2022 SEC Championships: Star-Studded Men’s 500 Free Lined Up

Jake Magahey; Photo Courtesy: NCAA Athletics

2022 SEC Championships: Star-Studded Men’s 500 Free Lined Up

The men’s 500 freestyle will be the premier event of Day 2 of the 2022 SEC Championships. It could be the pick of the litter of the entire meet if not the weekend of conference championships.

Prelims was a feeling-out process that didn’t quite deliver. But the finals sets up nicely Wednesday night, with the NCAA record-holder, the reigning NCAA champion and a freshman phenom with a world junior record all assembled to take aim at the title.

All the action from a busy morning session is below …

2022 SEC Championships Links

Women’s team standings

(Through Event 5)                      
 
  1. Texas A&M University              155   2. Louisiana State University        150
  3. Kentucky, University of           148   4. University of Tennessee           145
  5. South Carolina, University of,    139   5. Georgia, University of            139
  7. University of Florida             130   8. University of Alabama             114
  9. Auburn University                 107  10. Missouri                           97
 11. University of Arkansas             78  12. Vanderbilt University              60

Men’s team standings

(Through Event 6)                       
 
  1. Texas A&M University              156   2. University of Tennessee           155
  3. Kentucky, University of           153   4. Louisiana State University        139
  5. Universityof Alabama              137   6. University of Florida             133
  7. Missouri                          122   8. Georgia, University of            114
  9. South Carolina, University of,    105  10. Auburn University                  90

Day 2 Ups/Mids/Downs

Men’s

Texas A&M 2-0-1
Tennessee 1-3-4
Kentucky 1-3-1
LSU 1-1-0
Alabama 2-4-2
Florida 8-4-4
Missouri 1-2-3
Georgia 5-1-2
South Carolina 0-1-5
Auburn 3-4-2

Note: A swim-off for the 24th finalist in the men’s 50 free is pending, though it’s between two South Carolina swimmers.

Women’s

Texas A&M 0-3-0
LSU 0-1-1
Kentucky 2-3-3
Tennessee 8-4-1
South Carolina 0-0-2
Georgia 4-6-1
Florida 2-2-5
Alabama 5-3-1
Auburn 0-2-5
Missouri 2-0-2
Arkansas 1-0-3
Vanderbilt 0-0-0

Women’s 500 freestyle

The home waters are friendly to Tennessee, which grabbed the top two seeds. Julie Mrozinski is the top seed in tonight’s final with 4:39.18, with teammate Kristen Stege second in 4:39.79. Aly Breslin is also in the A final in sixth. Kensey McMahon of Alabama grabbed the third spot, joining two from Georgia and two from Florida in the championship final.

One surprise came from Texas A&’s Chloe Stepanek, albeit in not her strongest event. She was nearly two seconds slower than her seed time in 4:45.30 to finish 15th.

