2026 SEC Championships: 1650 Freestyle Day 1 Live Recap

2026 SEC Championships

• Dates: Monday, February 16–Saturday, February 21
• Location: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN
• Live Results
• Live Video: SEC Network+
• Psych Sheet (UPDATED)
• Schedule of Events
• Championship Central
• Teams: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M
• SwimSwam Fan Guide
  • Women
  • Men

Welcome to the first day of swimming at the 2026 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships! To kick off the first day in the pool, we will be seeing the timed finals of the 1650 freestyle. In this early session the women and men will alternate heats. The first night of finals will be covered in a separate recap later this afternoon/evening and will feature the 200 medley relay, women’s 1-meter diving, and the 800 freestyle relay.

Entering this meet, SEC Championship meet record holder Jillian Cox of Texas holds the top seed in 15:41.70, while Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi enters today with the top time in the conference by nearly 10 seconds in 14:39.10.

Women’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA Record: 15:03.31- Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 2017
• SEC Record: 15:27.84- Brittany MacLean (Georgia), 2014
• SEC Championship Record: 15:30.33- Jillian Cox (Texas), 2025
• Pool Record: 15:15.17- Katie Ledecky (Nation’s Capital), 2013
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 16:25.29

Top 8:

1. Jillian Cox (TEX)- 15:32.75
2. Kennedi Dobson (UGA)- 15:43.72
3. Kate hurst (TEX)- 15:56.37
4. Michaela Mattes (FLA)- 16:07.98
5. Clarke Neace (UGA)- 16:09.39
6. Camille DeBoer (FLA)- 16:12.22
7. Mackenzie Brandt (ALA)- 16:12.50
8. Nora Fluck (SCAR)- 16:15.59

Heat 4:

In the 4th and final heat of the women’s 1650, the battle was expected to be between georgia’s Kennedi Dobson and Jillian Cox of Texas in lanes 5 and 4, and it was. Dobson took an early edge of Cox through 6000 yards in 5:40.92, just .15 ahead of the SEC Championship record holder Cox. That lead would be cut down to one hundredth of a second at the next 50.

Cox would then find her rhythm with consistent 56-mid splits until lowering those to 56 lows at the 1200.

Cox then showed her back half speed, amounting a near seven second lead over Dobson by the 1500 mark. Entering the final 50, Cox was within striking distance of her SEC meet record, bit would touch just off of that in 15:32.75 to take the SEC title, as Kennedi Dobson would touch 2nd in 15:43.72, a near four second drop to claim the silver, and rounding out the top three would be Texas’ Kate Hurst in 15:56.37.

Heat 3:

Florida’s Camille DeBoer just narrowly takes the top spot after three heats with a strong showing of 16:12.22, her second fastest time of her career, only trailing her 2023 SEC Championships time of 16:11.63. DeBoer opened up in 4:55.51, and maintained 100 splits of 58-mid to 59.1 for the remainder of the race, increasing her winning margin over South Carolina’s Nora Fluck (16:15.59) to more than three seconds.

Fluck’s teammate Emma Reiser shaved just over half a second off her best time of 16:19.74 from this meet last season to take 3rd in 16:19.16, making her the 5th fastest performer in the event through three heats out of lane 7.

Heat 2:

South Carolina’s Breckin Gormley and Auburn’s Julia Strojnowska were the two battling for the top spot through the first 500, with Gormley holding the second and a half advantage in 4:51.94. The battle for 3rd was contested by Sakia Blasius of LSU and Alabama’s Stella Watts in lanes 8 and 5, respectively.

At the 700, Gormley had grown her advantage to nearly three seconds over Strojnowska. Missouri’s Danielle Gleason and Peyton Drexler each started  to move back into the hunt for the top three by the 950 mark.

Gormley had opened this race all the way up by the 1200, turning in 11:47.89, a near four seconds ahead of anyone else in the heat. By the 1300, Gormley was the only swimmer consistently at or under 30.0 splits. By the 1400 Gormley had built a seven second lead in 13:48.39. At the final touch, it would be the Gamecock with the commanding heat win, taking the2nd fastest time thus far in 16:18.78, a massive improvement on her career best from November of 16:32.80

Heat 1:

Alabama senior Mackenzie Brandt, who entered these championships with no time in the event, opened up in the fastest 500 of the four swimmers in the water in 4:52.46, about eight seconds ahead of the field. Brandt, who’s fastest ever time of 16:14.39 which she set in 2023, continued to stay within the 29.1 to 29.8 range throughout the first 1000, eventually turning in 9:47.23. at the 1500 mark, Brandt had 50 yards on the field, and was sitting at 14:44.19. At the final wall, Brandt touched in 16:12.50, her first time drop in the event in nearly three years.

The battle for 2nd was between Kentucky’s Sharon Guerrero Cho and Alabama’s Lolly Milbaum. Guerrero Cho began to build a body length and a half lead early, but Milbaum battled throughout the middle portion of the race to square things up at the 1250 mark. Guerrero Cho then began to kick things into a faster gear, consistently splitting sub 31.0 times to rebuild her previous lead, and ultimately touch 2nd in 16:46.78.

