LEXINGTON, Ky – University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Rachel Komisarz captured the Southeastern Conference crown in the 500 freestyle on Thursday at the Lancaster Aquatic Center on the UK campus.
Komisarz, the 1998 SEC champion in the 200 fly, is just the second UK athlete in school history to claim more than one conference crown, the first to win titles in two different strokes. Roger Messick won SEC titles in 1955 and 1957, but both wins came in freestyle events.
Her time of 4:44.13 is a Lancaster Pool record and the fourth fastest time in the nation this season. With the effort, Komisarz automatically qualifies for the 1999 NCAA Championships, Mar. 18-20, in Athens, Ga. UK’s Annabel Kosten finished second in the 50 freestyle in 22.72, qualifying for the NCAAs, but fell short of Auburn’s SEC record-holder Katie Taylor, who swam the course in 22.59.
On the boards, Wildcat Carrie Knoeber took runner-up honors in one-meter diving, while fellow Cat Sarah Fields placed sixth.
Top-ranked Georgia leads the women’s team competition with 280 points. The Cats are close behind in fourth with 203.
Records continued to fall on the men’s side, as Auburn’s Aaron Ciarla blew away the men’s 50 free field in an SEC record time of 19.39.
The UK men continued to plod along, as Ben Folwer picked up points with an 11th-place finish in the 500 free and Shaun Zitani added to the Cats’ score with a ninth-place finish in the 50 free. The UK 400 medley relay squad took fourth to give the Cats a total of 104 points, good for seventh behind leading Auburn at 305.
Competition continues Friday, with preliminaries beginning at 10:30 a.m. and finals set to start at 6:30 p.m. The meet continues through Saturday night.
