2020 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, February 18 – Saturday, February 22, 2020
- Auburn, AL – James E. Martin Aquatic Center
- Prelims/Finals: 9:30 AM/5:30 PM Wed-Sat, 10/4:20PM Tues (Central Standard Time)
- Defending Champion: Florida (7x) (results)
- Live Video – SEC Network+ (prelims), ESPN (finals)
- Men’s Fan Guide
- Women’s Fan Guide
- Psych Sheets
- Championship Central
- Estimated NCAA Invite Times
- NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Live Video (Wednesday Finals)
- Heat Sheets
- Live Results
When Gary Taylor arrived as the new head coach at Auburn in the summer of 2018, more-than-one Auburn alumni expressed concern in private over his reputation as a distance coach. While Taylor came to the program from NC State, which was already building a reputation as a top-tier sprint program, Taylor coached the distance swimmers. He had success there, of course, coaching NCAA Champions, but Auburn’s golden years under David Marsh were built around having the world’s best sprint program, and the belief that sprinting wins NCAA team titles, not distance.
Taylor embraced the need for sprint success early in his tenure at Auburn, and on Wednesday he validated that when the Auburn Tigers roared their way to a women’s SEC title in the 200 free relay, swimming a 1:25.41. That’s not only the 2nd-fastest 200 yard freestyle relay in NCAA history, but it crushed the Auburn school record.
Auburn Splits:
- Julie Meynen, senior – 21.65
- Claire Fisch, senior – 20.99
- Kutsch, freshman – 21.15
- Clevenger, senior – 21.62
The old school record? That was set in Taylor’s first season as head coach, last year, when the Auburn women swam 1:27.05. Before that, the record had stood since 2009, when, in super suits and including Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace on the leadoff, Auburn swam 1:27.45.
This means that the Auburn school record in the women’s 200 free relay survived a full decade while the head coach of the program was sprint guru Brett Hawke. Hawke was in his final season as an assistant in 2009, where he led the sprint group, when they broke that record.
This highlights a point that collegiate coaches across the country make time-and-time again: the skillset required to coach a successful group at a big-time swimming school is a very different skillset than the one required to sit as the head coach of a major Power 5, co-ed swimming program. Not all coaches have both, but Taylor seems to be proving that he does, and has assembled a capable staff that includes sprint coach Gideon Luow, who coached Bowen Becker’s rise at Minnesota and who was a part of the legendary Auburn sprint tradition himself as an athlete, and Duncan Sherrard.
Another way to compare the improvements: there are two swimmers who were on Wednesday’s 200 free relay and were also on Auburn’s 200 free relay at the 2018 SEC Championships, the year before Taylor took over. As sophomores, Robyn Clevenger split 21.95 on a rolling start and Julie Meynen split 22.44 on a rolling start. This year, Clevenger split 21.62 on an anchor and Meynen split 21.65 on a leadoff leg.
5 Fastest NCAA Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relays:
- Cal, 2019 (Murphy, McLaughlin, Bilquist, Weitzeil) – 1:24.55
- Auburn, 2020 (Meynen, Fisch, Kutsch, Clevenger) – 1:25.41
- Stanford, 2018 (Hu, Manuel, Pitzer, Howe) – 1:25.43
- Cal, 2018 (Murphy, Bilquist, McLaughlin, Weitzeil) – 1:25.50
- Cal, 2017 (Weitzeil, Murphy, Bilquist, Osman) – 1:25.59
I anchored a high school 200 yard freestyle relay that went 1:29.2 at the Easterns in New Jersey in 1965. We broke the American record for HS that day. Mark Spitz’s relay was a second slower.
I anchored a 200yard freestyle relay that went 1:29.2 in the finals at the Easterns (Lawrenceville Pool in NJ).. We set the national schoolboy record for the Nation that day and beat a Westfiled relay that were not seated to beat – with two All Americans on their relay. Our tile went unbroken in Nassau County for 40 years until a school from Long Beach went faster in 2005.
Soooooo how’s the actual distance group doing?? The one he’s supposed to be coaching and doing so great at, how are they doing?
Hugeeee amount of swimmers for Auburn in the 400 in finals tonight!
That’s called mid distance first off and second what 400?? 2 girls, one in B final and one in C final, and 0 boys for the 400 IM
And if we’re talking relays, besides the 400 Free relay, not that great of a showing
Ask those swimmers how many times he’s coached them. Give credit he made a smart decision in his hires. Then give credit to the best coaches on that staff. Gideon and Duncan
Gideon Louw.
I swam for Gary and he is hands down the best coach I have ever met. At my program he was not the head coach and he still played a big role in the coaching of ALL the swimmers. And again that was with the limited power he had at the time. I’m sure he plays a huge role in the success of these sprinters under his program. He obviously has a great energy and work ethic that I’m sure influences every swimmer who swims for him no matter what distance.
This title is like saying Michigan’s Connor Jaeger wins NCAAs led by sprint coach Mike Bottom. True but I bet Bottom didn’t work very much if at all with Jaeger.
No, it would’ve have been like saying a sprint coach would’ve ignored training the distance swimmers and then proving wrong. This article isn’t saying Gary Taylor deserves all the credit, it’s addressing the fact that a lot of people were concerned about Auburn’s future when a distance coach took over.
Gary is a great coach who is building the foundation of a great program with great assistants and great athletes they will continue to improve
Duncan Sherrard and Gideon Louw deserve all of the credit. They are both outstanding coaches who train those girls everyday.