Coming off a 1-2 finish in the men’s 1-meter diving from Day 1, No. 11 Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving made its first appearance in SEC Championships on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and didn’t disappoint in Auburn, Alabama.
Starting with the 3-meter dive, senior Mayson Richards made her SEC finals debut after placing seventh in prelims with a score of 294.20. In finals, she scored points for the Maroon and White with another seventh place finish, scoring 292.20.
With initial diving events done, the Aggies kicked off their swimming events strong, placing sixth in the 200-yard medley relay. Made up of freshman Miranda Grana, seniors Bobbi Kennett, Olivia Theall and Chloe Stepanek, they finished with a season-best time of one minute and 35.87 seconds.
The No. 11 A&M men’s swimming and diving team mirrored its counterparts with a sixth-place finish in the 200y medley relay. Sophomore Connor Foote and seniors Thomas Shomper, Alex Sanchez and Collin Fuchs combined for a time of 1:23.91. Though they were unable to crack the top five, Sanchez’s 50-yard breaststroke split of 23.42 marked a career-best as well as the third-fastest in A&M history.
Then, the women’s team had its first breakthrough in the meet.
In the 800-yard freestyle relay, the relay squad dropped almost six seconds en route to a fourth-place finish. Freshman Katie Walker, along with seniors Abby Grottle, Jordan Buechler and Stepanek, finished at 6:59.96, good for an A-cut time.
Though unable to replicate the same success, the men’s team scored points with another sixth-place finish in the 800y freestyle relay. Sophomore Baylor Nelson recorded the second-fastest time in program history in his 200-yard split. Joined by junior Trey Dickey, senior Carter Nelson and Fuchs, the relay team touched the wall at 6:19.01, shaving off seven seconds.
By the end of the day, the men’s squad maintained its first place positioning while the women came in at sixth.
The action continues as the climb to the top of the SEC continues on Wednesday, Feb. 21 with the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and 3-meter diving.
