Hali Flickinger Impresses At Day One Of SEC Champs (Video Interviews)

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Photo Courtesy: Sue Borst

It was a cold, dreary day in Columbia, Missouri.

The pool at the University of Missouri, however, was the complete opposite as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships kicked off.

Evening finals started with the women’s 1-meter diving event. Florida senior Kahlia Warner, who finished sixth at NCAA Championships a year ago, took the victory in the event with a score of 346.10. Kentucky’s Rebecca Hamperian finished in second and Olivia Ball of Georgia was third.

Tennessee got the swimming portion of the meet off to a fast start with a win in the women’s 200-yard medley relay. The Volunteer team of backstroker Kira Toussaint, breaststroker Madeline Banic, butterflier Harper Bruens and freestyler Faith Johnson took the event title with a time of 1:35.86. Only Virginia has posted a faster time this season.

Banic is normally a butterflier, but she stepped in and helped the Volunteers by swimming the breaststroke leg of the relay. She had a split time of 27.83.

Texas A&M touched behind Tennessee with a time of 1:36.13. Georgia finished in 1:36.26.

In the men’s event, the Florida Gators posted the fastest time in the nation for the 2016 season. The team consisted of backstroker Jack Blyzinskyj, breaststroker Caeleb Dressel, butterflier Jan Switkowski and freestyler Corey Main and posted a time of 1:23.69. Auburn finished just five-hundredths of a second later in second place. Alabama was third.

Texas A&M’s Sam Thorton took first place in the 3-meter diving competition with a score of 411.15. Sebastian Masterson of Kentucky finished in second and Tennessee’s Mauricio Robles Rodriguez was third. Missouri also picked up big team points in the event. Clark Thomas was sixth and Kyle Goodwin was eighth for the Tigers.

Georgia easily took the victory in the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay, touching in 6:55.56. Second place Texas A&M finished over six seconds later. The Bulldogs, whose time was the fastest in the nation, were led by U.S. National Team member Hali Flickinger. The senior led off with a time of 1:43.19, the fastest individual time of the year.

The Bulldogs were also helped by Brittany MacLean. MacLean anchored the relay with a split time of 1:42.26. Florida touched in third place.

Florida picked up another individual win in the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Pawel Werner, Mark Szaranek, Mitch D’Arrigo and Jan Switkowski touched in 6:13.64. It was the fastest time in the nation. Auburn was second and Georgia touched third.

Going into tomorrow, Auburn is in first place on the men’s side with 170 points. They are followed by Missouri and Florida.

Kentucky and Tennessee are tied for the women’s lead with 154 points. Georgia is just behind with 149.

Preliminary races kick off at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

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