Florida leads after Day Two of SEC Swim & Dive

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The University of Florida leads after the second day of the 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, held at Texas A&M’s Rec Center Natatorium.

LSU got its first win of the night in the women’s 200 free relay, when Katarina Milutinovich, Maggie MacNeil, Peyton Curry and Miaela DeVilliers combined for a top time of 1:26.70. Alabama finished second with a time of 1:27.21, and Florida took third with a time of 1:27.28.

Florida defended its title in the men’s 200 free relay with an SEC Meet record time of 1:14.19 by Macguire McDuff, Josh Liendo, Adam Chaney and Alberto Mestre. Tennessee was the runner-up with a time of 1:15.34, followed by Auburn with a time of 1:15.94.

Rachel Stege of Georgia touched the wall first in the women’s 500 free with a time of 4:36.31, just .04 seconds ahead of her sister Kristen Stege of Tennessee (4:36.35). Florida’s Emma Weyant took third with a time of 4:37.96.

In the men’s 500 free, Florida’s Jake Mitchell took the gold medal with a time of 4:09.85. Georgia’s Jake Magahey came in second with a time of 4:10.03, and teammate Gator Mestre finished third with a time of 4:10.15.

Georgia’s Zoie Hartman won her second title in the women’s 200 IM, besting her winning time from two years ago by .10 with an NCAA A-cut time of 1:53.58. Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller was second in 1:55.01, while Kentucky’s Lauren Poole was third in 1:55.12.

Texas A&M took the first two podiums in the men’s 200 IM, with Baylor Nelson posting a winning time of 1:40.86 and Koko Bratanov taking second in 1:42.50. Missouri’s Ben Patton was third with a time of 1:42.98.

With the third fastest time in history, Maggie MacNeil won the women’s 50 free with an SEC and SEC Meet record time of 20.98. Finishing in second place with a time of 21.74 was Mona McSharry of Tennessee. Third place went to Kalia Antoniou of Alabama, with a time of 21.75.

Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks set the pool and SEC Meet record in the men’s 50 free with a time of 17.93, becoming just the second swimmer in history to break 18 seconds. Florida earned the next two podium finishes with Josh Liendo taking second (18.39) and Adam Chaney third (18.71).

On the night, South Carolina’s Brooke Schultz earned her fourth title in the women’s 1 meter with a final score of 345.05. Maha Amer of Florida was second with a score of 337.85. LSU’s Chiara Pellacani took third with a score of 330.95.

The 2023 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships resume on Thursday, February 16 at 9:30 a.m. CT with preliminaries for the men’s 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and 3-meter springboard, followed by the finals of the four events beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT . The entire session can be viewed on SEC Network+.