COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams celebrated the accomplishments of the 2018-19 season at the annual team banquet on Saturday at the All-American Club at Kyle Field.
The 2018-19 season saw the women’s team win its fourth-straight Southeastern Conference team title and finish 14th at the NCAA Championships. The men’s team placed fourth at the SEC Championships and went on to finish 17th at the NCAA Championships.
Highlighting the afternoon was the naming of the season MVPs. From the women’s team, senior Sydney Pickrem won or shared the swimming honor for the third straight year, while junior Alaïs Kalonji took the diving MVP award for the third straight season. On the men’s side, senior diver Sam Thornton and junior swimmer Benjamin Walker shared the Danny Green Memorial MVP award.
Additionally, the teams announced the team captains for the 2019-20 season: Camryn Toney, Raena Eldridge, Sam Siebenaller and Kaley Batten for the women’s team and Benjamin Walker, Adam Koster, Jake Gibbons and Kurtis Mathews for the men’s team.
Complete list of 2018-19 Awards:
Women’s team:
Swimming MVP: Sydney Pickrem
Diving MVP: Alaïs Kalonji
Most Improved Swimmer: Mollie Wright
Most Improved Diver: Charlye Campbell
Heart Award in memory of Bob Stallings: Camryn Toney
Iron Woman Sports Performance Award: Taylor Pike
Jody Tanner-Hansen Optimist Award: Camryn Toney
2019-20 Team Captains: Camryn Toney, Raena Eldridge, Sam Siebenaller and Kaley Batten
Men’s team:
Danny Green Memorial MVP: Sam Thornton, Benjamin Walker
Most Improved: Mark Theall
Aggie Heart Award: Mateo Gonzalez
Trey Heye Memorial Award: Luke Stuart
Performance of the Year: Mark Theall’s school record and first-team All-America performance in the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Championships.