Event 9  Women 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 4:24.06  3/16/2017 Katie Ledecky, Stanford
          SEC: S 4:32.53  3/21/2014 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
     SEC Meet: M 4:33.10  2/17/2016 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
         Pool: P 4:33.09  11/19/2020Paige Madden, Virginia
                 4:35.76  A
                 4:47.20  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Mrozinski, Juli  FR Tennessee-SE      4:38.82    4:39.18 qB     
    r:+0.63  24.98        52.58 (27.60)
        1:20.60 (28.02)     1:48.84 (28.24)
        2:17.14 (28.30)     2:45.60 (28.46)
        3:14.24 (28.64)     3:42.89 (28.65)
        4:11.46 (28.57)     4:39.18 (27.72)
  2 Stege, Kristen   JR Tennessee-SE      4:40.62    4:39.79 qB     
    r:+0.74  25.41        52.64 (27.23)
        1:20.80 (28.16)     1:49.12 (28.32)
        2:17.35 (28.23)     2:45.90 (28.55)
        3:14.68 (28.78)     3:43.52 (28.84)
        4:12.02 (28.50)     4:39.79 (27.77)
  3 McMahon, Kensey  SR Alabama-SE        4:38.76    4:40.22 qB     
    r:+0.72  26.06        53.96 (27.90)
        1:21.93 (27.97)     1:50.26 (28.33)
        2:18.72 (28.46)     2:46.95 (28.23)
        3:15.37 (28.42)     3:44.08 (28.71)
        4:12.63 (28.55)     4:40.22 (27.59)
  4 Mathieu, Tylor   JR Florida-FL        4:39.98    4:40.95 qB     
    r:+0.77  26.18        54.69 (28.51)
        1:23.09 (28.40)     1:51.41 (28.32)
        2:19.91 (28.50)     2:48.65 (28.74)
        3:17.13 (28.48)     3:45.40 (28.27)
        4:13.42 (28.02)     4:40.95 (27.53)
  5 McCulloh, Abiga  FR Georgia-GA        4:39.17    4:41.22 qB     
    r:+0.70  26.23        54.30 (28.07)
        1:22.69 (28.39)     1:51.24 (28.55)
        2:19.76 (28.52)     2:48.13 (28.37)
        3:16.52 (28.39)     3:45.14 (28.62)
        4:13.60 (28.46)     4:41.22 (27.62)
  6 Breslin, Aly M   SO Tennessee-SE      4:42.91    4:42.02 qB     
    r:+0.75  26.16        53.91 (27.75)
        1:22.37 (28.46)     1:51.18 (28.81)
        2:19.92 (28.74)     2:48.58 (28.66)
        3:17.27 (28.69)     3:45.90 (28.63)
        4:14.24 (28.34)     4:42.02 (27.78)
  7 Bauer, Elise C   SO Florida-FL        4:41.10    4:42.22 qB     
    r:+0.69  26.05        54.21 (28.16)
        1:22.59 (28.38)     1:50.96 (28.37)
        2:19.64 (28.68)     2:48.34 (28.70)
        3:17.15 (28.81)     3:45.93 (28.78)
        4:14.60 (28.67)     4:42.22 (27.62)
  8 Coetzee, Dune    FR Georgia-GA        4:42.04    4:42.80 qB     
    r:+0.75  25.91        53.75 (27.84)
        1:22.15 (28.40)     1:50.46 (28.31)
        2:18.96 (28.50)     2:47.65 (28.69)
        3:16.32 (28.67)     3:45.17 (28.85)
        4:14.36 (29.19)     4:42.80 (28.44)

Men’s 500 freestyle

The top seed in finals is from Florida, but it’s not the Florida swimmer you’re expecting.

Alfonso Mestre led five Gators into the A final and six in the top nine spots with a 4:13.56. The top three swimmers are clustered within a tenth, with Mestre’s teammate Trey Freeman second. (Remember, this is without Bobby Finke at the meet).

Stalking the field is Kieran Smith, the NCAA record holder who went 4:14.51 to coast into the A final. It was a slightly tighter scrape for Jake Magahey, Georgia’s reigning NCAA champ, who went 4:15.16 to finish seventh. He was into the A final by a clear second. And then there’s Matt Sates, off a stellar split in Tuesday’s 800 free relay, who dropped 18 seconds off a non-representative seed time to go 4:13.65. He’s the third seed.

