2016 SEC Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

• Tuesday, February 16 – Saturday, February 20
• Mizzou Aquatic Center, Columbia, MO (Central Time Zone)
• Prelims 10AM / Finals 6PM (Wed-Sat), Tuesday Timed Finals 5:30PM (Central Time)
• Defending Men’s Champion: Florida (3x)
• Defending Women’s Champion: Georgia Bulldogs, 6 Consecutive Titles
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live results
• Live Video
• Men’s Fan Guide
• Women’s Fan Guide

The Texas A&M women currently hold the lead in the team scores with 657.5 points, but Tennessee is well within striking distance with 645.5. Georgia has fallen behind to 584.5.

On the men’s side, Florida has lengthened their lead, and they now hold off Auburn 723 to 669. Georgia sits third on the men’s side too, with 572 points.

The men’s 100 backstroke should be huge race this morning and tonight. Defending champ Connor Oslin of Alabama will take on his teammate Luke Kaliszak and Georgia’s Taylor Dale, who are currently tied for the SEC lead.

On the women’s side, the 100 breast is the event to watch. The race could end up being a 1-2 showdown between Mizzou teammates Katharine Ross and Abby Duncan, who both sit in the top two slots in the SEC rankings with high-58s. However, Texas A&M’s Jorie Caneta and Auburn’s Annie Lazor have both been under a minute this season, so they could edge in between or even ahead of the Tiger duo.

Women 200 Fly Prelims

Unsurprisingly, Hali Flickinger will swim in the fast lane tonight, after clocking 1:52.33 in prelims. She is coming off a silver-medal finish in the 500 free and a strong performance earlier this week as the lead-off of the winning 800 free relay. This has been a very strong meet for her, and this morning’s time is already under the 1:52.73 that she went to take the bronze at NCAAs last year. Flickinger is looking to win her first SEC title in this event.

Fellow Bulldog Megan Kingsley also looked great, clocking a 1:53.76. Last season, she finished fifth in this event at SECs and 16th at NCAAs, and she should move way up in the rankings this year.

Both Flickinger and Kingsley came in under the NCAA A cut of 1:54.22, and the top 23 swimmers hit under the B cut of 1:59.59.

Sarah Gibson swam the third-fastest time, a fantastic 1:54.61 for the mid-distance and distance free specialist.While last season she focused on the free events, she’s moving more and more into butterfly, and don’t count her out tonight, especially after her stellar 100 fly win yesterday (51.17).

1. Hali Flickinger, Georgia – 1:52.33
2. Megan Kingsley, Georgia – 1:53.76
3. Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M – 1:54.61
4. Taylor Katz, Florida – 1:55.69
5. Kara Kopcso, LSU – 1:56.08
6. Sharli Brady, Mizzou – 1:56.10
7. Madeline Tegner, Tennessee- 1:56.42
8. Alyssa Yambor-Maul, Florida- 1:57.36

Men 200 Fly Prelims

Pace Clark of Georgia set a new SEC meet record and a new pool record in this morning’s 200 fly prelims, taking the top slot by nearly two seconds with 1:40.70. The old SEC record was a 1:41.07 set by Florida’s Sebastien Rousseau in 2014, adn the old pool record was a 1:43.28 set by Ricky Berens back in 2009.

Clark’s swim was actually a little bit slower than the 1:40.66 that he has gone in-season, so we can expect him to go even faster tonight. He is almost within striking distance of the NCAA record, a 1:39.33 set by Dylan Bosch in 2014 and the US Open record, a 1:39.31 set by Jack Conger in 2015.

Clark was the only swimmer to come in under the A cut of 1:42.43. Hugo Morris of Auburn, the 200 free silver-medalist and a member of the silver-medal-winning 800 free relay, will be seeded second tonight with 1:42.46.

Georgia’s Gunnar Bentz sits third after swimming 1:42.50. Bentz is still searching for his first individual medal of the meet.

Arthur Mendes of Auburn, Mark Szaranek of Florida, and Jan Switkowski of Florida all came in under the 1:43 mark, and the field behind Clark is so close, especially for a 200, that we could see any of them, or even some of the lower seeds, come up for a medal.

1. Pace Clark, Georgia- 1:40.70
2. Hugo Morris, Auburn- 1:42.46
3. Gunnar Bentz, Georgia- 1:42.50
4. Arthur Mendes, Auburn- 1:42.79
5. Mark Szaranek, Florida- 1:42.83
6. Jan Switkowski, Florida- 1:42.89
7. Austin Manganiello, Florida- 1:43.10
8. Mick Litherland, Georgia- 1:43.35

Women 100 Back Prelims

Kira Toussaint of Tennessee posted the top time in the women’s 100 back this morning, a 50.85 which took down the pool record 51.78 set by Kathleen Hersey in 2009. Toussaint, a Holland native, is competing in her first SECs after transferring to Tennessee from FGCU this fall. Toussaint, a member of the Vols’ winning 200 free relay, outswam the competition by almost half a second.

Toussaint finished eighth last year at NCAAs with 52.92, and her time from this morning would have earned her a bronze medal in last year’s national competition.

Georgia swimmers will be the second and third seeds tonight as SEC defending champ and last year’s NCAA fifth-place finisher Olivia Smoliga finished in 51.25, and her teammate Kylie Stewart clocked 51.73.

Smoliga and Toussaint were the only swimmers to come in under the NCAA A cut of 51.51. The duo will most likely battle it out for first tonight, but Danielle Galyer of Kentucky and Hannah Stevens of Missouri are, along with Stewart, also within striking distance of a medal.

