During the Friday morning preliminary session at the SEC championships, Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem posted the top overall effort with a quick 400 IM, while superstar Caeleb Dressel sat out after setting an American record in the 200 IM Thursday night.
Pickrem will go for the women’s IM sweep after she threw down a time of 4:03.11 to qualify first in the 400 IM prelims. After winning the 200 IM Thursday night, Pickrem is the top seed in the 400 IM by more than two seconds.
South Carolina’s Emma Barksdale qualified second in 4:05.43, and Pickrem’s Aggie teammate Bethany Galat was third in 4:05.99.
Tennessee’s Tess Cieplucha qualified fourth in 4:06.27, just ahead of Georgia’s Megan Kingsley (4:06.51). Others getting into the final included Missouri’s Sharli Brady (4:06.57), Tennessee’s Meghan Small (4:06.91) and Florida’s Hannah Burns (4:08.10).
Event 16 Women 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
US Open: O 3:56.54 3/16/2012 Katinka Hosszu, Southern Cal
NCAA: N 3:56.54 3/16/2012 Katinka Hosszu, Southern Cal
American: M 3:57.57 3/17/2017 Ella Eastin, Stanford
SEC Meet: S 3:58.35 2/17/2012 Elizabeth Beisel, Florida
Pool Record: P 3:59.53 2/20/2013 Elizabeth Beisel, UF
4:04.70 A
4:19.39 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Sydney Pickrem JR Texas A&M 4:05.50 4:03.11 qA
r:+0.76 26.72 56.57 (29.85)
1:26.77 (30.20) 1:56.78 (30.01)
2:30.80 (34.02) 3:05.03 (34.23)
3:34.73 (29.70) 4:03.11 (28.38)
2 Emma Barksdale JR South Carolina 4:08.20 4:05.43 qB
r:+0.76 26.06 55.42 (29.36)
1:27.20 (31.78) 1:59.18 (31.98)
2:32.58 (33.40) 3:07.78 (35.20)
3:37.10 (29.32) 4:05.43 (28.33)
3 Bethany Galat SR Texas A&M 4:02.85 4:05.99 qB
r:+0.67 25.81 55.00 (29.19)
1:27.74 (32.74) 1:59.16 (31.42)
2:33.34 (34.18) 3:08.22 (34.88)
3:37.46 (29.24) 4:05.99 (28.53)
4 Tess Cieplucha SO Tennessee 4:05.43 4:06.27 qB
r:+0.82 26.20 56.37 (30.17)
1:28.43 (32.06) 1:59.75 (31.32)
2:34.47 (34.72) 3:09.18 (34.71)
3:38.24 (29.06) 4:06.27 (28.03)
5 Megan Kingsley SR Georgia 4:16.06 4:06.51 qB
r:+0.74 26.20 55.68 (29.48)
1:26.71 (31.03) 1:56.76 (30.05)
2:32.64 (35.88) 3:08.83 (36.19)
3:37.94 (29.11) 4:06.51 (28.57)
6 Sharli Brady SR Missouri 4:04.37 4:06.57 qB
r:+0.77 25.88 55.38 (29.50)
1:26.20 (30.82) 1:56.44 (30.24)
2:31.65 (35.21) 3:07.68 (36.03)
3:37.48 (29.80) 4:06.57 (29.09)
7 Meghan Small SO Tennessee 4:13.73 4:06.91 qB
r:+0.77 25.75 54.74 (28.99)
1:26.11 (31.37) 1:56.97 (30.86)
2:32.39 (35.42) 3:08.65 (36.26)
3:38.64 (29.99) 4:06.91 (28.27)
8 Hannah Burns JR Florida 4:13.16 4:08.10 qB
r:+0.71 26.72 57.29 (30.57)
1:28.97 (31.68) 1:59.81 (30.84)
2:34.62 (34.81) 3:10.03 (35.41)
3:39.46 (29.43) 4:08.10 (28.64)
A pair of international freshman put down the top times in the men’s 400 IM prelims as Auburn’s Hugo Gonzalez (Spain) posted the top time at 3:40.31, and South Carolina’s Brandonn Almeida (Brazil) took second in 3:41.80. Just behind was Florida’s Mark Szaranek in 3:42.02.
South Carolina’s Tom Peribonio qualified fourth in 3:42.49, with Olympic finalist and Georgia senior Jay Litherland taking fifth in 3:42.57. Texas A&M teammates Austin Van Overdam (3:43.76) and Benjamin Walker (3:44.44) took sixth and seventh, respectively.
