Texas A&M junior Benjamin Walker’s victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, which was the men’s program’s first swimming conference title since joining the league, was the highlight of the Aggies’ final day at the 2019 Southeastern Conference Championships.
Walker, from The Woodlands, Texas, took the early lead and never trailed as he cruised to the 200 breaststroke SEC crown in a lifetime-best and NCAA “A” qualifying standard time of 1:52.55. Walker also moves to No. 2 on A&M’s all-time top 10 list in the race and becomes the second Aggie under 1:53 in the race.
“I’m so happy for Benjamin,” Aggie head coach Jay Holmes said. “We’ve had a bunch of second and third place finishes here at the SEC Championships, and it’s great to have that done and over with. It was a great job by Benjamin. He put a lot of pressure on himself to do it. For him to step up and get it done was a great swim for him.”
In the team standings, the Aggies placed fourth with 907 points. Florida won the SEC crown for a seventh-straight year with 1,233 points, followed by Missouri (1,137), Tennessee (917), Texas A&M, Georgia (862.5), Alabama (789.5), Kentucky (672), Auburn (661.5), South Carolina (565) and LSU (486.5)
“Finishing fourth isn’t what we came here to do,” Holmes said. “As a team, we wanted better. As a team, we had higher expectations. There are so many great teams here and it’s a testament to the strength of this conference. We set 10 school records here, so there were so many things we had to be happy about, but it was also a mixed bag. We know we’re better than that and we’re going to keep working to get where we want to be.”
The Aggies broke another school record on the final day of the SEC Championships with freshman Shaine Casas lowering his own record in the 200 backstroke (1:39.84). Joining Walker with an award podium appearance on Saturday was Casas in the 200 backstroke (2nd).
Saturday’s Race Recaps
1650 Freestyle:
Freshman Luke Stuart led the way for the Aggies in the 1650 with a lifetime best time of 15:08.00 and 13th place finish. Fellow freshman Mark Schnippenkoetter placed 17th in 15:15.91 and sophomore Felipe Rizzo took 21st in 15:22.17. Stuart moves to No. 3 on the Aggies' all-time top 10 list in the mile, while Schnippenkoetter improves from No. 8 to No. 4.
100 Backstroke:
Freshman Shaine Casas places second in the 100 backstroke with time of 1:39.84 while lowering his own school record and becoming the first Aggie under 1:40 in the race.Freshman Ethan Gogulski won the 200 backstroke consolation final in lifetime best 1:41.35.
100 Freestyle:
Junior Adam Koster misses his 100 free school record from the morning by .02, places 5th in 42.40. Junior Mike Thibert places 12th (43.37), while Clayton Bobo and Mark Theall chip in 20th and 21st finishes.
200 Breaststroke:
Walker, from The Woodlands, Texas, took the early lead and never trailed as he cruised to the 200 breaststoke SEC crown in a lifetime-best and NCAA “A” qualifying standard time of 1:52.55. Walker also moves to No. 2 on A&M’s all-time top 10 list in the race and becomes the second Aggie under 1:53 in the race.
Platform Dive:
Senior Sam Thornton chipped in 14 points with a 13th-place finish in the platform dive with a score of 312.95.
400 Free Relay:
The 400 free relay of Adam Koster, Mike Thibert, Mark Theall and Clayton Bobo closed out the meet with a sixth-place finish in a season-best time of 2:52.04.
From: Jill Skotarczak
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2019 8:59 PM
To: Jill Skotarczak
Subject: Florida Men, Texas A&M Women Win 2019 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships
Live Results
Athens, Ga. – The Florida men and Texas A&M women are the winners of the 2019 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, held at Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.
The Aggies earned their fourth consecutive SEC title in women’s swimming & diving with a final score of 1,107 points. Florida came in second with 1,023.50 points. The Gators won their seventh consecutive and 40th overall title in men’s swimming & diving with a total score of 1,233 points. Missouri finished second with 1,137 points.
The Commissioner’s Trophy, which is awarded to the student-athletes who score the most individual points at the championships, went to Erika Brown of Tennessee and Robert Howard of Alabama. Howard is the fifth Alabama student-athlete to win this award and the first since 1991. Brown previously earned a share of this honor last season when she became the third Lady Vol in program history to win the award.
Brown and Howard were also named the SEC Swimmers of the Meet. Colin Zeng of Tennessee and Brooke Schultz of Arkansas were selected as the SEC Divers of the Meet.
The Florida freshmen swept the 1650 freestyle events, as Leah Braswell won the women’s with a time of 15:53.54 and Robert Finke won the men’ with an SEC meet record time of 14:23.01, the fourth fastest time ever by an NCAA swimmer.
Asia Seidt of Kentucky won her third consecutive SEC title in the women’s 200 back, touching the wall first with a time of 1:49.31. Fellow Wildcat Ali Galyer placed second (1:50.39), while Erin Falconer of Auburn took third (1:51.57).
Joey Reilman of Tennessee earned the top spot in the men’s 200 back with his time of 1:38.97. Shaine Casas of Texas A&M placed second (1:39.84), and Clark Beach of Florida came in third (1:39.95).
Brown defended her title in the women’s 100 free with her SEC meet record time of 46.41. Second place went to Anna Hopkin of Arkansas at 47.10. Veronica Burchill of Georgia took third with a time of 47.30.
Robert Howard swam the second fastest time in the nation this season to win the men’s 100 freestyle (41.57). Kyle Decoursey of Tennessee came in second (41.71), and Maxime Rooney of Florida placed third (41.74).
Texas A&M went 1-2 in the women’s 200 breaststroke as Anna Belousova finished first at 2:04.80 and Sydney Pickrem came in second at 2:04.89. Third place went to Bailey Bonnett of Kentucky with a time of 2:07.19.
Benjamin Walker of Texas A&M won the gold medal in the men’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 1:52.55. Second place went to James Guest of Georgia (1:53.11) and third to Grant Sanders of Florida (1:53.36).
Zeng captured first place in the men’s platform with a final score of 452.25. Chase Lane of Kentucky recorded 424.65 points to earn second place, and Juan Celaya Hernandez of LSU took third with 409.35 points.
In the 400 free relays, Auburn won the women’s event with an SEC meet record time of 3:10.45, while Alabama won the men’s race with a time of 2:48.52 to close out the meet.
2019 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships – Day Five (Feb. 23 – Athens, Ga.)
Saturday’s Final Results:
Women’s Team Results
1.
Texas A&M
1107
2.
Florida
1023.50
3.
Kentucky
927.50
4.
Tennessee
919.50
5.
Georgia
883.50
6.
Auburn
883
7.
Missouri
640
8.
Arkansas
517
9.
South Carolina
515
10.
LSU
489.50
11.
Alabama
429.50
12.
Vanderbilt
153
Men’s Team Results
1.
Florida
1233
2.
Missouri
1137
3.
Tennessee
917
4.
Texas A&M
907
5.
Georgia
862.50
6.
Alabama
789.50
7.
Kentucky
672
8.
Auburn
661.50
9.
South Carolina
565
10.
LSU
486.50
