The No. 1 Georgia women continue to trail after day three of the Southeastern Conference Championships. The Bulldogs are third in total team points with 584.5 and currently rank behind Texas A&M (657.5) and Tennessee (645.5).
On the men’s side, Florida leads with 723 points. The Gators are followed by Auburn (669) and Georgia (572).
Texas A&M made a statement early on Thursday night. The Aggies had swimmers finish in first, second and third place in the 400-yard individual medley. Sydney Pickrem took the top spot, touching the wall in a pool record time of 4:07.36. Amanda Carner and Lisa Bratton finished second and third, respectively.
It was a comeback victory in the 400-yard individual medley. Georgia’s Jay Litherland overtook Auburn’s Joe Patching in the final 50-yards to earn the victory with a pool-record time of 3:40.33. Florida’s Mark Szaranek was second in 3:41.88 and Patching touched third in 3:42.71.
The Aggies dominated again in the 100-yard butterfly, taking first and second place. Sarah Gibson won the race in 51.17 and Beryl Gastaldello was second with a time of 51.46. Tennessee’s Madeline Banic touched third in 51.79.
Florida’s Caeleb Dressel continued to dominate, winning the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 44.80, a SEC record and the fastest time in the country this season. Dressel has won every event, including relays, that he has competed in at SECs.
Louisiana State’s Logan Rysemus took second place with a time of 45.59, an automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Championships. Auburn’s Arthur Mendes touched third in 45.98.
In women’s 3-meter diving, Kahlia Warner picked up her second win of the meet. She posted a score of 383.75. She was followed by Louisiana State’s Cassie Weil and Tennessee’s Rachel Rubadue.
Georgia made sure to end the night with some momentum, dominating the 200-yard freestyle race. Brittany MacLean picked up her second individual win of the meet for the Bulldogs, posting a time of 1:43.64. Her teammate Meaghan Raab finished nearly a second later with a time of 1:44.61. Kentucky freshman Geena Freriks took third, touching in 1:44.98.
Another Bulldog swam his way onto the podium in the men’s event. Matias Koski of Georgia touched first in 1:33.43. He was followed by Hugo Morris of Auburn and Missouri’s Michael Chadwick.
Friday preliminaries begin at 10 a.m.