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
At the Georgia Fall Invitational earlier this season, Charlie Hawke set a Gabrielsen Natatorium record in the men’s 200 freestyle, swimming 1:31.05. That time would’ve earned fifth in today’s prelims at the 2025 SEC Championships, as four men popped 1:30-points ahead of this evening’s finals.
Hawke broke that pool record leading off Alabama’s 800 freestyle relay with a lifetime best 1:30.44, touching a hundredth ahead of Luke Hobson. But the record lasted less than two days, as Chris Guiliano, a mid-season addition for Texas, broke it with a lifetime best 1:30.31 in prelims of the individual 200 freestyle. Hobson, the NCAA record holder, swam 1:30.76, securing the top two times of the morning for Texas.
after a stutter-step during a blistering men’s 500 freestyle prelims that saw Hobson, a former NCAA champion in the event, and Coby Carrozza and locked out of the championship final with 9th and 10th place finishes, the Texas freestyle crew course-corrected in the 200 freestyle prelims. Chris Guiliano, a midseason addition for the Longhorns, swam a pool record and lifetime best 1:30.31 to lead prelims, while Hobson’s 1:30.76 secured the top two times of the morning for Texas.
*casually breaks the pool record in the prelims*
Chris Guiliano and Luke Hobson take the top 2⃣ spots heading into finals pic.twitter.com/nXRFgjO1WY
— Texas Men’s Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) February 20, 2025
Courtesy: Texas Men’s Swimming & Diving/SEC
The performances were part of a course-correction by the Longhorns’ freestyle crew. Texas stutter-stepped during a blistering men’s 500 freestyle prelims. Hobson, a former NCAA champion in the event, and Coby Carrozza locked out of the championship final as the top two qualifiers for the ‘B’ final. Even last year, the pair’s 4:11s would have earned the top qualifying time at the SEC Championships, but the bar was raised significantly this year. Texas’ arrival in the SEC is a major factor in how fast prelims at the SEC Championships have been through two morning sessions, but the Longhorns aren’t the only athletes getting after it in prelims.
Hawke broke 1:31 for the second time at these championships, swimming a 1:30.84 that was also under his November pool record. Finally, Tomas Koski swam a lifetime best 1:30.85, breaking 1:31 for the first time. It’s the second time in two days that he’s broken a meaningful “time barrier” as he broke 4:10 for the first time in the 500 freestyle prelims (4:09.92) before dropping to 4:08.25 and winning silver.
Through two days of swimming at this year’s SEC Championships, it’s clear that it’s more imperative than ever to show up in the morning, as the increased depth in the conference has resulted in a dramatic drop in the times it takes to qualify for finals. The trend started with historically fast 500 freestyle prelims, where 12 women broke 4:40 and 11 men went under 4:12. On the men’s side, last year’s top qualifying time was a 4:12.26, which placed 12th this year. There wasn’t quite as dramatic a shift in the 200 freestyle. Last year’s top qualifying time was a 1:31.40, which would’ve made this year’s championship final as the 6th fastest qualifier.
Though the 200 freestyle prelims didn’t showcase the same jaw-dropping depth as yesterday’s 500 freestyle prelims, it’s still clear the competition has taken a step forward this year. There was only one 1:30-point swim in the individual men’s 200 freestyle event at the 2024 SEC Championship—the 1:30.64 Macguire McDuff swam to win the title. This year, there’s already been four 1:30-points. Plus, Jordan Crooks, who qualified for the ‘A’ final in 1:31.10, owns the NCAA’s fastest time this season at 1:30.00, setting up for an explosive race in the final.
Courtesy: James Sutherland
MEN’S 200 FREE – PRELIMS
- NCAA Record: 1:28.81 – Luke Hobson, Texas (2024)
- SEC Record: 1:29.48 – Kieran Smith, Florida (2021)
- SEC Championship Record: 1:29.48 – Kieran Smith, Florida (2021)
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 1:31.21
‘A’ Final Qualifiers:
- Chris Guiliano (TEX), 1:30.31
- Luke Hobson (TEX), 1:30.76
- Charlie Hawke (BAMA), 1:30.84
- Tomas Koski (UGA), 1:30.85
- Jordan Crooks (TENN), 1:31.10
- Alex Painter (FLOR), 1:31.49
- Toni Dragoja (BAMA), 1:32.19
- Kaique Alves (BAMA), 1:32.21
