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
The first swimming prelims session of the SEC Championships kicked off with a bang this morning in Athens. The SEC gave us the fastest prelims of both the men’s and women’s 500 free that we’ve ever seen at a conference meet.
Starting with the women’s 500, the SEC saw a whopping 12 women go under 4:40 this morning. Here are those results:
- Jillian Cox (TEX), 4:35.18
- Dune Coetzee (UGA), 4:35.53
- Emma Weyant (FLOR), 4:35.58
- Abby McCulloh (UGA), 4:36.29
- Julie Brousseau (FLOR), 4:36.78
- Rachel Stege (UGA), 4:37.58
- Erin Gemmell (TEX), 4:38.21
- Kate McCarville (TENN), 4:39.02
- Breckin Gormley (SCAR) – 4:39.03
- Ella Jansen (TENN) – 4:39.12
- Kate Hurst (TEX) – 4:39.21
- Lillie Nesty (TEX) – 4:39.62
Not only is this a shocking amount of speed and depth for a conference meet, it’s particularly noteworthy given that the women’s 500 free went through a few down years recently. At the 2023 Women’s NCAA Championships, it took a 4:39.51 to finish 8th and qualify for the ‘A’ final of the 500 free. That same time, which coincidentally was swum by Emma Weyant, would have been 12th this morning at SECs.
If we compare it to the other major conference that swam the 500 free this morning, the ACC, it’s no contest. The ACC had 4 women go under 4:40 this morning.
We could easily see even more women go under 4:40 at SEC finals tonight, as Mabel Zavaros, Shea Furse, and Sloane Reinstein all went 4:40 this morning. In fact, if we expand it all the way out, it took a 4:44.88 just to make it back for finals at all at SECs today, which is very impressive by itself. That compares to the 4:46.77 it took to make it back for finals at ACCs. 4:41.31 took 16th at SECs this morning, a time that likely would end up being in the ‘A’ final at any other conference meet this year.
If we compare the SEC this morning to last year, the event got wildly faster in just one year. Last year, the SEC had 4 women under 4:40 in prelims. Additionally, it took a 4:41.97 to qualify for the ‘A’ final last year, which wouldn’t even have made the ‘B’ final this year.
The men’s 500 free was equally impressive this morning at SECs. Though we didn’t see down years in the men’s 500 recently, the results were just as shocking. The SEC had 11 men go under 4:12 this morning. That included 2023 NCAA champion in the 500 free, Luke Hobson, who swam a 4:11.68 this morning. That’s a time that you would typically expect to earn a middle lane for the final at a conference meet. Not at this year’s SECs. Hobson finished 10th, so he did earn a middle lane, just not in the ‘A’ final.
Here are the 11 men who went under 4:12 this morning:
- Tomas Koski (UGA), 4:09.92
- Jake Magahey (UGA), 4:10.01
- David Johnston (TEX), 4:10.44
- Charlie Hawke (BAMA), 4:10.95
- Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR), 4:11.03
- Mason Mathias (AUB), 4:11.03
- Rex Maurer (TEX), 4:11.27
- Jake Mitchell (FLOR), 4:11.49
- Coby Carrozza (TEX) – 4:11.65
- Luke Hobson (TEX) – 4:11.68
- Carson Hick (UKY) – 4:11.85
This is unquestionably the fastest prelims of the men’s 500 free we’ve ever seen at a conference meet as well. It honestly looks more like prelims at NCAAs has the last few years. It’s incredible how much faster the event was this year than at last year’s SECs. Last year, the top time in prelims was 4:12.26, swum by Auburn’s Mason Mathias. That’s the exact time LSU’s Jovan Lekic swam to finish 12th this morning.
We’ll see if these prelims lead to even faster finals tonight but, either way, the SEC has been extremely impressive this morning.
Men’s 500 was historically fast but women not so much. No comparison!!!
2013 SEC meet.
Men Prelims 4:17 FIRST/Finals 4:14 Koski 12 years ago!
Women Prelims 7 women under 4:39! No Texas! Winner 4:35.2
My statement stands!
I completely missed Luke and Coby in the B. Dang
Like how. That’s so unbobthebuilderrocks of you.
I think I just assumed they were in and didn’t check haha
Luke hobson will pull off a shaine casas B final preformance
Probably under 4:10 but he isn’t fully rested here
2024 Paris Olympic Games
Men’s 1500m Nage Libre
Final
Joly, Damien
Age: 32
2036 Mumbai Olympic games
Men’s 1500m Poop Swimming
Final
Rami Rahmouni
Time: 14:21 & Gold Medal
Bobby Finke: washed and still swimming
David Johnston: 34 year old virgin
Aaron Shackell: Middle school graduate
Luke Whitlock: 130 lbs and 5’6
Wtf. Go away with this nonsense.
Wow. Now imagine how fast the SEC would be if we had real coaches like Philippe Lucas in place of male international talent mercenary Bowman. Maybe the women’s team would see some success with a coach that actually attends their NCAAs and cares about them rather then glazing Leon’s baguette. Philippe Lucas would bring glory back to Texas and the SEC as a whole, rather then it being a bunch of short course merchants who barely know how to swim. Tag along Hafnoui and Jaouadi and maybe Texas wouldn’t lose to the Florida 4×200 comprised of a chubby brit freshman, josh liendo and his three pounds of beard, short course merchant Smith, and a 22 year old Mitchel who looks… Read more »
If Bowman is a mercenary recruiting international talent, how is Phillippe Lucas with the Tunisian boys any different
Who are these many recent trolls who all push this agenda anyway. It looks like the same person on many accounts responding to and reacting to themselves.
Yes! More of this! Us Europeans LOVE fast 500 yards freestyle because it means precisely NONE of it will carry over to long course. Apart from the weak COVID Tokyo field that saw Kieran squeak into the bronze position, when was the last time an American made the podium in the equivalent race, 400 meters freestyle? 2013 Worlds when Connor Jaeger squeaked into bronze in a field lacking Park Tae Hwan, defending Olympic silver medalist. But no, let’s continue to glorify the affront to middle distance swimming that is the NCAA and celebrate 11 men going under 4:12 at a Conference meet, and in the same breath act dumbfounded when the US men can barely achieve the Fina A cut,… Read more »
Rex finishing 7th, jake 8th, and Luke 10th is really hard to comprehend. Tonight will be blazing
It just means more