SEC Championships, Day 4 Finals: Emma Weyant Completes 400 IM Three-Peat; Josh Liendo Drops Huge 100 Fly

Emma Weyant
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

SEC Championships, Day 4 Finals: Emma Weyant Completes 400 IM Three-Peat

A different composition of the SEC has yielded the same result for Emma Weyant. The Florida senior won her third straight SEC Championship in the women’s 400 individual medley Thursday night, the two-time Olympian dominating the field on the way to victory.

Action from the fourth night of swimming competition at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.

With two days of competition left, Texas has a lead of more than 300 points on the women’s side. For the men, the Longhorns are well-positioned to end Florida’s run of 12 straight titles, more than 100 points up on the Gators.

Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 20                 
  1. University of Texas             888.5   2. University of Florida             576
  3. University of Tennessee           556   4. Georgia, University of          441.5
  5. Texas A&M University              347   6. South Carolina, University of,    344
  7. Louisiana State University        308   8. University of Alabama             289
  9. Auburn University               242.5  10. Missouri                        208.5
 11. Kentucky, University of           166  12. University of Arkansas            146
 13. Vanderbilt University              89
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 22                  
  1. University of Texas             827.5   2. University of Florida             714
  3. University of Tennessee         526.5   4. Georgia, University of            463
  5. Texas A&M University              377   6. University of Alabama             329
  7. Auburn University                 308   8. Louisiana State University        295
  9. Kentucky, University of           231  10. South Carolina, University of,    164
 11. Missouri                          157

Women’s 400 individual medley

Make it a three-peat for Emma Weyant in the 400 IM, and in emphatic fashion. The Florida senior won her third consecutive title by going 3:59.24. That’s just off her college best of 3:59.00, which she used in a runner-up finish at NCAAs last year.

Weyant won by nearly 2.5 seconds over Ella Jansen of Tennessee, who went 4:0.61. It was another 1.5 seconds back to Campbell Stoll of Texas. Florida got fourth and fifth, thanks to Mabel Zavaros and Julie Brousseau, respectively.

Event 16  Women 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 3:54.60  3/16/2018 Ella Eastin, Stanford
          SEC: S 3:58.23  3/22/2022 Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
     SEC Meet: M 3:58.35  2012      Elizabeth Beisel, Florida
         Pool: P 3:55.97  3/22/2024 Alex Walsh, Virginia
                 4:03.62  A
                 4:16.78  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Weyant, Emma J   SR FLOR-FL           4:03.34    3:59.24 A       32  
    r:+0.74  26.43        55.66 (29.23)
        1:26.19 (30.53)     1:56.32 (30.13)
        2:30.07 (33.75)     3:04.37 (34.30)
        3:32.07 (27.70)     3:59.24 (27.17)
  2 Jansen, Ella        Tennessee-SE      4:04.45    4:01.61 A       28  
    r:+0.65  25.45        54.44 (28.99)
        1:24.79 (30.35)     1:54.61 (29.82)
        2:30.07 (35.46)     3:06.17 (36.10)
        3:34.12 (27.95)     4:01.61 (27.49)
  3 Stoll, Campbell  SO Texas             4:06.67    4:03.11 A       27  
    r:+0.64  25.35        55.00 (29.65)
        1:25.84 (30.84)     1:56.27 (30.43)
        2:30.86 (34.59)     3:06.14 (35.28)
        3:34.91 (28.77)     4:03.11 (28.20)
  4 Zavaros, Mabel   5Y FLOR-FL           4:06.30    4:03.93 B       26  
    r:+0.52  25.52        55.02 (29.50)
        1:25.60 (30.58)     1:55.25 (29.65)
        2:31.47 (36.22)     3:07.97 (36.50)
        3:36.49 (28.52)     4:03.93 (27.44)
  5 Brousseau, Juli     FLOR-FL           4:07.66    4:04.21 B       25  
    r:+0.74  26.48        56.68 (30.20)
        1:27.18 (30.50)     1:57.55 (30.37)
        2:32.95 (35.40)     3:08.71 (35.76)
        3:36.86 (28.15)     4:04.21 (27.35)
  6 Brown, Emily        Tennessee-SE      4:07.66    4:05.17 B       24  
    r:+0.75  25.42        54.58 (29.16)
        1:26.11 (31.53)     1:56.63 (30.52)
        2:31.63 (35.00)     3:08.00 (36.37)
        3:37.36 (29.36)     4:05.17 (27.81)
  7 Chase, Campbell  FR Texas             4:09.48    4:06.63 B       23  
    r:+0.68  25.78        55.75 (29.97)
        1:27.64 (31.89)     1:59.16 (31.52)
        2:33.93 (34.77)     3:09.48 (35.55)
        3:38.61 (29.13)     4:06.63 (28.02)
  8 Plaza, Sofia M   FR FLOR-FL           4:08.14    4:07.23 B       22  
    r:+0.70  27.15        57.48 (30.33)
        1:29.38 (31.90)     2:00.13 (30.75)
        2:34.25 (34.12)     3:09.06 (34.81)
        3:38.72 (29.66)     4:07.23 (28.51)

