Poole Records Second-Fastest Time in School History, Finished Fifth in 200 IM
ATHENS, Ga. and COLUMBIA, Mo. – Nine swimmers earned career-best times, while three swimmers and three divers reached the championship final in their respective events, as the No. 3 University of Kentucky women’s swimming and diving team and the men’s diving lineup concluded the second day of the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championships.
Kentucky qualified four swimmers in the 500 freestyle finals, including two swimmers in the “B” final and two swimmers in the “C” final. Kaylee Williams, who is competing in the first SEC Championships in her career, paced the group, finishing in 10th place on a personal-best 4:42.33. Kaitlynn Wheeler followed her, earning 12th place in 4:43.78. Jaclyn Hill rallied for 19th place on a personal-best 4:46.07. Rounding out the finals group, Beth McNeese finished in 24th place in 4:50.29.
Freshman Williams advanced four spots on the program’s all-time top-10 performance list with her personal-best 4:42.33, becoming the sixth-fastest performer in the event in school history.
Following the 500 freestyle, five Wildcats punched their ticket to the 200 individual medley finals, including three swimmers in the “A” final, one swimmer in the “B” final and one swimmer in the “C” final. Lauren Poole paced the troops, finishing in fifth place in 1:56.25. Izzy Gati followed in sixth place, touching the wall in 1:56.64. Rounding out the “A” final, Bailey Bonnett earned eighth place on a time of 1:58.61. Sophie Sorenson rallied for 11th place on a time of 1:57.00, while Jodie Ogle earned 24th in 2:01.86.
Four of those swimmers earned personal-best times in the preliminaries competition, including Poole (1:55.56), Gati (1:56.25), Bonnett (1:56.30) and Ogle (1:59.16). Poole improved two spots on the program’s all-time top-10 performance list with her personal-best 1:55.56, becoming the second-fastest performer in the event in school history.
In Columbia, Missouri, Kyndal Knight reached finals on the 3-meter springboard. She finished in sixth place overall with a score of 333.50. Van McKinley, who is competing in the first SEC Championships in her career, earned 24th place with a score of 247.95.
The men’s diving team competed for the first time this week, as both Danny Zhang and Chase Lane advanced to the final eight on the 3-meter springboard. Zhang finished in fourth place overall on a score of 358.40, while Lane finished in fifth place overall with a mark of 353.50. In fact, all five of the Kentucky men’s divers earned points on the 3-meter springboard for the men’s team score, including Sam Duncan (11th place, 302.20), Caiden Lake (12th place, 300.35) and Rodrigo Romero (14th place, 291.50).
The third day of the 2021 SEC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships and the men’s diving competition will resume on Friday, Feb. 19 at 10 a.m. ET. A full schedule and links to stream the meet can be found here.
Medal Count: 2
Gold: 1
800 freestyle relay, 6:58.58
Silver: 0
Bronze: 1
200 medley relay, 1:35.87
School Record Count: 1
200 med-r, 1:35.87
2021 NCAA Championships Automatic Qualifications Count: 2
200 med-r, 1:35.87
800 freestyle relay, 6:58.58
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.
