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