Georgia’s Gunnar Bentz, who missed the first half of the season with a broken collarbone, swam in lane eight of the first heat as a “no-time” entry, and he put up a time 3:44.60. That was good enough for eight, so Bentz will return to lane eight in the final.
Event 17 Men 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
US Open: O 3:33.42 3/24/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
NCAA: N 3:33.42 3/24/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
American: M 3:33.42 3/24/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
SEC Meet: S 3:36.21 2/16/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
Pool Record: P 3:35.98 3/27/2009 Tyler Clary, MICH
3:39.95 A
3:54.49 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Hugo Gonzalez FR Auburn 3:39.28 3:40.31 qB
r:+0.67 22.71 50.01 (27.30)
1:19.02 (29.01) 1:46.98 (27.96)
2:17.83 (30.85) 2:48.74 (30.91)
3:14.95 (26.21) 3:40.31 (25.36)
2 Brandonn Almeid FR South Carolina 3:51.58 3:41.80 qB
r:+0.71 24.18 51.45 (27.27)
1:19.20 (27.75) 1:47.12 (27.92)
2:18.10 (30.98) 2:50.06 (31.96)
3:16.54 (26.48) 3:41.80 (25.26)
3 Mark Szaranek SR Florida 3:44.56 3:42.02 qB
r:+0.74 23.53 50.61 (27.08)
1:19.07 (28.46) 1:46.79 (27.72)
2:17.70 (30.91) 2:49.32 (31.62)
3:16.12 (26.80) 3:42.02 (25.90)
4 Tom Peribonio SR South Carolina 3:45.25 3:42.49 qB
r:+0.68 23.87 51.02 (27.15)
1:19.37 (28.35) 1:47.53 (28.16)
2:18.33 (30.80) 2:50.11 (31.78)
3:16.85 (26.74) 3:42.49 (25.64)
5 Jay Litherland SR Georgia 3:39.96 3:42.57 qB
r:+0.75 24.15 51.47 (27.32)
1:19.42 (27.95) 1:47.46 (28.04)
2:19.04 (31.58) 2:51.48 (32.44)
3:17.58 (26.10) 3:42.57 (24.99)
6 Austin Van Over JR Texas A&M 3:44.70 3:43.76 qB
r:+0.69 24.29 51.83 (27.54)
1:19.33 (27.50) 1:46.86 (27.53)
2:17.90 (31.04) 2:49.45 (31.55)
3:16.83 (27.38) 3:43.76 (26.93)
7 Benjamin Walker SO Texas A&M 3:50.08 3:44.44 qB
r:+0.73 23.90 51.16 (27.26)
1:20.60 (29.44) 1:49.91 (29.31)
2:20.21 (30.30) 2:50.84 (30.63)
3:18.08 (27.24) 3:44.44 (26.36)
8 Gunnar Bentz SR Georgia NT 3:44.60 qB
r:+0.74 23.71 50.44 (26.73)
1:19.87 (29.43) 1:48.52 (28.65)
2:20.52 (32.00) 2:52.01 (31.49)
3:18.96 (26.95) 3:44.60 (25.64)
Tennessee’s Erika Brown, the 50 free champion Thursday night, qualified first in the women’s 100 fly at 50.49, just off her nation-leading time of 50.49. Auburn’s Haley Black also got under 51, qualifying second in 50.99, and Aly Tetzloff qualified third for the Auburn Tigers in 51.41.
Texas A&M’s Jing Quah took fourth in 52.00, and Georgia’s Chelsea Britt was fifth (52.07). Other finalists included Tennessee’s Maddy Banic (52.08), Missouri’s Ann Ochitwa (52.23) and Auburn’s Bailey Nero (52.27).
