SEC Championships, Day 2: Bella Sims Opts for 200 IM over 500 Free
Florida’s Bella Sims, fresh off her SEC record in the 200 free, opted out of the 500 free on the second day of the SEC Championships on Wednesday.
Sims already holds an A cut in the 500 free, having gone 4:32.53 this year, a time that is quicker than the SEC Championships record. She instead went 1:55.12 to grab the fifth seed in the 200 IM. That’s well off her personal best of 1:52.73, though she hasn’t swum it yet in college.
All the action from Auburn University on Day 2 of the SEC Championships.
- SEC Championships Live Results
- Night 1 FULL RESULTS
- Night 1 Recap
- SEC Championships Schedule and Livestream
- SEC Championships Home
- Day 2 Heat Sheets
Team Scores
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 7 1. Auburn University 167 2. University of Florida 160 3. University of Tennessee 147 4. Louisiana State University 146 5. Georgia, University of 134 6. Texas A&M University 129 7. University of Alabama 127 8. Missouri 107 9. South Carolina, University of, 99 10. University of Kentucky 98 11. Vanderbilt University 62 12. University of Arkansas 56
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 8 1. Texas A&M University 199 2. University of Florida 180 3. University of Tennessee 155 4. Georgia, University of 150 5. Auburn University 127 6. University of Alabama 116 7. Missouri 111 8. Louisiana State University 106 9. University of Kentucky 101 10. South Carolina, University of, 93
Women’s 500 freestyle
Without Sims, Abby McCulloh took the top seed, the fourth seed quicker than her seed time in 4:37.43. Georgia has three in the A final, with Rachel Stege third in 4:39.10 and Jillian Barczyk seventh.
Emma Weyant is the second seed for Florida, having gone 4:38.83. She’s the only Gator in the top eight.
Fourth is Hayden Miller of Texas A&M in 4:39.72. Tennessee’s Julia Mrozinski and Kate McCarville followed.
Men’s 500 freestyle
Mason Mathias and Michael Bonson will give the home crowd something to cheer about, bookending a tight final. Mathias led the way in prelims in 4:12.26, a tenth up on Georgia’s Jake Magahey. Bonson snuck into the A final in eighth.
Florida pushed three into the A final. Giovanni Linscheer led the way with 4:13.10. Andrew Taylor was fourth and Jake Mitchell seventh. Watch for Alabama’s Charlie Hawke, fifth in 4:13.63.
Women’s 200 individual medley
Florida has three in the A final, thanks to the move by Bella Sims. Leading the way in prelims was Josephine Fuller of Tennessee, who went 1:53.59. Georgia’s Zoie Hartman finished second in 1:54.36.
Then came the Florida trio. Zoe Dixon went 1:54.55. Isabel Ivey, the top seed entering the meet, was fourth in 1:54.67, ahead of Sims’ 1:55.12. Brooklyn Douthwright in sixth and Sara Stotler in eighth give Tennessee three A finalists.
Men’s 200 individual medley
Joaquin Gonzalez Pineiro of Florida led the way in the 200 IM in 1:42.07, but eyes will be on Texas A&M’s Baylor Nelson. The sophomore is the third seed in 1:42.82, a second and a half off the time of 1:41.33 he set earlier in the year.
Florida has four A finalists, with Julian Smith fourth (1:42.92). Mason Laur and Sean Sullivan are seventh and eighth, respectively.
Zach Hils of Georgia is the second seed in 1:42.69. Alex Sanchez of Texas A&M and Auburn’s Danny Schmidt round out the A final.
Women’s 50 freestyle
Camille Spink leads the way in a 50 free that includes no A cuts and could be pretty wide open. Spink led the way in 21.74 seconds. Only she and Florida’s Micayla Cronk went under 22 at 21.97.
Spink has two Tennessee teammates in the A final, Mona McSharry third and Amber Myers seventh. McSharry tied Chloe Stepanek of Texas A&M at 22.06. Just .02 back was Arkansas’s Bella Cothern.
Men’s 50 freestyle
Jordan Crooks led the way with a time of 18.30 seconds, a season best by a tenth of a second. He’s .47 clear of Florida’s Josh Liendo, with UT and the Gators taking the top five spots.
Crooks is joined by Gui Caribe in 18.88 as the fourth seed. Liendo is backed by Macguire McDuff in third in 18.87 and Adam Chaney in 18.69. Jere Hribar of LSU is the best of the rest in sixth in 18.99.
