Mikel Schreuders Hits SEC Meet Record 1:31.61 in 800 FR Relay Lead-Off

2019 SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 19 – Saturday, February 23
• Gabrielsen Natatorium, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone)
• Defending Champion: Texas A&M (3x) (results)
• Live results
• Live Video – SEC Network
• Championship Central

Flying out to give the Missouri Tigers a huge lead to start off the men’s 800 free relay tonight was Mikel Schreuders. The senior was out in 43.91, well ahead of the field early on, and then kept charging to hit the wall at 1:31.61. That time clears the SEC meet record, a 1:31.73 done in 2011 by former Florida Gator and Olympian Conor Dwyer, by over a tenth of a second.

Schreuders took off massive time from his old best, a 1:32.92 from the 2018 NCAA Championships where he led off Mizzou’s 800 free relay to a 9th place finish. Individually, he was 1:33.16 at the meet to take 10th at the meet. He launches himself from 58th all-time in the event all the way to 14th, just behind Jack Conger and Matias Koski (tied at 1:31.54 for 12th). Remember when Simon Burnett’s 2006 U.S. Open and NCAA record of 1:31.20 seemed way out of anyone’s reach?

While Schreuders broke the meet record, the SEC open record is technically the 1:31.18 done by Zach Apple at the 2018 NCAA Champs when he was still at Auburn. Apple is now a senior and has transferred to finish out his eligibility at Indiana. Koski, who swam at Georgia, is 2nd in the SEC open all-time rankings and Schreuders third.

Mizzou wound up touching 2nd (6:11.77) in the event after being run down by Florida (6:10.50), while both teams broke the SEC meet record for the 800 relay as a whole.