Event 18 Women 100 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
US Open: O 49.43 3/18/2016 Kelsi Worrell, Louisville
NCAA: N 49.43 3/18/2016 Kelsi Worrell, Louisville
American: M 49.43 3/18/2016 Kelsi Worrell, Louisville
SEC Meet: S 50.71 2/16/2017 Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M
Pool Record: P 51.12 3/20/2009 Amanda Sims, CAL
51.19 A
54.49 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Erika Brown SO Tennessee 50.33 50.49SqA
r:+0.71 10.66 23.21 (12.55)
36.75 (13.54) 50.49 (13.74)
2 Haley Black SR Auburn 52.44 50.99PqA
r:+0.69 10.75 23.46 (12.71)
37.10 (13.64) 50.99 (13.89)
3 Alyssa Tetzloff JR Auburn 51.79 51.41 qB
r:+0.68 10.81 23.32 (12.51)
37.23 (13.91) 51.41 (14.18)
4 Jing Quah FR Texas A&M 52.83 52.00 qB
r:+0.64 11.31 24.17 (12.86)
37.86 (13.69) 52.00 (14.14)
5 Chelsea Britt SR Georgia 51.85 52.07 qB
r:+0.67 11.12 24.33 (13.21)
38.04 (13.71) 52.07 (14.03)
6 Madeline Banic JR Tennessee 54.46 52.08 qB
r:+0.75 11.07 24.29 (13.22)
37.94 (13.65) 52.08 (14.14)
7 Ann Ochitwa JR Missouri 52.20 52.23 qB
r:+0.75 11.26 24.44 (13.18)
38.01 (13.57) 52.23 (14.22)
8 Bailey Nero JR Auburn 53.86 52.27 qB
r:+0.72 11.24 24.44 (13.20)
38.17 (13.73) 52.27 (14.10)
In a wide-open field in the men’s 100 fly absent Dressel, the NCAA and American record-holder, Auburn’s Liam McCloskey took the top seed in 45.75, but three other swimmers joined him under 46 seconds: Texas A&M’s Jose Martinez (45.82), Georgia’s Camden Murphy (45.94) and Florida’s Jan Switkowski (45.95).
Auburn’s Luis Martinez took fifth in 46.05, ahead of Tennessee’s Ryan Coetzee (46.20), Auburn’s Santiago Grassi (46.23) and Texas A&M’s Mauro Castillo Luna (46.26).
Event 19 Men 100 Yard Butterfly
==================================================================
US Open: O 43.58 3/24/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
NCAA: N 43.58 3/24/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
American: M 43.58 3/24/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
SEC Meet: S 44.21 2/16/2017 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Pool Record: P 44.18 3/28/2009 Austin Staab, STAN
45.49 A
48.29 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Liam McCloskey JR Auburn 46.21 45.75 qB
r:+0.68 9.68 21.25 (11.57)
33.47 (12.22) 45.75 (12.28)
2 Jose Martinez JR Texas A&M 46.12 45.82 qB
r:+0.71 9.82 21.56 (11.74)
33.68 (12.12) 45.82 (12.14)
3 Camden Murphy FR Georgia 46.07 45.94 qB
r:+0.71 9.86 21.18 (11.32)
33.54 (12.36) 45.94 (12.40)
4 Jan Switkowski SR Florida 46.68 45.95 qB
r:+0.69 9.70 21.57 (11.87)
33.90 (12.33) 45.95 (12.05)
5 Luis Martinez SR Auburn 47.00 46.05 qB
r:+0.67 9.86 21.48 (11.62)
33.81 (12.33) 46.05 (12.24)
6 Ryan Coetzee SR Tennessee 45.46 46.20 qB
r:+0.92 9.89 21.54 (11.65)
33.80 (12.26) 46.20 (12.40)
7 Santiago Grassi SO Auburn 46.52 46.23 qB
r:+0.67 10.05 21.41 (11.36)
34.15 (12.74) 46.23 (12.08)
8 Mauro Castillo SR Texas A&M 46.66 46.26 qB
r:+0.62 9.67 21.21 (11.54)
33.32 (12.11) 46.26 (12.94)
With her Texas A&M Aggies leading the way in the team standings, Claire Rasmus was the only swimmer to break 1:45 in the prelims of the women’s 200 free, recording a qualifying mark of 1:44.98. Tennessee’s Stanzi Moseley took second in 1:45.19, and the Aggies’ Katie Portz and Florida’s Amelia Maughn tied for third in 1:45.51.
Auburn’s Erin Falconer finished just behind in 1:45.53. Sixth through eighth were Georgia’s Meaghan Raab (1:45.73), Missouri’s Erin Metzger-Seymour (1:45.87) and Texas A&M’s McKenna DeBever (1:45.98), respectively.
