Feb. 19, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. – Ten University of Kentucky athletes notched top-16 finishes during the third night of competition at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships held in Athens, Ga., Friday night. Junior Tyler Reed and senior Kyle Greene both scored their second top-eight finishes of the week with fourth and eighth place taps, respectively, in the 200-freestyle, while Chatham Penrod topped her own school record in the 100-backstroke.
Reed earned the highest finish of any Wildcat with a fourth-place tap in the 200-free with an NCAA `B’ qualifying time of 1:35.10. Greene placed eighth with an NCAA `B’ mark and clip of 1:36.56. Reed was a top-eight finisher in the 500-free last night, while Greene scored a top-eight tap in the 50-free. Junior Reinhardt Strijdom placed 12th in the event with a time of 1:37.00 and an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time.
Penrod earned an NCAA `B’ provisional mark with an eighth place showing in the 100-backstroke. Penrod used 53.82 seconds in her finals finish. Earlier in the day Penrod had a preliminary time of 53.79 to best her own school record previously set at 53.92.
Senior Megan Pulskamp began the night with an eighth place finish in the 100-butterfly continuing her streak of finishing among the league’s top-12 for the fourth consecutive season in the event. Pulskamp posted a time of 53.78 in the event which is good for an NCAA `B’ cut.
Seniors Warren Grobbelaar and Elvis Burrows followed suit with seventh and eighth place finishes, respectively, in the men’s 100-fly. Both men achieved NCAA `B’ time standards by clocking in times of 47.53 and 47.63.
Fellow senior Casey Miller notched a 16th place showing in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:49.11 and another NCAA `B’ mark. Senior Lindsey Graessle tapped in 15th in the 100-breaststroke with a clip of 1:02.80 and a standard for an NCAA `B’ cut.
Junior Chip Aplin scored an 11th place finish in the 100-breast for his second top-16 finish of the week. Aplin tapped in a time of 55.20 which is an NCAA ‘B’ standard. Another senior in Julio Vallette scored a 16th place finish in the same event when he clocked in a time of 55.97 in the event. It marks the first top-16 finish of Vallette’s career as he earned valuable points for the Wildcats.
Capping off the night both the men and women placed sixth in the 400-medley relay. On the men’s side the quartet of freshman Zach McGinnis (49.47) taking the backstroke leg, junior Chip Aplin (55.13) in the breaststroke, seniors Elvis Burrows (47.74) in the butterfly and Eric McGinnis (43.03) in the freestyle portion totaled a 3:15.37 time and an NCAA `B’ mark.
The women also earned an NCAA `B’ standard with a time of 3:40.24. Penrod opened the backstroke leg with a clip of 54.15 and Graessle was the breaststroke and claimed a clip of 1:02.72. Pulskamp posted a 53.46 time in the butterfly leg and Miller anchored the freestyle portion with a time of 49.91.
Kentucky returns to action at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning for preliminary heats with final events to be held beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
For the most up-to-date information regarding the Kentucky swimming and diving squads please visit UKathletics.com.
