2026 SEC Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2026 SEC Championships

• Dates: Monday, February 16–Saturday, February 21
• Location: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN
• Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
• 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, Vanderbilt (women only), Arkansas (women only)
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 Distance | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

We have two days left of the 2026 SEC Championships, and there have been some fast swims over the first three days of the meet.

With the new conference lineup, the events are all rearranged, so tonight we will see the finals for the 50 and 500 freestyle events, which both came two days later than normal.

The meet will start with the 200 breaststroke races. On the women’s side, Florida earned the top three qualifying spots plus the 4th qualifier. Anita Bottazzo, the 100 breaststroke champion is the top seed, swimming 2:09.16 in the prelims.

Texas earned the top two seeds on the men’s side with Nate Germonprez setting a new pool record time of 1:50.47 to earn lane four tonight.

In the 50 free, Tennessee’s Camille Spink is the top seed in 21.01, which makes her the 6th fastest performer in history in the event.

Josh Liendo is the men’s top seed, and he will be looking to earn his first ever SEC title in the event after he finished as the runner-up in 2023 and 2025 and finished 3rd in 2024.

The women’s 500 freestyle will see Georgia freshman Kennedi Dobson try to upset reigning SEC and NCAA Champion Jillian Cox. Dobson earned the top seed in 4:35.44 while Cox swam 4:38.49 and will be racing from lane six tonight.

Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi is the top seed in the men’s 500 freestyle, and he will be trying to pick up his 2nd event win of the meet after he won the mile on night one.

In the men’s platform, Tennessee’s Bennett Greene is the top seed after scoring 417.75 points in prelims to come in almost 30 points ahead of LSU’s Carson Paul, who scored 390.90.

The evening will wrap up with the 200 freestyle relays, where the Texas women are the top seed over Alabama and Tennessee, and the Florida men will be in lane four ahead of Mizzou and LSU.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• SEC Record: 2:03.26 — Bethany Galat, Texas A&M (2018)
• SEC Championship Record: 2:03.84 — Mona McSharry, Tennessee (2024)
• Pool Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 2:11.27

Top 8 Finishers

1. Anita Bottazzo (FLOR) — 2:07.26
2. Grace Rabb (FLOR) — 2:08.48
3. Angie Coe (TEX) — 2:08.80
4. Grace Palmer (LSU) — 2:09.07
5. Martina Bukvic (LSU) — 2:09.23
6. Anna Moore (FLOR) — 2:09.60
7. Molly Mayne (FLOR) — 2:09.91
8. Hannah O’Leary (TA&M) — 2:10.14

Florida’s Anita Bottazzo was out fast in the women’s 200 breaststroke, splitting 27.74 on the 1st 50 to turn more than a second ahead of teammate Grace Rabb‘s 28.75 in 2nd.

She was 31.30 on the 2nd 50 to split 59.04 on her 1st 100. That time would have been 4th at this meet behind only Bottazzo, McKenzie Siroky, and Simone Moll.

From there, she fell off that pace a bit, splitting 33.14 on the 3rd 50 and 35.08 on the final 50 to split 1:08.22. She touched in 2:07.26 for the win by about a second over teammate Rabb’s 2:08.48.

This was about three tenths off Bottazzo’s lifetime best of 2:06.97 that she swam at the UGA Invite. IN that race, she split 59.86/1:07.11

Rabb finished 2nd in 2:08.48, a new lifetime best in the event. She dropped four tenths from her previous best of 2:08.89 after splitting 1:00.80/1:07.68.

Texas junior Angie Coe was 3rd in 2:08.80, about a second off her lifetime best of 2:07.59 from November.

LSU’s Grace Palmer had the fastest closing 100 in the field, finishing 4th in 2:09.07 with splits of 1:02.57/1:06.50. This was half-a-second off her lifetime best of 2:08.43 from this meet last year.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals

• NCAA Record: 1:46.35 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• SEC Record: 1:49.59 — Will Scholtz, Texas (2025)
• SEC Championship Record: 1:50.02 — Aleksas Savickas, Florida (2025)
• Pool Record: 1:59.47 — Nate Germonprez (TEX) — 1:50.47
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95

Top 8 Finishers

1. Nate Germonprez (TEX) — 1:48.94 **New SEC Record
2. Gabe Nunziata (TENN) — 1:50.59
3. Campbell McKean (TEX) — 1:51.03
4. Logan Brown (TA&M) — 1:51.55
5. Will Scholtz (TEX) — 1:52.12
6. Cale Martter (UGA) — 1:52.94
7. Guilherme Camossato (LSU) — 1:52.95
8. Maston Ballew (AUB) — 1:55.22

Texas junior Nate Germonprez broke the SEC record en route to the men’s 200 breaststroke title, swimming 1:48.94 to sweep the breaststroke events.