Men’s 400 individual medley

Rex Maurer set another Texas meet record by going 3:35.61. That downs the 2018 record of 3:35.76 set by Hugo Gonzalez, then swimming for Auburn. It denied a three-peat for Baylor Nelson, the Texas A&M junior who had been third at NCAAs last year second in 3:37.47. He needed to hold it together to hold off the finishing kick of Georgia’s Jake Magahey, who finished third in 3:37.89.

Gio Linscheer, who was third last year, bumped down a spot to fourth. Freshmen Cooper Lucas of Texas and Drew Hitchcock of Georgia also broke 3:40, as did Florida’s Eric Brown to win the B final.

Event 17  Men 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 3:28.82  3/24/2023 Leon Marchand, Arizona State
          SEC: S 3:33.42  3/24/2017 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
     SEC Meet: M 3:35.76  2018      Hugo Gonzalez, Auburn
         Pool: P 3:36.89  2/20/2014 Chase Kalisz, Georgia
                 3:38.37  A
                 3:49.53  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Maurer, Rex      SO Texas             3:38.61    3:35.61MA       32  
    r:+0.72  22.64        48.75 (26.11)
        1:16.28 (27.53)     1:42.70 (26.42)
        2:14.05 (31.35)     2:46.00 (31.95)
        3:11.54 (25.54)     3:35.61 (24.07)
  2 Nelson, Baylor   JR Texas A&M-GU      3:38.64    3:37.47 A       28  
    r:+0.61  23.02        49.68 (26.66)
        1:17.30 (27.62)     1:44.55 (27.25)
        2:15.15 (30.60)     2:46.17 (31.02)
        3:12.10 (25.93)     3:37.47 (25.37)
  3 Magahey, Jake M  5Y UGA               3:39.52    3:37.89 A       27  
    r:+0.71  22.73        48.73 (26.00)
        1:17.15 (28.42)     1:44.61 (27.46)
        2:15.85 (31.24)     2:47.67 (31.82)
        3:13.25 (25.58)     3:37.89 (24.64)
  4 Linscheer, Giov  JR FLOR-FL           3:39.17    3:38.46 B       26  
    r:+0.69  23.55        50.39 (26.84)
        1:19.22 (28.83)     1:46.82 (27.60)
        2:17.34 (30.52)     2:47.90 (30.56)
        3:13.79 (25.89)     3:38.46 (24.67)
  5 Lucas, Cooper    FR Texas             3:39.86    3:39.02 B       25  
    r:+0.71  23.40        50.10 (26.70)
        1:18.54 (28.44)     1:46.24 (27.70)
        2:17.05 (30.81)     2:48.49 (31.44)
        3:14.40 (25.91)     3:39.02 (24.62)
  6 Hitchcock, Drew  FR UGA               3:40.09    3:39.98 B       24  
    r:+0.70  23.21        50.22 (27.01)
        1:18.01 (27.79)     1:45.45 (27.44)
        2:17.09 (31.64)     2:49.04 (31.95)
        3:14.76 (25.72)     3:39.98 (25.22)
  7 Johnston, David  SR Texas             3:39.07    3:40.86 B       23  
    r:+0.67  23.60        50.43 (26.83)
        1:19.04 (28.61)     1:46.78 (27.74)
        2:18.04 (31.26)     2:49.74 (31.70)
        3:16.04 (26.30)     3:40.86 (24.82)
  8 Laur, Mason A    SR FLOR-FL           3:39.32    3:42.53 B       22  
    r:+0.64  23.27        49.51 (26.24)
        1:17.91 (28.40)     1:45.51 (27.60)
        2:16.70 (31.19)     2:49.12 (32.42)
        3:16.01 (26.89)     3:42.53 (26.52)

