The No. 11 Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team took home fourth place in the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing with a total of 1,018 points after the five-day meet.
The Aggies saw much improvement from last year’s SEC Championships, moving up a spot as well as getting a 152.5 point increase.
Freshman Baylor Nelson made a splash in his SEC Championship debut, winning two of his individual events. He is the first freshman in A&M men’s swimming history to get gold at the SEC Championships and is the second Aggie in program history to win three individual medals at the SECs. His time of 1:40.86 in the 200-yard individual medley was the second-fastest time in program history and notched an A-cut time. He grabbed another A-cut time in his victory in the 400-yard individual medley, with a time of 3:38.14.
The maroon and white opened up the meet with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Nelson and freshman Connor Foote with seniors Andres Puente and Ethan Gogulski combined for a time of 1:23.24, achieving an A-cut time.
Their 800-yard freestyle relay team notched another A-cut time and a fifth place finish. Composed of Nelson, Gogulski, junior Collin Fuchs and senior Kaloyan Bratanov, they combined for 6:15.38.
The divers helped the Aggies pull in first place after day one with many top finishes in the 1-meter diving event. Junior Victor Povzner won the event with a score of 375.5. Sophomore Rhett Hensley and junior Takuto Endo rounded up third and fourth with scores of 343.60 and 342.45, respectively. Sophomore Allen Bottego contributed points with a sixth place finish with a score of 334.55.
Opening up the second day, the 200-yard freestyle relay team made up of Bratanov, Foote, Nelson and Gogulski placed fifth with a time of 1:16.64, notching another A-cut time. The time of 1:16.64 is the second-fastest time in program history and was the fastest time for the Aggies this season.
Sophomore Trey Dickey swam the second-fastest time in program history in the 500-yard freestyle, going for 4:18.30 and placing 18th.
Bratanov followed up Nelson in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:42.50.
On the third day, Senior Anze Fers Erzen followed up Nelson in the 400-yard individual medley, clocking in at 3:40.10.
Foote and Bratanov both contributed points for the Aggies. Foote finished sixth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.07 and Bratanov grabbed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle with 1:33.93.
The Aggies finished the 3-meter diving event with multiple finishes again. Povzner took second with a score of 412.65, Endo followed up in third with a score of 400.35 and Hensley finished sixth with a score of 375.40.
Though the fourth day saw the Aggies slip in team placements from second to third, they were still able to put up some good swims.
Gogulski notched ninth in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 45.70 and Puente put up points in the 100-yard breaststroke, placing seventh with a time of 51.96.
The 400-yard medley relay team, composed of Gogulski, Puente, Foote and Bratanov, grabbed fifth place and their time of 3:04.95 was enough for another A-cut time.
On the last day, the Aggies made a push to hold third place. Nelson and Gogulski scored points for the team in the 200-yard backstroke with a second place finish in 1:39.79 and a sixth place finish with 1:40.59, respectively.
The 200-yard breaststroke saw three Aggies place in the top-ten. Junior Vincent Ribeiro finished ninth with a time of 1:54.85, junior Alex Sanchez grabbed eighth with a time of 1:54.92 and Puente notched fourth with a time of 1:51.92.
Hensley closed out the final diving event, platform diving, with a fifth place finish and a score of 373.
Heading into the final event of the meet, the Aggies had a 0.5 point lead over No. 7 Tennessee. However, sophomore Jordan Crooks, who became the second-fastest man to ever swim the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 17.93, helped Tennessee secure third place.
Next, the swim team will prepare for the American Short Course Championships in Austin from March 2-4 while the diving team will get ready for the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships in Minneapolis from March 7-9.