By James Sica, Swimming World Intern
The SEC conference has always produced some of the best swimmers in the NCAA, and this year looks to be no different. Although the conference has graduated studs such as Shannon Vreeland (Georgia), Cammile Adams (Texas A&M), Bradley deBorde (Florida), Melanie Margalis (Georgia), Marcelo Chireighini (Auburn), Elizabeth Beisel (Florida), and Breeja Larson (Texas A&M), don’t expect this year’s meet to be any less exciting.
There are plenty of fast swimmers ready to step into the spotlight, including several athletes looking to defend their NCAA titles and others hoping to make a splash on the national stage. These results will also provide further insight into what teams may have in store for NCAA’s in March.
Here are 5 can’t-miss races coming up at the SEC Swimming Championships:
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price/Alabama Athletics
The splash and dash event is ripe for upsets, and last year there was perhaps none bigger than Alabama freshman Kristian Gkolomeev winning the event at NCAAs. Gklolomeev was fourth at SECs last year, but with the top two finishers from last year (Florida senior Brad deBorde and Auburn senior Marcelo Chireighini) lost to graduation, he would for sure be seen as the favorite if not for a certain Florida freshman by the name of Caeleb Dressel.
The two share nearly identical lifetime bests (Gkolomeev’s was a 18.95 while Dressel’s 18.94) and while the Alabama sophomore has experience on his side, this is the one event where anything could happen. This is also the conference of sprint powerhouse Auburn, who has two swimmers seeded in the top 8 (Kyle Darmondy and Arthur Mendes).
Men and Women’s 200 Freestyle
Photo Courtesy: David Farr
This event is exciting on both the men and women’s sides because for the first in many years there is no clear front-runner.
On the women’s side, last year’s winner (Vreeland – Georgia) and runner-up (Gendron – Tennessee) were both seniors. While Georgia has a history of dominance in this event (even this year they have 4 of the top 8 seeds entered), the field is much more tightly packed than usual. Georgia senior Jordan Mattern in the top seed with a 1:44.85, but right behind her are junior Brittany MacLean and Florida junior Lindsey McKnight. The spread on this event helps show how tight it is- seeds 7 through 13 are all seeded between 1:46.79 and 1:47.01.
The story is the same in the men’s event, with the top 5 seeds separated by little more than half a second (1:34.47 – 1:35.17). The top seed is sophomore Michael Chadwick, which is a lifetime best for the fast-improving swimmer from Missouri. Florida has five men seeded in the top 8 including Corey Main, who was 1:34.06 at this meet last year, and sophomore Mitch D’Arrigo (ast year’s runner-up) behind the now-graduated Sebastien Rousseau. Also in the hunt will be the pair of juniors Matias Koski and freshman Gunnar Bentz from Georgia, which will likely leave this as one of the most tightly contested races at the meet.
Men’s 400 IM
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Anytime Chase Kalisz steps up to swim a 400 IM at a championship meet, people should take notice. Kalisz is the fastest man ever in the 400 IM after posting a 3:34.50 at NCAAs last year as a sophomore, and will look to keep the momentum going into NCAA’s this March. Backing up to SEC’s from last year he was only 3:36.89, which broke Conor Dwyer’s SEC meet record and currently stands as the fourth fastest performance ever in the event.
The Georgia men actually occupy the top 3 seeds in the 400 IM, with freshmen Gunnar Bentz and Jay Litherland right behind him. Expect these three to be the ones to chase in this event as they look to capitalize on their numbers in the longer IM.
Women’s 500 Freestyle
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Georgia’s Brittany MacLean had one of the most memorable swims from last year’s collegiate season, out-touching Cal phenom Missy Franklin in the 500 freestyle en route to an NCAA record in 4:32.53. Now a junior, this year she will come into SECs as the second seed, just a few tenths behind senior teammate Amber McDermott.
McDermott was just behind MacLean and Franklin in 4:33.97 (also a lifetime best), so she shouldn’t be counted out for the title at SECs, particularly as it is her last year of collegiate competition. Regardless of who wins, this should be an exciting race for the Bulldogs, with 5 of the top 8 seeds coming into the meet from UGA. With that kind of presence behind them, expect Georgia to do some damage in this event and set the tone for their team for the rest of the meet.
Women’s 100 breaststroke
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
With the graduation of Breeja Larson, there is a noticeable hole in an event that has long been dominated by the American record holder. Missouri sophomore Katherine Ross is the top seed with a 59.43 in this event after finishing 10th last year.
Right behind her is a trio of seniors who have been under 1:00 so far this year: Tennessee’s Molly Hannis, Arkansas’ Nikki Daniels, and Alabama’s Kaylin Burchell. The last seed under 1:00 is Missouri junior Abby Duncan, who was top eight in this event as a freshman and sophomore when she competed at Auburn. Hannis has been the fastest with a 58.22 that was good for second last year, but don’t expect anyone to be able to walk away with the title this year as these swimmers try to fill the hole that Larson has left in the breaststroke events.
The Rest of the Meet…
The excitement won’t be limited to just these five events. The SEC is loaded with talent and swimmers who will undoubtedly be lighting up the pool.
A few names to watch will be Florida junior Natalie Hinds in the sprint events, Auburn sophomore Joe Patching the backstrokes, Kentucky senior Christina Bechtel in the butterflies, and Georgia sophomore Olivia Smoliga in the sprint freestyle and backstrokes. In terms of the team title, it will be exciting to see which teams can step up to challenge Florida for men’s championship, while the Georgia women will be looking to repeat and set themselves up for another team title at NCAAs in March.
SECs kicks off Tuesday February 17th and runs through Saturday, February 21st at Auburn. Psych sheets are available here.
Kristian Golomeev yeah buddy