Women’s 100 butterfly

Emma Sticklen added an SEC title to her long list of accomplishments, the Texas grad student going 49.40 to dominate. She came within a shout of Maggie Mac Neil’s meet mark of 48.99. Sticklen is the reigning NCAA runner-up.

The 100 fly may well be the capstone on Texas’s two-step to their first SEC title. Abigail Arens finished third in 51.21. Olivia Bray was fourth in 51.28, extending the Texas edge to nearly 300 points.

In between was Olivia Peoples of Florida, last year’s league champ, who went 50.96.

Event 18  Women 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 47.35  11/21/2024G. Walsh, Virginia
          SEC: S 48.51  3/18/2023 Maggie MacNeil, LSU
     SEC Meet: M 48.99  2023      Maggie MacNeil, LSU
         Pool: P 47.42  3/22/2024 Gretchen Walsh, Virginia
                 50.52  A
                 53.34  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Sticklen, Emma   GS Texas               49.85      49.40 A       32  
    r:+0.64  10.54        22.79 (12.25)
          35.79 (13.00)       49.40 (13.61)
  2 Peoples, Olivia  SR FLOR-FL             51.41      50.96 B       28  
    r:+0.54  10.73        23.84 (13.11)
          37.19 (13.35)       50.96 (13.77)
  3 Arens, Abigail   GS Texas               51.03      51.21 B       27  
    r:+0.49  10.79        23.92 (13.13)
          37.31 (13.39)       51.21 (13.90)
  4 Bray, Olivia G   GS Texas               51.72      51.28 B       26  
    r:+0.71  10.81        23.80 (12.99)
          37.33 (13.53)       51.28 (13.95)
  5 Stotler, Sara B     Tennessee-SE        51.81      51.50 B       25  
    r:+0.67  11.01        24.17 (13.16)
          37.55 (13.38)       51.50 (13.95)
  6 Carteaux, Morga  SO Auburn-SE           51.71      51.64 B       24  
    r:+0.66  10.89        24.07 (13.18)
          37.47 (13.40)       51.64 (14.17)
  7 Pelzek, Greta J  SR South Carolina-S    51.46      51.73 B       23  
    r:+0.50  11.26        24.66 (13.40)
          37.97 (13.31)       51.73 (13.76)
  8 Theall, Liv A    GS Texas A&M-GU        51.77      51.90 B       22  
    r:+0.62  10.70        23.89 (13.19)
          37.76 (13.87)       51.90 (14.14)

Men’s 100 butterfly

In a battle of Olympians, Josh Liendo got the better of Luca Urlando in the 100 fly. The Florida junior went 43.23, just off his NCAA-winning time of 43.07, from last year to defend his title.

Urlando, back swimming for Georgia, was second in 43.99. Last year’s runner-up, Scotty Buff of Florida, was third this time in 44.28, with Connor Foote of Texas A&M following in 44.34. Harrison Lierz went 44.67 to lead four straight Tennessee finishers. (The podium is nearly the same as last year, which went Liendo, Buff, Foote, Lierz).

