Texas A&M 800 Free Relay Shatters Record at Art Adamson

Texas A&M men's swimming, 2018 sec championships

Photo Courtesy: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team took down another school record and won six of seven races on day two of the Art Adamson Invitational on Thursday at the Student Recreation Natatorium.

The Aggie foursome of freshman Clayton Bobo, senior Angel Martinez, junior Adam Koster and freshman Shaine Casas took down the school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:20.46. The Aggies also logged victories in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.

The Aggies closed out the night by shattering the school record in the 800 free relay. The foursome touched in 6:20.46 (NCAA “B” cut), which lopped nearly a full second off the old school standard of 6:21.20 by Paul-Marc Schweitzer, Luke Shaw, Mateo Muzek and Hunter Funk at the 2014 SEC Championships.

After two days of action, the Aggies lead the team standings with 1,139 points. Trailing the Aggies were LSU (417 points), Hawaii (348), Air Force (268), Incarnate Word (172) and SMU (133).

200 Medley Relay

The Aggie foursome of freshman Shaine Casas, junior Ben Walker, senior Angel Martinez and junior Adam Koster scorched the field with a winning time of 1:24.83, which was more than two seconds faster than the runner-up finishers.

400 IM

Texas A&M swept the top two spots in the 400 IM with Ben Walker taking first in 3:47.39 and freshman Alberto Gomez right behind with a time of 3:50.12. Both Aggies posted NCAA “B” cuts.

100 Butterfly

The Aggies grabbed the top three places in the 100 butterfly with senior Angel Martinez grabbing the gold medal in 46.23 with freshman Shaine Casas (46.70) and senior Mateo Gonzalez (47.39) right behind. All three Aggies achieved NCAA “B” cuts.

200 Freestyle

Texas A&M swept the top four spots in the 200 freestyle. Freshman Clayton Bobo flirted with the Aggies’ school record in the race with a winning time of 1:34.41, which was just .02 of a second off of Paul-Marc Schweitzer’s school standard of 1:34.39 achieved at the 2014 SEC Championships. Sophomore transfer Mark Theall also turned in an NCAA “B” cut with a runner-up time of 1:35.44. Senior Steve Richardson took third in 1:36.37, but had a “B” cut of 1:35.97 in the morning prelims.

100 Backstroke

Freshman Shaine Casas became the second Aggie ever under the 46-second barrier in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 45.99. Casas’ time was just off of Brock Bonetti’s school standard of 45.64 set at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Junior Mike Thibert also tallied a “B” cut with a third-place effort of 47.48.

Check out SEC coverage here.

In the women’s meet …

The Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team tallied over a dozen NCAA qualifying cuts and won four races on day two of the Art Adamson Invitational on Thursday at the Student Recreation Natatorium.

Senior Sydney Pickrem won a pair of individual races and was on a winning relay while also tallying her second NCAA “A” cut of the meet. Also winning races for the Aggies were senior Claire Rasmus and the 800-yard freestyle relay.

With a second strong day, the Aggies lead the team standings with 1,009 points. Trailing the Aggies are LSU (458.5 points), Boise State (422) and Hawaii (420.5).

400 IM

Continuing to build its tradition of dominance in the IM, the Aggies swept the top five spots in the 400 IM. Senior Sydney Pickrem outclassed the field while logging the second NCAA “A” cut of the meet with a time of 4:01.73. Pickrem, last year’s SEC Swimmer of the Year, was trailed by senior Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo (4:07.51), sophomore Camryn Toney (4:10.22), freshman Caroline Theil (4:14.42) and freshman Mollie Wright (4:17.30), who all achieved “B” qualifying cuts. Aggies posting “B” cuts in the prelims but not swimming in the evening finals were junior Anna Belousova (4:13.56) and sophomore Haley Yelle (4:15.52).

100 Butterfly

Tallying NCAA “B” cuts in the 100 butterfly were sophomore Taylor Pike (52.99), sophomore Jing Quah (53.18) and junior Katie Portz (53.36).

200 Freestyle

The Aggies claimed the top two spots in the 200 freestyle with defending SEC Champion Claire Rasmus touching first in 1:44.22 with junior Katie Portz right behind in 1:45.19. Also achieving a “B” cut was sophomore Haley Yelle with a time of 1:46.49 while placing fourth.

100 Breaststroke

Sydney Pickrem tallied her second victory of the night as she out-dueled teammate and 2018 SEC 100 breaststroke champion Anna Belousova by .03 of a second, 59.30 to 59.33. Also tallying “B” cuts were junior Victoria Roubique (3^rd place, 1:00.25) and freshman Kylie Powers (5^th, 1:00.59).

800 Free Relay

Texas A&M, the SEC 800 free relay champions the past two seasons, outclassed the field at the Art Adamson Invitational. The foursome of senior Sydney Pickrem, junior Katie Portz, sophomore Haley Yelle and senior Claire Rasmus touched in 7:04.47, which was nearly 10 seconds faster than the runner-up finishers.

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