He takes a little more than half-a-second off teammate Will Scholtz‘s former record of 1:49.59 from the 2025 Texas Hall of Fame Invite and he takes about a second off the 1:50.02 mark Florida’s Aleksas Savickas set as the meet record last year.

Germonprez was out in 51.33 (23.94/27.39). This also would have been 4th at the meet, coming in behind himself, Florida’s Koen de Groot, and teammate Campbell McKean.

He came home in 57.61 (28.33/29.28), which was the fastest closing 100 in the field.

Tennessee’s Gabe Nunziata had a strong closing 100 to pass Texas freshman Campbell McKean for 2nd. He was out in 52.61 (24.71/27.90), exactly six tenths behind McKean’s 52.01 (24.16/27.85) in 2nd.

Nunziata came home in 57.98 (28.74/29.24) to pass McKean’s 59.02 (28.79/30.23). Nunziata won the silver in 1:50.59, a 2.5 second drop from his pre-meet best of 1:53.08 and McKean finished 3rd in 1:51.03, a half second drop from his previous best of 1:51.51 from November.

In the ‘B’ final, former SEC meet record holder Aleksas Savickas finished 10th, touching in 1:53.05 to come in about half-a-second behind Texas senior Baylor Nelson, who swam 1:52.59 for 9th.

Women’s 50 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024/25)
• SEC Record: 20.79 — Maggie MacNeil, LSU (2023)
• SEC Championship Record: 20.98 — Maggie MacNeil (2023)
• Pool Record: 20.54 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 22.28

Top 8 Finishers

1. Camille Spink (TENN) — 20.87 **New Meet Record
2. Eva Okaro (TEX) — 21.26
3. Lisa Klevanovich (AUB) — 21.55
4. Cadence Vincent (BAMA) — 21.58
5. Michaela De Villiers (LSU) — 21.59
6. Jillian Crooks (TENN) — 21.87
7. Avery Littlefield (LSU) — 21.93
8. Katie Belle Sikes (UGA) — 22.03

Tennessee junior Camille Spink becomes the 4th fastest performer in history, and the 6th woman to ever break 21-seconds in the women’s 50 freestyle, winning the SEC title in 20.98.

She came into the day at 21.23 from her SEC title last year, and has dropped just under four tenths in the last 24 hours. She now has the fastest time in the country this season and the fastest time of any active NCAA swimmer.

Eva Okaro grabbed the silver for the Texas Longhorns in 21.26, a three tenth drop from her pre-meet best time of 21.53. This would have been the 5th fastest time in the country before this week.

Auburn’s Lisa Klevanovich dropped a tenth from her previous best of 21.66 to touch in 21.55 and win the bronze.

Men’s 50 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• SEC Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• SEC Championship Record: 17.85 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2023)
• Pool Record: 18.12 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2024)
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 19.43

Top 8 Finishers

1. Josh Liendo (FLOR) — 18.42
2. Gui Caribe (TENN) — 18.46
3. Jere Hribar (LSU) — 18.57
4. Luke Nebrich (UMIZ) — 18.74
5. Nikoli Blackman (TENN) — 18.80
6. Alex Painter (FLOR) — 18.84
7. Garrett Gould (TEX) — 18.92
8. Ben Scholl (TA&M) — 18.94

In his final SEC Championships, Florida senior Josh Liendo officially picked up his 1st SEC title in the men’s 50 freestyle. He stopped the clock in 18.42 to take a tenth off his prelims swim of 18.52.

Liendo was out in 8.93, turning in 2nd behind Tennessee’s Gui Caribe, who split 8.83 on the opening 25 of the race. He had the fastest closing 25 in the field, though, touching in 9.49 to lock up the win.

Caribe finished 2nd in 18.46, two tenths off his lifetime best of 18.26 from last year’s SEC Championships.

LSU’s Jere Hribar went a new lifetime best in the men’s 50 freestyle to finish 3rd overall in 18.46. He took two tenths off his lifetime best of 18.65 from this meet last year.