Event 19  Men 100 Yard Butterfly
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
          SEC: S 42.80  3/23/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 43.70  2/20/2025 Josh Liendo, Florida
         Pool: P 44.39  11/17/2023Josh Liendo, Florida
                 44.51  A
                 46.80  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Liendo, Josh     JR FLOR-FL             43.70      43.23MA       32  
     r:+0.65  9.04        20.00 (10.96)
          31.52 (11.52)       43.23 (11.71)
  2 Urlando, Luca R  SR UGA                 44.64      43.99PA       28  
     r:+0.61  9.52        20.58 (11.06)
          32.13 (11.55)       43.99 (11.86)
  3 Buff, Scotty     SO FLOR-FL             44.67      44.28PA       27  
     r:+0.62  9.43        20.68 (11.25)
          32.17 (11.49)       44.28 (12.11)
  4 Foote, Connor M  JR Texas A&M-GU        44.53      44.34PA       26  
     r:+0.62  9.19        20.57 (11.38)
          32.14 (11.57)       44.34 (12.20)
  5 Lierz, Harrison     Tennessee-SE        45.63      44.67 B       25  
     r:+0.64  9.52        20.75 (11.23)
          32.49 (11.74)       44.67 (12.18)
  6 Caribe, Gui C       Tennessee-SE        45.03      44.76 B       24  
     r:+0.60  9.26        20.77 (11.51)
          32.48 (11.71)       44.76 (12.28)
  7 Kammann, Bjoern     Tennessee-SE        45.12      45.14 B       23  
     r:+0.70  9.39        20.81 (11.42)
          32.80 (11.99)       45.14 (12.34)
  8 Espernberger, M     Tennessee-SE        45.43      45.50 B       22  
     r:+0.60  9.79        21.20 (11.41)
          33.25 (12.05)       45.50 (12.25)

Women’s 200 freestyle

Camille Spink has a second SEC title to go with her 50 free crown, the Tennessee Vol pulling away on the third 50 to go 1:42.06 and get the win. She pulled away from a leading back that included Erin Gemmell of Texas and Spink’s UT teammate Brooklyn Douthwright. Gemmell, the top seed out of prelims, went 1:42.32. Douthwright was 142.62.

Spink finished second in this event last year and made the A final at NCAAs before false-starting.

Lillian Nesty added more points for Texas in fourth. Lainy Kruger of Florida also broke 1:44 for fifth.

Event 20  Women 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:39.10  3/20/2015 Missy Franklin, California
          SEC: S 1:40.90  2/20/2024 Bella Sims, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 1:40.90  2024      Bella Sims, Florida
         Pool: P 1:40.90  3/22/2024 Bella Sims, Florida
                 1:42.60  A
                 1:46.85  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Spink, Camille      Tennessee-SE      1:44.00    1:42.06 A       32  
    r:+0.66  23.53        49.51 (25.98)
        1:15.75 (26.24)     1:42.06 (26.31)
  2 Gemmell, Erin M  SO Texas             1:42.84    1:42.32 A       28  
    r:+0.77  23.87        49.74 (25.87)
        1:16.10 (26.36)     1:42.32 (26.22)
  3 Douthwright, Br     Tennessee-SE      1:43.38    1:42.62 B       27  
    r:+0.62  24.07        50.02 (25.95)
        1:16.39 (26.37)     1:42.62 (26.23)
  4 Nesty, Lillian   FR Texas             1:44.05    1:43.63 B       26  
    r:+0.61  23.95        49.83 (25.88)
        1:16.32 (26.49)     1:43.63 (27.31)
  5 Kruger, Lainy A  SO FLOR-FL           1:44.11    1:43.90 B       25  
    r:+0.66  24.62        50.97 (26.35)
        1:17.23 (26.26)     1:43.90 (26.67)
  6 Landreneau, Mar  FR UGA               1:44.24    1:44.10 B       24  
    r:+0.82  24.31        50.59 (26.28)
        1:17.39 (26.80)     1:44.10 (26.71)
  7 Mrozinski, Juli     Tennessee-SE      1:44.00    1:44.33 B       23  
    r:+0.67  24.33        50.93 (26.60)
        1:17.92 (26.99)     1:44.33 (26.41)
  8 Stepanek, Chloe  5T Texas A&M-GU      1:44.18    1:44.92 B       22  
    r:+0.66  24.13        50.34 (26.21)
        1:17.21 (26.87)     1:44.92 (27.71)

Men’s 200 freestyle

The sub-1:30s will have to wait for NCAAs, but Texas is well-positioned to get there. Luke Hobson won his first SEC individual title with a time of 1:30.23. That edged teammate Chris Guiliano by .15 seconds, all of the damage done on the final 50, Hobson coming home in 23.27. Guliano had been 1:30.31 in prelims.

