Texas A&M swim and dive traveled to Athens, Georgia to compete in the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships. The Aggies finished in eighth on the women’s side and the men finished in fifth place..

To kick off the event, fifth year Mayson Richards finished sixth out of 16 total competitors in the final round in the women’s 1-meter diving, finishing with a final score of 284.85. 

On Tuesday of the conference championship, the lineup of senior Kaitlyn Owens, fifth-year Bobbi Kennett, fifth-year Olivia Theall and graduate Chloe Stepanek finished sixth in the women’s 200-yard medley relay, clocking in 1:35.43. 

In the men’s 200-yard medley, fifth-year Thomas Shomper, freshman Travis Gulledge, junior Connor Foote and sophomore Ben Scholl finished eighth in 1:23.80. In the men’s 3-meter diving, senior Allen Bottego finished 4th in the final round with a mark of 406.25. 

In the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay, Stepanek, graduate Jordan Buechler, sophomore Katie Walker and junior Hayden Miller secured a sixth place finish in 7:04.07. In the Men’s 800-yard freestyle relay, junior Baylor Nelson, freshman Jacob Wimberly, fifth year Collin Fuchs and senior Trey Dickey finished in ninth, clocking in at 6:18.22. 

This put the men’s team with 111 points overall and a seventh-place spot in the standings, while the women’s side sat in third place with 130 points by the end of day 2.

On Wednesday, Owens, freshman Kailey Kennedy, freshman Ella McQuinn and Theall secured an eighth place result in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay, with a time of 1:28.48. In the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay, Foote, Scholl, Fuchs and senior Seth Reno finished in fifth place in 1:15.86. 

In the women’s 500 yard freestyle, Miller finished in 20th in the final round, clocking in 4:41.50. In the men’s 500-yard freestyle, Dickey placed 21st in 4:18.10. In the women’s 200-yard individual medley, Theall, Giulia Goerigk and Hannah O’Leary finished in 12th, 21st and 22nd with times of 1:57.87, 1:58.34 and 1:58.44, respectively 

In the men’s 200-Yard individual medley, Nelson, senior Munzy Kabbara, Wimberly and sophomore Logan Brown secured results in 5th, 15th, 16th and 18th, with times of 1:41.43, 1:44.19, 1:44.59 and 1:43.55. 

Owens and Stepanek placed in 7th and 24th in the women’s 50-yard freestyle, clocking in 22.04 and 22.46. In the men’s 50-yard freestyle, Foote, Scholl and Fuchs finished in 5th, 10th and 23rd with times of 18.67, 18.97 and 19.65. 

In women’s 3-meter diving, graduate Else Praasterink and Richards both finished in the final rounds, with Praasterink finishing in seventh with a mark of 319.35 and Richards placing ninth, with a score of 323.60..

On Thursday, in the women’s 400-yard individual medley, Goerigk and O’Leary finished in 10th and 13th, with times of 4:08.13 and 4:11.89. In the men’s 400 yard individual medley, Nelson, Kabbara, junior Maximiliano Vega Cuevas and sophomore Roberto Bonilla Flores finished in second, 15th, 23rd and 24th, with times of 3:37.47, 3:45.14, 3:48.56 and 3:49.49.

In the women’s 100-yard butterfly, Theall finished eighth in 51.90. In the men’s 100-yard butterfly, Foote set a new facility record, finishing fourth in 44.34. Shomper finished 21st in 46.39. 

In the women’s 200-yard freestyle, Stepanek and Buechler finished eighth and 21st, with times of 1:44.92 and 1:45.82. In the men’s 200-yard freestyle, Wimberly secured a 13th place finish, clocking in 1:32.86. In men’s 1-meter diving, Bottego finished in 10th, with a score of 348.00.  

With two days remaining in the competition, the men’s total score was 377 points, and the women’s total score was 347 points. Both squads entered the final two days of the SEC Championships in fifth place.

On Friday, Theall and Walker secured 11th and 14th-place in the women’s 200-yard butterfly, with times of 1:55.04 and 1:56.12. In the men’s 200-yard butterfly, Wimberly and Bonilla Flores finished 22nd and 23rd, with times of 1:43.79 and 1:44.07. 

In the women’s 100-yard backstroke, Owens and Buechler finished in the ninth and 24th spots, with times of 51.56 and 53.86. In the men’s 100-yard backstroke, Shomper secured a 15th-place result, clocking in 46.32. Kennett and McQuinn finished 14th and 21st in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke, with times of 59.94 and 1:00.68. In the men’s 100-yard breaststroke, fifth -year Alex Sanchez secured sixth place with a time of 51.87 in the A bracket. Meanwhile, Gulledge secured a ninth-place result of 51.86 seconds, and junior Lane White finished in 15th at 52.45 in the B bracket. In the C bracket, fifth year Vincent Ribeiro secured a 24th-place finish in 53.20.

In women’s platform diving, Praasterink and sophomore Chloe McKnight had top-15 results, with Praasterink finishing in fourth with a score of 303.50, and McKnight finishing in 12th, scoring 253.50. 

The lineup of Owens, Kennett, Theall and Stepanek secured a sixth-place finish in the women’s 400-yard medley relay, clocking in 3:31.08. In the men’s 400-yard medley relay, the Fightin’ Farmers finished in fourth place, with the lineup of Nelson, Gulledge, Foote and Scholl clocking in at 3:03.78 to end day five. 

On the last day of the championship, Miller and junior Lydia Palmer finished 12th and 34th in the women’s 1650-yard Freestyle, with Miller clocking in 16:11.59 and Palmer in 16:48.01. In the men’s 1650-yard freestyle, Dickey finished in 17th, with a time of 14:53.63. 

Senior Aviv Barzelay finished 14th in the women’s 200-yard backstroke, timing in at 1:53.25. In the men’s 200-yard backstroke, Shomper and senior Tyler Hulet secured 16th and 22nd places, clocking in at 1:43.27 and 1:43.18. Stepanek tied for 6th in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, timing in at 48.31. Foote and Scholl had results in 9th and 18th, with times of 41.47 and 42.26 in the men’s 100-yard freestyle.

O’Leary and graduate Desirae Mangaoang finished in 18th and 20th place, with times of 2:10.50 and 2:11.49 in the women’s 200 yard breaststroke. Sanchez finished in fourth, Nelson secured sixth and Ribeiro rounded the group out with an eighth-place finish in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke.

In the men’s platform diving, freshman Jaxon Bowshire set the new pool record, with a score of 476.25. Following Bowshire, senior Rhett Hensley secured a ninth-place result and junior Matthew Aigner secured a 12th-place result, with scores of 386.40 and 336.90, respectively. The last event was the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay, where the lineup of Foote, Scholl, Reno and Fuchs secured a sixth-place finish, with a time of 2:48.39.

A&M will return to Rec Center Natatorium to compete in the Last Chance Meet from Feb. 27 through March 1st.