Event 10  Men 500 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
          SEC: S 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 4:06.32  2/19/2020 Kieran Smith, Florida
         Pool: P 4:11.07  2/15/2017 Fynn Minuth, South Carolina
                 4:11.62  A
                 4:23.34  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Mestre, Alfonso  JR Florida-FL        4:11.26    4:13.56 qB     
    r:+0.73  22.94        48.24 (25.30)
        1:13.78 (25.54)     1:39.75 (25.97)
        2:05.01 (25.26)     2:30.86 (25.85)
        2:56.66 (25.80)     3:22.91 (26.25)
        3:48.69 (25.78)     4:13.56 (24.87)
  2 Freeman, Trey P  JR Florida-FL        4:13.87    4:13.63 qB     
    r:+0.65  23.09        48.46 (25.37)
        1:14.28 (25.82)     1:40.19 (25.91)
        2:06.28 (26.09)     2:32.21 (25.93)
        2:57.76 (25.55)     3:23.50 (25.74)
        3:49.02 (25.52)     4:13.63 (24.61)
  3 Sates, Matthew   FR Georgia-GA        4:31.29    4:13.65 qB     
    r:+0.65  22.10        47.37 (25.27)
        1:13.26 (25.89)     1:39.67 (26.41)
        2:06.12 (26.45)     2:32.61 (26.49)
        2:58.50 (25.89)     3:23.56 (25.06)
        3:48.76 (25.20)     4:13.65 (24.89)
  4 Bonson, Michael  SO Auburn-SE         4:18.34    4:13.89 qB     
    r:+0.74  23.03        48.52 (25.49)
        1:14.58 (26.06)     1:40.63 (26.05)
        2:06.39 (25.76)     2:31.73 (25.34)
        2:57.29 (25.56)     3:23.08 (25.79)
        3:49.04 (25.96)     4:13.89 (24.85)
  5 Smith, Kieran S  SR Florida-FL        4:10.72    4:14.51 qB     
    r:+0.68  23.20        48.88 (25.68)
        1:14.82 (25.94)     1:40.75 (25.93)
        2:06.67 (25.92)     2:32.60 (25.93)
        2:58.22 (25.62)     3:23.88 (25.66)
        3:49.39 (25.51)     4:14.51 (25.12)
  6 Watson, Tyler J  JR Florida-FL        4:20.95    4:14.96 qB     
    r:+0.74  23.41        48.52 (25.11)
        1:14.05 (25.53)     1:39.66 (25.61)
        2:05.44 (25.78)     2:31.22 (25.78)
        2:57.12 (25.90)     3:23.27 (26.15)
        3:49.38 (26.11)     4:14.96 (25.58)
  7 Magahey, Jake M  SO Georgia-GA        4:16.95    4:15.16 qB     
    r:+0.70  23.46        49.30 (25.84)
        1:15.57 (26.27)     1:41.60 (26.03)
        2:07.46 (25.86)     2:33.39 (25.93)
        2:59.14 (25.75)     3:24.85 (25.71)
        3:50.48 (25.63)     4:15.16 (24.68)
  8 Lindholm, Oskar  FR Florida-FL        4:17.54    4:15.93 qB     
    r:+0.75  23.21        48.84 (25.63)
        1:14.97 (26.13)     1:41.04 (26.07)
        2:07.12 (26.08)     2:33.23 (26.11)
        2:59.19 (25.96)     3:24.88 (25.69)
        3:50.51 (25.63)     4:15.93 (25.42)

Women’s 200 IM

It’s three to the A final again for the Volunteers, led by Ellen Walshe. The favorite entering the event grabbed the top time in 1:55.02, two tenths ahead of Georgia’s Zoie Hartman. Sara Stolter and Alexis Yager made it three Tennessee swimmers in the A final, in fourth and sixth, respectively. Kentucky slid two swimmers into the A final.

