Through three hard-fought days at the NCAA Championships held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Washington, No. 14 Texas A&M men’s swimming & diving team saved its best for last.
On the final day, freshman Jaxon Bowshire dove into A&M’s record books with the highest finish in program history on platform with a score of 450.80 for a second place. Fellow senior diver Rhett Hensley closed out his career with a fourth-place finish on platform with a career-high 394.70. The duo divers combined to have the highest scoring finish in any event in A&M men’s history.
The swimming side also went out with a historic bang as the 400-yard freestyle relay team of freshman Jacob Wimberly, sophomores Seth Reno and Ben Schell and junior Connor Foote secured a top-15 finish with a time of 2:48.08, setting a new school record in the event.
The final effort pooled in much-needed points as the Aggies finished 12th with 95.5 points, the highest finish since the 2020-21 season. They were on point from the get-go as the 200-yard medley relay team of Foote, Scholl, freshman Travis Gulledge and fifth-year Thomas Shomper notched 13th-place with the second-fastest time in program history, finishing in 1:23.25.
The relays continued to be fruitful as the 200-yard freestyle relay squad of Foote, Scholl, Reno and freshman Ben Systma knocked down the school record in the event, going 1:15.25 to earn All-America honors and a podium spot. Scholl’s 50-free split time of 18.49 set the fastest in program history.
Foote and junior Baylor Nelson got things going in the individual events as Foote locked up a 10th-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 19.78, while Nelson earned a top-15 finish in the 200-yard individual medley, posting a time of 1:41.30. Both garnered All-America honors for their efforts.
The Aggies continued their sustained success on the third day as Nelson added points in the 400-yard individual medley, posting a time of 3:39.84 to earn a seventh-place finish and another All-America honor. Senior Allen Bottego dove into the 3-meter consolation final, finishing 11th with an overall score of 410.80 to earn his second All-America award.
In his first season with Texas, coaching legend Bob Bowman secured his second NCAA Championship in a row as the Longhorns put themselves back on top in the swimming scene.
