Cielo Breaks SEC Record in 50 Free As Auburn Rolls in Day Two of SECs

LEXINGTON, Kentucky, February 8. AUBURN sophomore Cesar Cielo posted the third fastest time in history in the 50 free with a time of 19.03 seconds to highlight the second day of action at the SEC Swimming Championships. Cielo's mark was the pinnacle of a dominating display by Auburn's sprinters, who claimed five of the top six spots in the 50 free and won the 200 free relay. The women excelled as well, capped by freshman Ava Ohlgren recording the fastest time in the nation this season while winning the 200 IM.

Auburn's men have scored 450 points thus far, giving the Tigers a cushion of 139.5 points over second-place Florida (311), while Georgia (216.5) ranks third. The Auburn women have opened a 105-point advantage, scoring 336 points to lead Kentucky (231) and Georgia (228.5).

Cielo's stunning time in the 50 free broke his own SEC record of 19.23 that he set earlier in the day during the prelims, when he topped the previous mark of 19.33 set by former Tiger George Bovell in 2004. Cielo smashed his own record in the finals by two-tenths of a second as Auburn's sprinters took five of the top six spots. Matt Targett was second, improving his prelim time by .01 to 19.59, while Bryan Lundquist tied for third with a mark of 19.66, equaling his prelim time. Alexei Puninski placed fifth in 19.69 seconds and Scott Goodrich claimed sixth with a time of 19.82.

"I think everybody was expecting something around 19.5," said Cielo. "That was a very nice surprise to get 19.03. That was a very good start for me in the SECs. Now I want to improve my time in the 100 and help the guys in the relays. My goals are going to be harder now – I'm going to try to break the under-19 barrier. I'm very happy, and want to thank Coach (David) Marsh and Coach (Brett) Hawke and my teammates."

"Cesar is looking very powerful," said Director of Competitive Aquatics David Marsh. "Where he is right now is exciting probably for everyone in swimming because it's fun to watch those big guys go fast."

Later in the evening, Cielo swam the opening leg for Auburn's 200 free relay team that won going away in 1:16.52, breaking the pool record and beating the next closest finisher by more than two-and-a-half seconds. Cielo posted a 19.19 split to open a sizable lead for Auburn, while Puninski (19.33), Lundquist (18.99) and Targett (19.01) posted splits from the second, third and fourth legs that were faster than any other swimmer in the pool.

It marked the fifth year in a row that Auburn has had the champion in the 50 free and won the 200 free relay.

The women dominated the 200 IM, taking four of the top six spots. Freshman Ava Ohlgren set a personal best with a time of 1:57.74, beating her prelim time of 1:59.18 and recording the fastest time in the nation this season. She nipped teammate Emily Kukors, who was second in 1:57.89. Julie Stupp (2:01.32) and Anne Amardeilh (2:01.51) matched their prelim spots by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

"I've been waiting for a while for that kind of improvement," said Ohlgren. "It was time for something like that to happen, and I'm excited that it did today. It gives me a boost for the rest of the meet, because now that I know I can do that, I know I can do anything."

"Obviously Ava winning the 200 IM is a great accomplishment, especially as a freshman," said co-women's head coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker. "But what I liked more about that is two teammates just competing to get their hand on the wall first, and both of those young ladies finished that race pretty impressively."

Tiger women took three of the top six spots in the 500 free, led by Hayley Peirsol's runner-up finish in 4:41.43. Adrienne Binder, who swam a 4:41.31 in the prelims, placed fourth in the final in 4:43.25, while Chelsea Haser placed sixth in 4:47.50. In the consolation final, Julianne McLane improved her prelim time by more than four seconds, placing 11th in 4:48.38, while Kristen Hastrup improved by nearly two seconds to 4:50.95 to finish 13th.

In the men's 500 free, Daniel Slocki finished third in 4:19.78 to earn his first SEC medal. Will Dove (4:26.36) finished sixth and Andrew Callahan (4:26.96) placed eighth in the championship final, while Tyler McGill (4:29.85) placed 16th in the consolation final.

In the men's 200 IM, Jon Roberts, who moved into the championship final when James Wike withdrew from the heat, placed sixth with a time of 1:47.29, improving his provisional qualifier from the prelims. Sean Osborne took seventh in 1:48.37, and Joey Schneider finished eighth in 1:49.05. John Scott moved into the consolation final due to the same withdrawal and finished 14th in 1:50.13.

Kara Denby improved on her automatic qualifier in the women's 50 free, finishing third in a time of 22.34 after swimming a 22.46 in the prelims. Emile Ewing placed 13th in the consolation final with a time of 23.07, improving her prelim time by three-tenths of a second, while Rachel Goh finished 16th in 23.41 seconds.

Denby then led off the 200 free relay team that recorded an automatic qualifying time of 1:30.44 to finish third. Emile Ewing, Melissa Marik and Kukors swam the other three legs for the Tigers.

"We had an overall good day," said Marsh. "We didn't come back tonight as well as I had hoped. Daniel Slocki in particular really impressed me tonight. Being a fifth-year senior and putting off moving into the working world to get his MBA and be with the team this year, and then stepping up and medaling at the SEC meet for the first time in his career says a lot about his commitment to the team."

"This morning I was really pleased, but we were a little bit flat tonight," said Tierney-Walker. "Hayley Peirsol, for where she is in her training, had two very solid races today. Coming from a senior that's obviously very important. I was also very pleased with our relay at the end. Kara Denby stepped up for us again. She's been swimming quite a few events. Each day our goal is to get a little better so I would expect to be a little better tomorrow."

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