Event 11  Women 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:50.67  3/15/2018 Ella Easton, Stanford
          SEC: S 1:51.62  2/20/2019 Meghan Small, Tennessee
     SEC Meet: M 1:51.62  2/20/2019 Meghan Small, Tennessee
         Pool: P 1:50.92  11/19/2020Kate Douglass, Virginia
                 1:53.66  A
                 1:59.94  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Walshe, Ellen R  FR Tennessee-SE      1:54.77    1:55.02 qB     
    r:+0.56  25.07        53.85 (28.78)
        1:27.34 (33.49)     1:55.02 (27.68)
  2 Hartman, Zoie E  JR Georgia-GA        1:55.20    1:55.22 qB     
    r:+0.73  25.69        53.82 (28.13)
        1:27.49 (33.67)     1:55.22 (27.73)
  3 Petkova, Diana   SO Alabama-SE        1:58.40    1:56.15 qB     
    r:+0.73  25.25        53.98 (28.73)
        1:27.35 (33.37)     1:56.15 (28.80)
  4 Stotler, Sara B  FR Tennessee-SE      1:57.27    1:56.36 qB     
    r:+0.68  24.61        54.08 (29.47)
        1:28.53 (34.45)     1:56.36 (27.83)
  5 Wright, Cat G    SR Alabama-SE        1:58.64    1:56.54 qB     
    r:+0.67  25.33        55.43 (30.10)
        1:28.25 (32.82)     1:56.54 (28.29)
  6 Yager, Alexis A  SR Tennessee-SE      1:56.38    1:57.08 qB     
    r:+0.66  25.60        55.29 (29.69)
        1:28.56 (33.27)     1:57.08 (28.52)
  7 Sorenson, Sophi  SR Kentucky-KY       1:57.77    1:57.15 qB     
    r:+0.73  25.12        53.27 (28.15)
        1:28.49 (35.22)     1:57.15 (28.66)
  8 Davey, Gillian   JR Kentucky-KY       1:57.31    1:57.19 qB     
    r:+0.72  25.77        55.72 (29.95)
        1:28.34 (32.62)     1:57.19 (28.85)

Men’s 200 IM

Georgia has two big cards to play on Tuesday, and with Luca Urlando in the 200 IM (likely his third-fastest event), the Bulldogs have the luxury not to use Sates in this event, despite him holding the World Junior short-course record in the event.

Both guys made that decision look good. First Sates with this 500 swim, the Urlando going 1:42.75 in the IM to take the top seed by three tenths over Kentucky’s Mason Wilby. Georgia also got Zach Hils into the A final in sixth. Texas A&M and Alabama pushed two swimmers each into the A final.

 Event 12  Men 200 Yard IM
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:38.13  2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
          SEC: S 1:38.13  2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 1:38.13  2/15/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Pool: P 1:41.28  2/15/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
                 1:41.34  A
                 1:46.77  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Urlando, Luca R  SO Georgia-GA        1:45.12    1:42.75 qB     
    r:+0.67  21.81        47.50 (25.69)
        1:16.93 (29.43)     1:42.75 (25.82)
  2 Wilby, Mason J   SR Kentucky-KY       1:44.73    1:43.05 qB     
    r:+0.62  22.11        47.87 (25.76)
        1:18.29 (30.42)     1:43.05 (24.76)
  3 Erzen, Anze F    JR Texas A&M-GU      1:44.42    1:43.29 qB     
    r:+0.65  22.54        47.90 (25.36)
        1:17.46 (29.56)     1:43.29 (25.83)
  4 Kovac, Danny D   SR Missouri-MV       1:42.39    1:43.38 qB     
    r:+0.60  21.95        47.94 (25.99)
        1:17.91 (29.97)     1:43.38 (25.47)
  5 Bratanov, Kaloy  SR Texas A&M-GU      1:43.46    1:43.47 qB     
    r:+0.60  22.89        48.98 (26.09)
        1:18.77 (29.79)     1:43.47 (24.70)
  6 Hils, Zach C     JR Georgia-GA        1:44.52    1:43.50 qB     
    r:+0.67  22.26        47.76 (25.50)
        1:17.81 (30.05)     1:43.50 (25.69)
  7 Maas, Derek E    JR Alabama-SE        1:43.12    1:43.54 qB     
    r:+0.70  22.10        48.14 (26.04)
        1:18.02 (29.88)     1:43.54 (25.52)
  8 Menke, Matthew   JR Alabama-SE        1:44.42    1:43.82 qB     
    r:+0.63  22.27        47.14 (24.87)
        1:17.98 (30.84)     1:43.82 (25.84)

Women’s 50 freestyle

Alabama has the top seed in finals, but it still represents a missed opportunity for the Crimson Tide. The top seed entering prelims, ‘Bama’s Kalia Antoniou, settled for ninth-fastest in prelims in 22.15, .36 slower than her seed. It’s part of four ‘Bama swimmers in the top 11. That includes the top seed: Morgan Scott, who entered as the second seed, posted the fastest time of prelims at 21.78 to lead the pack.

