2021 SEC MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, February 23 – Friday, February 26, 2021
- Columbia, MO – University of Missouri
- Prelims/Finals: 10 AM/5 PM Tues, 10 AM/6 PM Weds-Fri (Central Standard Time)
- Defending Champion: Florida (8x) (results)
- Live Video – SEC Network
- Championship Central
- Updated psych sheet
- Live Results
The 2021 Men’s SEC Championships came to a close on Friday, with the Florida Gators winning their ninth consecutive title.
The final night had some standout swims, including Bobby Finke recording the second-fastest 1650 in history and Shaine Casas roaring to a 1:36.8 in the 200 back, but it was the Alabama sprinters, led by 19-year-old freshman Matt King, who closed the meet off with a bang in the 400 free relay.
First, King broke 42 seconds for the first time in the individual 100 freestyle, winning the conference title in 41.66 — one of the fastest times ever done by a first-year — while also nearing the great Kristian Gkolomeev‘s school record of 41.52.
After a 23-year drought, Alabama has now won three of the last seven SEC 100 frees, with Gkolomeev taking the crown in 2015 and Robert Howard winning in 2019.
The quickest 100 free from a freshman belongs to Texas’ Daniel Krueger, who went 41.49 at the 2019 NCAAs.
Less than two hours later, King capped the night by leading Alabama to a third consecutive win in the relay, leading off in 41.73 before handing off to senior Sam DiSette (42.63) and juniors Jonathan Berneburg (41.85) and Colton Stogner (42.01).
Berneburg has been a member on all three of the Crimson Tide’s winning 400 free relays dating back to his freshman year in 2019, and Stogner anchored the relay last year.
Even with powerhouse sprinters Howard and Zane Waddell recently graduated, the Bama sprint machine rolls on, with King at the forefront.
400 FREE RELAY SPLITS
In addition to King, Florida’s Smith broke 42 for the first time leading off in 41.94, while Brooks Curry was solid for LSU in 42.23.
Berneburg and Stogner had the fastest splits with a takeover.
Lead-off Splits
| Swimmer | School | Split |
| Matt King | Alabama | 41.73 |
| Kieran Smith | Florida | 41.94 |
| Brooks Curry | LSU | 42.23 |
| Zach Hils | Georgia | 42.85 |
| Ben Patton | Missouri | 42.96 |
| Kaloyan Bratanov | Texas A&M | 43.03 |
| Christian Sztolcman | Auburn | 43.12 |
| Max Berg | Kentucky | 43.55 |
| Mark Shperkin | South Carolina | 43.70 |
| Micah Chambers | Tennessee | 44.07 |
Flying Splits
| Swimmer | School | Split |
| Jonathan Berneburg | Alabama | 41.85 |
| Colton Stogner | Alabama | 42.01 |
| Eric Friese | Florida | 42.06 |
| Javier Acevedo | Georgia | 42.14 |
| Danny Kovac | Missouri | 42.21 |
| Adam Chaney | Florida | 42.24 |
| Mark Theall | Texas A&M | 42.30 |
| Trey Freeman | Florida | 42.61 |
| Sam DiSette | Alabama | 42.63 |
| Scott Scanlon | Tennessee | 42.69 |
| Kyle Leach | Missouri | 42.71 |
| Grant Reed | Missouri | 42.80 |
| Jake Magahey | Georgia | 42.89 |
| Luca Urlando | Georgia | 42.90 |
| Phil Costin | South Carolina | 43.12 |
| Matthew Yish | Auburn | 43.29 |
| Logan Tirheimer | Auburn | 43.32 |
| Mikkel Gadgaard | Auburn | 43.32 |
| Emil Hassling | LSU | 43.35 |
| Elijah Sohn | Texas A&M | 43.51 |
| Louis Barker | Kentucky | 43.51 |
| AJ Ross | South Carolina | 43.64 |
| Mason Wilby | Kentucky | 43.78 |
| Spencer Adrian | LSU | 43.91 |
| Seth Bailey | Tennessee | 44.01 |
| Hank Siefert | Kentucky | 44.06 |
| Jack Jannasch | LSU | 44.07 |
| Clayton Bobo | Texas A&M | 44.09 |
| Michael Houlie | Tennessee | 44.82 |
Coley.
So great to see that somehow these great athletes kept focused and now are getting the opportunity to race – hope NCAA’s keep up the trend!
Tip of hat to bama’s interim head coach
Absolutely. That’s not an easy situation to navigate. Great job on putting the athletes first.
He had nothing to do with Matt’s success.
Robert Howard was SEC Champion in the 100 free in 2019 with a 41.57 so not sure about Gkolomeev and King being the only ones since 1991.
My mistake, thanks. Updated
When’s the podcast @coleman