAA Record: 3:21.01 — Virginia (Walsh, Walsh, Cuomo, Douglass) (2023)
• SEC Record: 3:24.92 — Tennessee (Fuller, McSharry, Douthwright, Spink) (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 3:24.92 — Tennessee (Fuller, McSharry, Douthwright, Spink) (2024)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:30.89

Final: 

1. Florida (Sims, Bottazzo, Peoples, Cronk) — 3:24.78 SEC Record
2. Tennessee (Fuller, McSharry, Stotler, Spink) — 3:25.18
3. LSU (Carlos-Broc, Lyn, Sartori, Barnes) — 3:30.73
4. South Carolina — 3:30.81
5. Alabama — 3:30.97
6. Texas A&M — 3:31.08
7. Auburn — 3:31.23
8. Georgia — 3:33.00
9. Kentucky — 3:33.34
10. Missouri — 3:33.49
11. Vanderbilt — 3:37.32
12. Arkansas — 3:38.03

DQ: Texas

Hope you weren’t too attached to that women’s 100 backstroke record. About an hour after setting the SEC record at 49.20 during the women’s 100 backstroke final, Sims torched the record she just set leading off the 400 medley relay. She crushed a 48.97 and moved up to third-fastest performer all-time in the event after starting the day in 11th. Sims began the season with a lifetime best of 50-point and is now the third woman to break 49 seconds, joining Gretchen Walsh and Katharine Berkoff.

Sims lead-off gave Florida a huge lead to work with which they never gave up. After Sims, Bottazzo swam 57.55 and Peoples a 50.60. Micayla Cronk anchored in 47.66, holding off a charging Camille Spink on Tennessee’s relay. The Vols were able to upset Florida last year in an SEC record time, but ran out of room to catch the Gators this year. Florida’s winning time of 3:24.78 broke the SEC record that Tennessee swam last year.

Fuller (50.41), McSharry (56.99), Stotler (51.46), and Spink (46.32) earned silver with a 3:25.18. Texas appeared to place third but were disqualified, moving LSU into bronze medal position as they swam 3:30.73.

South Carolina won the opening heat in 3:30.81 and celebrated hard as they secured an NCAA ‘A’ cut by eight-hundredths.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay — Final

• NCAA Record: 2:57.32 — Arizona State (Kos, Marchand, Kharun, Kulow) (2024)
• SEC Record: 2:58.32 — Florida (Chaney, Hillis, Liendo, McDuff) (2023)
• SEC Championship Record: 2:59.48 — Florida (Chaney, Hillis, Liendo, McDuff) (2023)
• NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:04.96

Final: 

1. Florida (Marshall, Smith, Liendo, Painter), 2:55.66 NCAA Record
2. Tennessee (Lierz, Houseman, Crooks, Caribe), 2:59.69
3. Texas (Modlin, Germonprez, Kos, Hobson), 3:00.97
4. Texas A&M, 3:03.78
5. LSU, 3:04.03
6. Alabama, 3:04.50
7. Auburn, 3:05.44
8. Kentucky, 3:06.25
9. Missouri, 3:06.60
10. South Carolina, 3:06.70

DQ: Georgia 

Another NCAA record broken tonight, as Florida smashed the 400 medley relay record by 1.66 seconds. Arizona State swam the former record, a 2:57.32, to win at the 2024 NCAA Championships.

The first three legs of the relay are all SECs champions in their respective 100 of stroke, as Marshall and Smith claimed their titles earlier in the session. After swimming 43.73 to win his title in a championship record, Marshall backed the time up with a 43.91. His effort gave Florida the lead by almost a second, as Modglin’s 44.75 was the next fastest lead-off.

Marshall turned things over to Smith, who just broke the NCAA record in the 100 breaststroke. He’s been on fire all week and that didn’t stop here as he split 48.95 on the breaststroke leg. He’s the second swimmer to break 49 seconds on a 100 breaststroke split after Leon Marchand’s 48.73. Then, it was Josh Liendo’s turn. He didn’t race individually today and he took full advantage of that rest, blazing a 42.12 and destroying the fastest split of all-time, which he set at this meet last year in 42.77. This split was .65 seconds faster.

Freshman Alex Painter finished the race off for the Gators with a 40.68 split. Painter has been on fire in the sprint freestyles this week, turning in multiple lifetime bests. After Adam Chaney and Macguire McDuff departed the program, it looked like the Gator relays were in serious trouble but Florida has pushed back on that narrative this week by winning the 800 freestyle relay and now destroying the NCAA record in the 400 medley relay.

The Gators won by 4.03 seconds as Tennesse’s Lierz (44.76), Kevin Houseman (50.99), Jordan Crooks (43.56), and Gui Caribe (40.38) swam 2:59.69, breaking their program record and bringing it sub-3:00 for the first time.

Texas rounded out the podium in third as Modglin (44.75), Germonprez (50.31), Kos (44.35), and Luke Hobson (41.56) clocked 3:00.97, adding from the team’s season-best by nine-tenths.

There was also a DQ in this relay, as Georgia was disqualified for a -.05 reaction time on one of their flying starts.

Of note, Jere Hribar from LSU had the fastest 100 free anchor split on the relay in 40.32 for the 5th-place Tigers squad. That put him ahead of Tennessee’s Gui Caribe (40.38) and Florida’s Painter (40.68).

Team Scores Through Day 5

Women:

1. Texas — 1157.5
2. Tennessee — 854
3. Florida — 834
4. Georgia — 538.5
5. Texas A&M — 503
6. South Carolina — 494
7. LSU — 470
8. Alabama — 459
9. Auburn — 407.5
10. Missouri — 288.5
11. Kentucky — 249
12. Arkansas — 210
13. Vanderbilt — 135

Men:

1. Texas — 1091
2. Florida — 929
3. Tennessee — 713.5
4. Georgia — 642.5
5. Texas A&M — 503
6. Auburn — 427.5
7. Alabama — 425
8. LSU — 413
9. Kentucky — 320.5
10. Missouri — 251
11. South Carolina — 250