1. Kira Toussaint, Tennessee- 50.85
2. Olivia Smoliga, Georgia- 51.25
3. Kylie Stewart, Georgia- 51.73
4. Danielle Galyer, Kentucky- 51.77
5. Hannah Stevens, Mizzou- 51.89
6. Nadine Laemmler, Mizzou- 52.04
7. Jillian Vitarius, Auburn- 52.58
8. Sarah Reynolds, Auburn- 53.02

Men 100 Back Prelims

The top eight swimmers of the men’s 100 back all finished within less than a second and a half of one another, proving that tonight’s final is going to be exciting.

Defending champion Connor Oslin of Alabama was the only swimmer to come in under the NCAA A cut of 45.44. He went 45.39 to take down the pool record set by Hill Taylor of Texas in 2009.

Jack Blyzinski of Florida finished half a second back in 45.89. Blyzinski was the anchor leg of Florida’s insane 1:16.46 200 free relay from earlier this week.

After that, the field is packed full. Taylor Dale, Logan Rysemus, Corey Main, and Kyle Darmody are all within .4 of Blyzinski, and any of them could make a charge to the medal stand tonight.

1. Connor Oslin, Alabama- 45.39
2. Jack Blyzinskyj, Florida- 45.86
3. Taylor Dale, Georgia- 45.91
4. Logan Rysemus, LSU- 45.96
5. Corey Main, Florida- 46.25
6. Kyle Darmody, Auburn- 46.26
7. Christopher Reid, Alabama- 46.62
8. Brock Bonetti, Texas A&M- 46.63

Women 100 Breast Prelims

The swimming program at the University of Missouri has been steadily improving for years, and nothing could prove that better than a 1-2 finish in the women’s 100 breast tonight. Last year in this event, Katharine Ross finished fifth at SECs and 13th at NCAAs and Abby Duncan placed fourth at SECs and 14th at NCAAs. Tonight the duo will be the top two seeds, after Ross clocked 58.98 and Duncan finished in 59.29.

Earlier this week, Ross finished 7th in the 200 IM, but her 32.64 breaststroke leg foreshadowed her quick swim this morning.

The two sit about half a second and .7 seconds ahead of the field, but there’s still a chance that Annie Lazor of Auburn (59.73) or Colleen O’Neil of LSU could come up in between or even ahead of them.

Ross was the only swimmer to hit an NCAA A standard this morning.

1. Katharine Ross, Mizzou- 58.98
2. Abby Duncan, Mizzou- 59.29
3. Annie Lazor, Auburn- 59.73
4. Colleen O’Neil, LSU- 59.86
5. Natasha Lloyd, Auburn-59.90
6. Bridget Blood, Alabama- 1:00.03
7. Jorie Caneta, Texas A&M- 1:00.34
8. Annie Zhu, Georgia- 1:00.50

Men 100 Breast Prelims

The Missouri breaststrokers are absolutely on fire this morning. Tiger junior Fabian Schwingenschlogl posted the top swim in the men’s 100 breast this morning, blasting 24.40 in his first 50 for a 52.26. Schwingenschlogl is new to the team this year after transferring in from Western Kentucky this fall; last season he placed 6th at NCAA Division I Championships in this event with 51.66.

The field is packed tight, though, with all of the A finalists within one second, and the event tonight could be anyone’s game. Perhaps the most likely challenger is Auburn’s Michael Duderdstadt. He claimed the second seed this morning with 52.43, and last season he was the SEC bronze medalist with 51.93, finishing only behind the likes of Sam Tierney and Nic Fink.

Kentucky’s George Greenhalgh is another contender, after a third-seed 52.53 this morning, and a school record 52.51 earlier this weekend in a time trial for the event. Nils Wich-Glasen of South Carolina and Anton McKee of Alabama are close behind in 52.74 and 52.75.

Notably, Tennessee’s Peter Stevens was disqualified in this event for a “dolphin kick motion” during his finish. Before the DQ, Stevens was the top qualifier, swimming a 51.9 that would have set him third in the nation this year.

Tonight, the swimmers will all be chasing the NCAA A standard, a 52.08, which no one swam this morning. However, we’ll most likely see some of these swimmers again even if they don’t make the mark; it took a 52.97 to be invited to NCAA Championships last year.

1. Fabian Schwingenschlogl, Mizzou- 52.26
2. Michael Duderstadt, Auburn- 52.43
3. George Greenhalgh, Kentucky- 52.53
4. Nils Wich-Glasen, South Carolina- 52.74
5. Anton McKee, Alabama- 52.75
6. Eddie Mapel, Mizzou- 52.88
7. Mauro Castillo Luna, Texas A&M- 53.03
8. Jordy Groters, Mizzou- 53.17

Men Platform Diving Prelims

Mauricio Robles will go into finals tonight seeded first and chasing his second diving title of the weekend, after a killer performance on the 1 meter last night, where he outscored second place by nearly thirty points with 409.70. The Tennessee men currently sit in sixth place, and another title could go a long way toward helping them catch the University of Missouri, which did not qualify anyone into tonight’s dive final.

Kentucky’s Levi Lindsay is still searching for his first medal of the meet, while his third-seed teammate Seb Masterton was the 3-meter silver medalist. Kentucky’s diving program is a huge asset, and if they can get two divers onto the medal stand, they’ll be much more likely to lift themselves out of tenth place.

1. Mauricio Robles, Tennessee, 409.70
2. Levi Lindsey, Kentucky, 384.38
3. Seb Masterton, Kentucky, 365.90
4. Brent Sagert, Alabama, 361.95
5. Matthew Phillip, LSU, 360.05
6. Dylan Marin, Alabama, 346.40
7. Jordan Gotro, South Carolina, 342.85
8. Scott Lazeroff, Auburn, 335.40