Florida men, A&M women earn SEC Championship



Photo: Missouri Athletics

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Florida men and Texas A&M women are the winners of the 2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Mizzou Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Missouri.

The Aggies earned their first SEC title in women's swimming & diving with a final score of 1166.5 points. Tennessee came in second with 1139.5 points. The Gators won its fourth consecutive and 37th overall title in men's swimming & diving with a total score of 1275 points. Auburn finished second with 1223 points.

For the individual awards, Florida's Caeleb Dressel and Georgia's Brittany MacLean earned the SEC Commissioner's Trophy as the high-point scorers of the meet. Dressel and MacLean were also named the Men's and Women's Swimmers of the Meet. Mauricio Robles of Tennessee was tabbed the Men's Diver of the Meet, and Kahlia Warner of Florida won the Women's Diver of the Meet award.

MacLean set an SEC meet record in the women's 1650 free as with a time of 15:36.52. Jessica Thielmann of Florida came in second at 15:36.52, and Madeline Tegner of Tennessee placed third with a time of 16:06.21.

Akaram Mahmoud earned a first-place finish in the men's 1650 free, setting a pool record with a time of 14:35.49. Arthur Frayler of Florida claimed second place with a time of 14:35.49, while Tom Peribonio of South Carolina took third with a time of 14:49.22.

In a tight race in the women's 200 back, Lisa Bratton of Texas A&M touched the wall first with a pool record time of 1:50.64. Danielle Galyer of Kentucky (1:50.73) and Hali Flickinger of Georgia (1:50.95) took second and third place, respectively.

Joe Patching earned the SEC title in the men's 200 back after setting a pool record with his time of 1:40.14. Alabama took the next two podium spots with finishes from Connor Oslin (1:40.42) and Christopher Reid (1:40.95).

With a pool record of 47.35, Natalie Hinds of Florida won the women's 100 freestyle for the second consecutive year. Olivia Smoliga of Georgia took home the silver (47.49) and Béryl Gastaldello earned the bronze (47.89).

Dressel set both the SEC and American records in the men's 100 freestyle with his time of 41.07. Second place went to Michael Chadwick of Missouri at 41.96, and third place was claimed by Peter Holoda of Auburn at 42.42.

Texas A&M went 1-2 in the women's 200 breaststroke, as Bethany Galat finished first with a time of 2:07.83 and Sydney Pickrem came in second at 2:07.96. Annie Lazor of Auburn took third with a time of 2:08.31.

The gold medal in the men's 200 breaststroke went to Michael Duderstadt of Auburn, who finished with a time of 1:53.50. Fabian Schwingenschlogl of Missouri took second with a time of 1:53.87, and Nils Wich-Glasen of South Carolina came in third with a time of 1:53.94.

Rachel Rubadue of Tennessee captured first place in the women's platform diving with a total score of 330.50. Alais Kalonji of Texas A&M recorded 289.50 points to earn second place, and Allyson Nied of South Carolina took third with 283.80 points.

In the 400 free relays, Tennessee won the women's event with a pool record time of 3:12.04, while Auburn won the men's race with a pool record time of 2:48.64.

A recap of the men's championship will air on Wednesday, Mar. 2 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU, followed by the women's championship recap at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

2016 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships - Day Five (Feb. 20 - Columbia, Mo.)

Saturday's Final Results: Men's Team Results: 1. Florida 1275; 2. Auburn 1223; 3. Georgia 1010; 4. Alabama 915; 5. Missouri 902; 6. Tennessee 745; 7. South Carolina 574; 8. Texas A&M 532; 9. Kentucky 530; 10. LSU 526

Women's Team Results: 1. Texas A&M 1166.5; 2. Tennessee 1139.5; 3. Georgia 1099.5; 4. Auburn 797; 5. Missouri 764; 6. Florida 754; 7. LSU 624; 8. Kentucky 619; 9. Arkansas 491; 10. Alabama 486; 11. South Carolina 424.5; 12. Vanderbilt 166