Wilby Breaks 200 Free School Record, Men’s Swimming Concludes First Night of SEC Championships
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Kentucky men’s swimming lineup competed in the first night of events at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championships in Columbia, Missouri, on Tuesday night at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
The Wildcats recorded the ninth-fastest time in the nation in the 800 freestyle relay in 6:19.53, a season best, to earn sixth place in the conference. The foursome included Mason Wilby in 1:34.04, followed by Max Berg, just a freshman, in 1:35.15, then Jakob Clark in 1:34.87 and anchored by Hank Siefert in 1:35.47.
Swimming the lead split in the 800 freestyle relay, Wilby broke a 12-year-old school record in the 200 freestyle, dropping more than two seconds off his prior best (1:36.75). The record was last set by Tyler Reed, swimming a 1:34.39 at the 2009 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships. Wilby, a junior, is the only current roster member on the program’s all-time top-10 performance list in the event.
Before that, the 200 medley relay team earned 10th place in the conference in 1:27.84, a season best by more than five-tenths of a second. Swimming the backstroke leg, Kyle Barker earned a 21.93 split. In breaststroke, CJ Layne, just a freshman, touched the wall in 25.20. Swimming the butterfly leg, Wilby earned a 20.88 split. Rounding out the foursome, Louis Barker swam the freestyle leg in 19.83.
The 2021 SEC Championships will resume Wednesday for the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 freestyle and the 200 freestyle relay. Preliminaries begin at 11 a.m. ET and finals begin at 7 p.m. ET, while fans can watch all of the action on SEC Network+.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