All four swimmers in the 1:30-points did it again at night. Charlie Hawke, last year’s runner-up for Alabama, was third in 1:30.62. Georgia’s Tomas Koski was fourth for Georgia in 1:30.70.

Jordan Crooks finished sixth in 1:31.88, the same time that Jake Mitchell used to win the B final. Mitchell’s Florida mate, Alex Painter, was fifth.

Event 21  Men 200 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
         NCAA: N 1:28.81  3/29/2024 Luke Hobson, Texas
          SEC: S 1:29.48  2/23/2021 Kieran Smith, Florida
     SEC Meet: M 1:29.48  2021      Kieran Smith, Florida
         Pool: P 1:31.05  11/21/2024Charlie Hawke, Alabama
                 1:31.21  A
                 1:35.35  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Hobson, Luke A   SR Texas             1:30.76    1:30.23PA       32  
    r:+0.72  20.96        43.83 (22.87)
        1:06.96 (23.13)     1:30.23 (23.27)
  2 Guiliano, Chris     Texas             1:30.31    1:30.38PA       28  
    r:+0.61  20.64        43.33 (22.69)
        1:06.53 (23.20)     1:30.38 (23.85)
  3 Hawke, Charlie   SR Alabama-SE        1:30.84    1:30.62PA       27  
    r:+0.71  21.07        44.17 (23.10)
        1:07.40 (23.23)     1:30.62 (23.22)
  4 Koski, Tomas S   SO UGA               1:30.85    1:30.70PA       26  
    r:+0.60  21.09        43.89 (22.80)
        1:07.12 (23.23)     1:30.70 (23.58)
  5 Painter, Alex J  FR FLOR-FL           1:31.49    1:31.13 A       25  
    r:+0.60  20.75        43.80 (23.05)
        1:07.33 (23.53)     1:31.13 (23.80)
  6 Crooks, Jordan      Tennessee-SE      1:31.10    1:31.88 B       24  
    r:+0.63  21.07        44.53 (23.46)
        1:08.17 (23.64)     1:31.88 (23.71)
  7 Alves, Kaique    SR Alabama-SE        1:32.21    1:32.07 B       23  
    r:+0.65  21.13        44.43 (23.30)
        1:08.22 (23.79)     1:32.07 (23.85)
  8 Dragoja, Toni    JR Alabama-SE        1:32.19    1:32.88 B       22  
    r:+0.60  21.02        44.54 (23.52)
        1:08.45 (23.91)     1:32.88 (24.43)

Men’s 1-meter diving

Conor Gesing fell shy of defending his 3-meter title this week, but the Florida sophomore added the 1-meter crown to his pile of plaudits, the only diver to cross 400 points with 412.75, a winning margin of 20-plus points. Gesing had been third in this event last year and second to LSU’s Carson Paul on 3-meter. Paul was fifth on 1-meter Thursday despite leading the way in prelims.

Texas boosted its title hopes further with a 2-3 finish. Nick Harris took silver with 392.50 points, Jacob Jones following in 384.05. Florida finished first, fifth (Peyton Donald) and sixth (Jesus Gonzalez).

One shocker was last year’s runner-up, Rhett Hensley of Texas A&M, not making finals, finishing 17th in prelims.

 Event 22  Men 1 mtr Diving
=========================================================================
          SEC: S 479.10  2/15/2018 Juan Celaua-Hernandez, LSU
     SEC Meet: M 479.10  2017      Juan Celaya Hernandez, LSU
         Pool: P 483.15  2/21/2019 Zhipeng Zeng, Tennessee
                 300.00  B
    Name           Year School            Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Gesing, Conor    SO FLOR-FL            344.10     412.75 B       32  
  2 Harris, Nick     JR Texas              361.20     392.50 B       28  
  3 Jones, Jacob     FR Texas              337.40     384.05 B       27  
  4 Donald, Peyton   JR FLOR-FL            337.25     372.75 B       26  
  5 Paul, Carson J   JR LSU-LA             365.65     372.30 B       25  
  6 Gonzalez, Jesus  FR FLOR-FL            341.60     353.15 B       24  
  7 Andrus, Whit M   SR Auburn-SE          349.70     340.10 B       23  
  8 Duncan, Sam      GS Kentucky-KY        332.25     337.70 B       22
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