Tennessee, with second seed AJ Kutsch, and Missouri, with Sarah Thomas and Megan Keil, added two A finalists each.

Event 13  Women 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 20.90  12/5/2019 Abby Weitzeil, California
          SEC: S 21.03  2/19/2020 Erika Brown, Tennessee
     SEC Meet: M 21.15  2/20/2019 Erika Brown, Tennessee
         Pool: P 21.19  11/21/2019Erika Brown, Tennessee
                 21.66  A
                 22.76  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Scott, Morgan E  SR Alabama-SE          21.80      21.78 qB     
    r:+0.62  10.59        21.78 (11.19)
  2 Kutsch, AJ E     JR Tennessee-SE        21.89      21.88 qB     
    r:+0.68  10.59        21.88 (11.29)
  3 Thompson, Sarah  SR Missouri-MV         21.81      21.92 qB     
    r:+0.63  10.50        21.92 (11.42)
  4 Keil, Megan K    SR Missouri-MV         21.94      21.97 qB     
    r:+0.63  10.67        21.97 (11.30)
  5 Barclay, Emily   SR Arkansas-AR         22.43      22.02 qB     
    r:+0.65  10.63        22.02 (11.39)
  6 Rumley, Jasmine  SO Tennessee-SE        22.15      22.07 qB     
    r:+0.60  10.70        22.07 (11.37)
  7 Dupre, Cora A    JR Alabama-SE          23.31      22.11 qB     
    r:+0.60  10.78        22.11 (11.33)
  8 Parker, Maxine   SO Georgia-GA          22.42      22.14 qB     
    r:+0.72  10.82        22.14 (11.32)

Men’s 50 freestyle

Some early morning speed included a pair of 18-second 50s and a sub-19.50 requirement for the A final.

Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks set the pace in 18.84 to grab the top seed, dropping more than a half second. Second is Olympian Brooks Curry in 18.93, while Florida’s Adam Chaney is lurking in third. With Alberto Mestre cracking 20 seconds in a huge time drop, the Gators have three A finalists.

Event 14  Men 50 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
         NCAA: N 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
          SEC: S 17.63  3/22/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 18.23  2/17/2016 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
         Pool: P 18.46  2/15/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
                 18.96  A
                 19.96  B
    Name           Year School               Seed    Prelims              
==================================================================
                      === Preliminaries ===                       
 
  1 Crooks, Jordan   FR Tennessee-SE        19.39      18.84 qA     
     r:+0.55  9.05         18.84 (9.79)
  2 Curry, Brooks V  JR LSU-LA              19.09      18.93 qA     
     r:+0.60  9.08         18.93 (9.85)
  3 Chaney, Adam C   SO Florida-FL          19.18      19.11 qB     
     r:+0.63  9.20         19.11 (9.91)
  4 Downing, Dillon  JR Georgia-GA          19.18      19.14 qB     
     r:+0.66  9.19         19.14 (9.95)
  5 McDuff, Macguir  FR Florida-FL          19.80      19.31 qB     
     r:+0.64  9.33         19.31 (9.98)
  6 Tirheimer, Loga  SO Auburn-SE           19.79      19.37 qB     
     r:+0.65  9.38         19.37 (9.99)
  7 Yish, Matthew C  SR Auburn-SE           19.97      19.38 qB     
     r:+0.62  9.24        19.38 (10.14)
  8 Mestre, Alberto  JR Florida-FL          20.08      19.43 qB     
     r:+0.68  9.42        19.43 (10.01)

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