‘Shocked’ Levi Sandidge Enjoys Milestone SEC Title for Kentucky
As Levi Sandidge warmed up Saturday on the final day of the SEC Championships, he thought he could push his way into the medal conversation in the men’s 1,650 freestyle. A break or two, and maybe he could win it.
But the time that the scoreboard read that evening, the leap of joy it sent Sandidge into and the way he catapulted himself into the throng of teammates clustering behind the blocks – that was beyond what he could’ve hoped.
Levi Sandidge; Photo Courtesy: Ethan Rand/UK Athletics
Sandidge pulled off one of the swims of the meet, going 14:31.47 to win the mile. It’s a best time for him by more some 18.5 seconds, for a winning margin of seven seconds and the Wildcats’ first SEC men’s swimming title in 17 years.
“I looked up at the scoreboard because I hadn’t even seen what I went,” he said. “I was so shocked because I knew I went a good time, but I was shocked at the time I went. I just couldn’t believe.”
Sandidge separated himself from a deep field. Victor Johansson of Alabama had gone 14:39 this season. Jake Mitchell is an Olympian. Jake Magahey had a great meet.
But Sandidge put distance between them early and never looked back. Like, literally, since by 1,000 yards, he was about six seconds out front and couldn’t look back to find them.
“I could see the three Florida guys on my right and Jake Magahey behind me when I was swimming,” Sandidge said. “But I wasn’t sure how far they were behind after maybe the 500. After the 500, I looked up at the clock, so I could see the 500 and the 1,000 split, so I knew that I was out fast, but I didn’t know where I would finish at.”
As if the story couldn’t get any better, Sandidge had 17 members of his family in attendance. The native of Richardson, Texas, some three hours from College Station, also had the entire Kentucky team behind the block to clear him on, a rare A finalist for a Kentucky team that finished eighth out of ten teams. He credited their motivation as essential for him, and he flung himself into that group, lifted up in the air as soon as the race ended.
Their help is implicit in the freshman’s success. Kentucky’s women’s team has enjoyed recent success, winning the team title in 2021 and producing NCAA title contenders. The men have lagged behind: Kentucky has won only six men’s SEC Swimming titles all time, the last by Steven Manley in the 200 free in 2006.
Sandidge finds the women’s success a source of inspiration, “a challenge to reach the level that our women can compete at.” Thrilling as his swim was, it’s so satisfying as a way to help elevate the entire program.
“I’m hoping to build a big and better program,” he said. “I think this is a very big step in what the guys have been working for for a long time – Mason Wilby, Max Berg, Victor Martin Roig – they’ve all been working hard to build the program, going to NCAAs, scoring, improving our relays. To be able to win to show that we can produce swimmers that are at that level, it’s just a great feeling.”