Event 21 Women 200 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
US Open: O 1:39.10 3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
NCAA: N 1:39.10 3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
American: M 1:39.10 3/21/2015 Missy Franklin, California
SEC Meet: S 1:41.83 2/20/2014 Shannon Vreeland, Georgia
Pool Record: P 1:42.01 3/20/2009 Dana Vollmer, CAL
1:43.30 A
1:47.99 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Claire Rasmus JR Texas A&M 1:44.52 1:44.98 qB
r:+0.69 24.85 51.91 (27.06)
1:18.93 (27.02) 1:44.98 (26.05)
2 Stanzi Moseley SO Tennessee 1:44.63 1:45.19 qB
r:+0.71 24.52 51.37 (26.85)
1:18.10 (26.73) 1:45.19 (27.09)
3 Katie Portz SO Texas A&M 1:45.43 1:45.51 qB
r:+0.71 25.08 51.78 (26.70)
1:18.71 (26.93) 1:45.51 (26.80)
3 Amelia Maughan SR Florida 1:46.68 1:45.51 qB
r:+0.74 24.59 51.36 (26.77)
1:18.44 (27.08) 1:45.51 (27.07)
5 Erin Falconer JR Auburn 1:47.89 1:45.53 qB
r:+0.75 24.50 51.58 (27.08)
1:18.69 (27.11) 1:45.53 (26.84)
6 Meaghan Raab SR Georgia 1:43.85 1:45.73 qB
r:+0.76 25.15 52.01 (26.86)
1:18.85 (26.84) 1:45.73 (26.88)
7 Erin Metzger-Se SR Missouri 1:45.68 1:45.87 qB
r:+0.73 25.12 51.85 (26.73)
1:18.90 (27.05) 1:45.87 (26.97)
8 McKenna DeBever JR Texas A&M 1:46.99 1:45.98 qB
r:+0.74 24.98 52.33 (27.35)
1:19.49 (27.16) 1:45.98 (26.49)
Florida’s Khader Baqlah topped the field in the men’s 200 free prelims with the only time under 1:33. He came in at 1:32.96, while Auburn’s Zach Apple took second in 1:33.21. Apple was the 50 free champion Thursday night, and the 500 free champion will also be in the final as South Carolina’s Fynn Minuth posted a mark of 1:33.98 for fifth place.
Florida’s Maxime Rooney (1:33.67) and Missouri’s Mikel Schreuder (1:33.90) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, and other finalists included Missouri’s Giovanny Lima (1:34.42), Tennessee’s Joey Reilman (1:34.47) and Alabama’s Christopher Reid (1:34.50).
Event 22 Men 200 Yard Freestyle
==================================================================
US Open: O 1:30.46 3/25/2016 Townley Haas, Texas
NCAA: N 1:30.46 3/25/2016 Townley Haas, Texas
American: M 1:30.46 3/25/2016 Townley Haas, Texas
SEC Meet: S 1:31.73 2/16/2011 Conor Dwyer, Florida
Pool Record: P 1:31.70 3/27/2009 Shaune Fraser, UF
1:32.54 A
1:37.99 B
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===
1 Khader Baqlah SO Florida 1:33.35 1:32.96 qB
r:+0.78 22.17 46.09 (23.92)
1:09.50 (23.41) 1:32.96 (23.46)
2 Zachary Apple JR Auburn 1:35.23 1:33.21 qB
r:+0.69 21.75 45.13 (23.38)
1:08.95 (23.82) 1:33.21 (24.26)
3 Maxime Rooney SO Florida 1:33.65 1:33.67 qB
r:+0.71 21.64 45.23 (23.59)
1:09.28 (24.05) 1:33.67 (24.39)
4 Mikel Schreuder JR Missouri 1:33.24 1:33.90 qB
r:+0.76 22.26 46.04 (23.78)
1:09.86 (23.82) 1:33.90 (24.04)
5 Fynn Minuth JR South Carolina 1:36.51 1:33.98 qB
r:+0.72 21.98 45.61 (23.63)
1:09.62 (24.01) 1:33.98 (24.36)
6 Giovanny Lima SO Missouri 1:34.88 1:34.42 qB
r:+0.62 21.90 45.76 (23.86)
1:10.04 (24.28) 1:34.42 (24.38)
7 Joey Reilman JR Tennessee 1:34.27 1:34.47 qB
r:+0.72 21.78 45.73 (23.95)
1:10.17 (24.44) 1:34.47 (24.30)
8 Christopher Rei SR Alabama 1:38.04 1:34.50 qB
r:+0.72 22.80 46.81 (24.01)
1:10.56 (23.75) 1:34.50 (23.94)
