Eight Wildcats Bring in 2018 SEC Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Eight Wildcats were recognized by the Southeastern Conference as the league office announced the swimming and diving yearly awards on Thursday morning.
For the second consecutive season, Kentucky brought home the Freshman Female Swimmer of the Year honor as Bailey Bonnett claimed the award. The Wildcats tacked on another freshman honor in 2018, as Chase Lane was named the SEC Male Freshman Diver of the Year.
For the second year in a row, Geena Freriks and Asia Seidt were each named to the All-SEC First Team after picking up gold medals at the SEC Championships. Seb Masterton, Ali Galyer and Madison Winstead were All-SEC Second Team selections. Lauren Edelman joined Bonnett and Lane on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
“It’s a great honor for all these student-athletes to be recognized by the SEC,” said Kentucky head coach Lars Jorgensen. “These awards are just a culmination of all the hard work they’ve put in this season, and it’s awesome to see them be rewarded for that.”
Bonnett’s Freshman of the Year accolade caps off a successful rookie campaign. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native posted a pair of top-five finishes at the SEC Championships in the breaststroke events before going on to take First-Team All-America honors in the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships by finishing fifth in the event with a time of 2:07.22.
“It’s exciting to have back-to-back freshman of the year honors,” said Jorgensen. “Bailey works so hard, so congrats to her on a great season and a well-deserved award.”
Lane earns Freshman Diver of the Year distinction after finishing in the top 16 of all three disciplines at the conference meet, including a fifth-place showing on platform, which was the highest finish by any male freshman diver at the meet. Lane was also the only male freshman from the SEC to go on to qualify for the NCAA Championships, finishing 36th overall on platform.
“We are excited for Chase and proud of his accomplishment,” said Kentucky diving coach Ted Hautau. “He came to UK with a good set of skills, compliments to him and his club coaches. He worked hard and I thought he displayed a good competitive temperament throughout the course of the season.”
In her sophomore season, Seidt once again rewrote the Kentucky record books with another successful campaign to earn First Team honors for the second time. The Louisville, Ky., native repeated as SEC champion in the 200-yard backstroke, becoming the first-ever Kentucky swimmer to win back-to-back conference titles in a single event. Seidt also won the gold medal in the 100 back at the conference meet to become the first ever Wildcat to win an SEC title in the 100 back with a school-record time of 50.86. She rounded out her performance at the conference meet with a silver medal in the 200 IM. Her 92 points scored at the meet was the third-most in the field. At the NCAA Championships, Seidt finished as national runner-up in the 200 back with a new school record of 1:49.27, as well as finishing seventh in the 200 IM and ninth in the 100 back.
Freriks also made history at the SEC Championships, becoming the first Wildcat to win the SEC title in the 500-yard freestyle since 1999 with a new school record time of 4:37.20. The accomplishment marked her second SEC title after she won the 200 free at last season’s championships.
Junior diver Masterton earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team for the second time after earning the distinction in his freshman season. Masterton had a remarkable showing at the SEC Championships, making the final in all three dives including a bronze-medal performance on the 3-meter springboard. A native of Reading, England, Masterton also qualified on all three disciplines for the NCAA Championships.
Sophomores Galyer and Winstead each were named to the All-SEC Second Team for the second consecutive year having won bronze medals at the SEC Championships. Galyer made her first individual appearance on an SEC podium in the 200 back, while Winstead had her second SEC podium finish in the 100 breast with a school-record time of 59.38. Galyer went on to earn First-Team All-America honors in the 200 back, finishing sixth overall. Winstead earned All-America honorable mention, finishing 10th in the 200 breast.
Edelman was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after making the championship final in the 200 fly at the conference meet. The freshman went on to finish eighth in the event and qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Male Freshman Diver of the Year: Chase Lane
Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Bailey Bonnett
All-SEC First Team
Geena Freriks
Asia Seidt
All-SEC Second Team
Seb Masterton
Ali Galyer
Madison Winstead
All-Freshman Team
Chase Lane
Bailey Bonnett
Lauren Edelman
For the full list of 2017-18 SEC award winners, click here.
For the latest on the Kentucky swimming and diving program, follow @UKSwimDive on Twitter, on Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