Women’s 500 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
• SEC Record: 4:30.68 — Jillian Cox, Texas (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 4:31.54 — Jillian Cox (2025)
• Pool Record: 4:33.09 — Paige Madden, Virginia (2020)
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:43.70

Top 8 Finishers

1. Jillian Cox (TEX) — 4:30.53 **New SEC Record
2. Kennedi Dobson (UGA) — 4:30.70
3. Ella Jansen (TENN) — 4:34.10
4. Julie Brousseau (FLOR) — 4:36.33
5. Nikolett Padar (TEX) — 4:37.33
6. Kate Hurst (TEX) — 4:39.33
7. Lillie Nesty (TEX) — 4:40.39
8. Erin Gemmell (TEX) — 4:45.50

The women’s 500 freestyle finals were the closest women’s races we have seen this weekend, and all three finals were close. The ‘A’ final saw just 0.17 seconds separating the top two swimmers with Jillian Cox coming out on top in 4:30.53 for Texas ahead of Kennedi Dobson‘s 4:30.70 for Georgia.

Dobson got out to the early lead, turning in 51.92 at the 100 mark to sit 0.16 seconds ahead of Cox, who turned in 52.18 for 2nd.

From there, the two settled into their 27-mid pace that they held throughout the race with neither leading by more than three tenths at any point. Dobson still held the lead at the 200, turning just four hundredths ahead in 1:56.85 (54.93) to Cox’s 1:56.89 (54.71)

Cox took over the lead at the 300, splitting 55.03 to Dobson’s 55.21 to turn 0.14 seconds ahead in 2:41.92 to Dobson’s 2:42.06.

The 400 saw the biggest gap of the race with Cox splitting 54.60 to turn in 3:36.52, which was 0.32 seconds ahead of Dobson’s 3:26.84 with her 100 split of 54.78

On the final 100, Dobson actually had the faster split, touching in 53.86 to outsplit Cox’s 54.01 by 0.15 seconds. This fell just short of the win, and Cox came out on top, breaking her own SEC record time of 4:30.68 from November of 2024.

Dobson hacked another two seconds off her lifetime best of 4:32.96 from January. She came into college at 4:36.87 from December of 2024, meaning she has dropped more than six seconds over the last year. She also shattered Brittany MacLean’s school record time of 4:32.53 from 2014 and becomes the 9th fastest performer in history in the event

Cox is a sophomore and Dobson is just a freshman, which means we could have two more years of 500 free races this tight at the SEC Championships.

Tennessee’s Ella Jansen finished 3rd in 4:34.10, which was a tenth drop from her previous best 4:34.27.

Men’s 500 Freestyle — Finals

• NCAA Record: 4:02.31 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
• SEC Record: 4:04.45 — Rex Maurer, Texas (2024)
• SEC Championship Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2021)
• Pool Record: 4:09.06 — Matthew Sates, Georgia (2022)
• 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:18.07

Top 8 Finishers

1. Rex Maurer (TEX) — 4:08.46
2. Ahmed Jaouadi (FLOR) — 4:09.26
3. Ahmed Hafnaoui (FLOR) — 4:10.18
4. Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR) — 4:10.23
5. Leon Alcantara (BAMA) — 4:10.45
6. Pierre Largeron (SCAR) — 4:11.88
7. Sean Green (UGA) — 4:12.01
8. Koby Bujak-Upton (TENN) — 4:13.02

American and SEC record holder Rex Maurer earned the win in the men’s 500 freestyle, which was another close race on night four. He finished in 4:08.06, which is about a second off the 4:07.09 mark he set to win this meet last year.

While he finished eight tenths ahead of the rest of the field, Maurer didn’t lead by more than four tenths until the final 100 of the race. He slowly built his lead throughout the race, turning 0.41 ahead of Florida’s Ahmed Hafnaoui at the 400 mark.

Maurer opened the race in 47.46 and then split 51.21 on the 2nd 50, which was his only split over 50 seconds in the race. He descended his splits from there, dropping to 50.61 for the 300, 50.46 for the 400 and 48.72 at the 500.

He also practically even split his 250s, flipping in 2:03.89 and coming home in 2:04.57.

Ahmed Jaouadi of Florida, the 1650 free champion, earned the silver medal in 4:09.28, passing Hafnaoui on the final 100 after sitting more than six tenths back at the 400. He split 47.57/51.65/50.75/50.81 over the first 400 and came home in 48.50 to touch in 4:09.28, a new lifetime best by more than a second from the 4:10.72 he swam in November.

Hafnaoui finished 3rd in 4:10.18, which is also a new lifetime best. He split 47.79/51.13/50.79/50.44/50.03.

Men’s Platform Diving — Finals