Men’s 1650 Freestyle

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08- Bobby Finke (Florida), 2020
• SEC Record: 14:12.08- Bobby Finke (Florida), 2020
• SEC Championship Record: 14:12.08- Bobby Finke (Florida), 2020
• Pool Record: 14:38.91- Akram Mahmoud (South Carolina), 2017
• 2026 NCAA Championships Qualifying Time: 15:06.60

Top 8:

1. Ahmed Jaouadi (FLA)- 14:25.14
2. Levi Sandidge (UK)- 14:30.04
3. Ahmed Hafnaoui (FLA)- 14:30.74
4. Carson Hick (UK)- 14:39.87
5. Giovanni Linscheer (FLA)- 14:46.24
6. Sean Green (UGA)- 14:46.88
7. Dziugas Miskinis (UK)- 14:46.91
8. Nikola Simic (LSU)- 14:47.85

Heat 4:

The final heat of the men’s 1650 featured the highly anticipated SEC Championships debut of Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi. And throughout the race, he appeared as dominant as advertised. Opening up in a blistering 4:16.54 in the first 500. And settling into a 52.6-53.1 pace for the next 800 yards.

He then began to turn in a few 53.5 splits over the next 200 yards, and 53,90 at the 1500 mark, sitting at 13:07.03 with 150 yards left to race. At the final touch, Jaouadi would take the win and claim his first career SEC event win in 14:25.14, setting a new pool record, and becoming the 13th fastest performer in the history of the event, just moving past Rex Maurer’s 14:25.22 from the 2025 NCAA Championships.

Kentucky’s Levi Sandidge turned in  the 2nd fastest performance of these championships, just edging out Hafnaoui with a career best 14;30.04, a near six tenth drop from his former best of 14:30.61.

Sandidge’s teammate Carson Hick also found his way into the top four, finishing 3rd in the heat in 14;39.87, and Florida’s Giovanni Linscheer also clocked the 5th fastest performance in 14:46.24. Making a top five consisting of the Gators in 1st, 3rd and 5th, and the Wildcats in 2nd and 4th.

Heat 3:

The LSU tandem of Nikola Simic and Jacob Pishko held the 1-2 lead though the 1100 mark, but Georgia’s Sean Green quickly closed the gap between him and Pishko by the 1200. with  350 yards to go Green was consistently out splitting both Tigers and was within a second and a half with 250 yards to race.

Simic was holding on strong, by the time that he and Green turned at the 1500, Green was within .01 of Simic. The tables completely turned as Green nwas now the leader with 100 to go and a race to the wall still to come. Green’s coming home speed was too much for Simic, and would end up taking the heat win in 14:46.88, marking the fastest time of his career by almost two and a half seconds, earning him the 2nd fastest time through three heats, only trailing Hafnaoui.

Heat 2:

The second heat of the men’s opened up with LSU Silas Beth roaring out to the lead through the first 1000 yards in 8:58.00, and maintaining that momentum through the final wall, cruising to a heat win in 14:56.09, one of just two swimmers in the head to dip under 15:00 along with Alabama’s Joao Pierre Campos in 14:59.46.  That time for Beth still sits just under five seconds off of his lifetime best of 14:51.39 from last February.

Tennessee’s Mac Clark clocked his fastest ever 1650 to earn a 3rd place finish in the heat in 15:03.96, a more than five second personal best of 15:09.17 from December of 2024. Georgia’s Tommy-Lee Camblong was 4th in the heat, touching in 15:14.10.

Heat 1:

The first heat was dominated by Florida’s Ahmed Hafnaoui, who was a major draw for his first SEC Championships. Off the start, Hafnaoui, swimming out of lane 2 for his first ever collegiate 1650, ripped open an opening 300 in 2:33.26, over six seconds ahead of the field. By the 500 mark, the Tunisian talent was sitting at 4:18.86, and grew his lead to over 20 yards

At the 1000, Hafnaoui looked untouchable, turning at 8:45.04, and maintaining splits in the 26-mid range. The first time he would go above a 26-second split would be at the 1400 when he touched in 27.07, but quickly got back down to 26.66 the following 50. At the 1500 mark, Hafnaoui was sitting in 13:13.05. At the final touch, Hafnaoui would clock 14:30.74. Kentucky’s Dziugas Miskinis finished 2nd in 14:46.91, a near 34 second timedrop from his best time of 15:20.89 from January.

Team Standings After 1650 Free:

Women:

1. Georgia- 64
2. South Carolina/Texas- 59
3. –
4. Florida- 56
5. Kentucky- 34
6. Alabama- 33
7. Missouri- 25
8. LSU- 16
9. Auburn- 12
10. Texas A&M- 4

Men:

1. Florida- 160
2. Tennessee- 109
3. Kentucky- 83
4. LSU- 77
5. Texas- 70
6. Georgia- 57
7. Alabama- 48
8. Auburn- 42
9. Missouri- 29
10. South Carolina- 26
11. Texas A&M- 23