Swimming & Diving Sees 13 Scorers on Thursday at SEC Championships
AUBURN, Ala.- Kentucky’s fourth day of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Championships closed with 13 point scorers, 13 new personal bests and three new NCAA B-cuts as competition continued on Thursday at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. The men’s team sits in eighth place with 243 points, while the women are in the ninth position with 211 points.
In the women’s 400 Individual Medley, the first event of the day, Bridget Engel set a new personal best and earned a B-cut after swimming a time of 4:18.05. Both Caroline Benda and Madi McGlothen placed 16th and 17th respectively, earning 20 points for the women’s team. McGlothen, a freshman, earned the victory in the C-final with a personal best clip of 4:15.95. Senior Anna Havens Rice became the first Wildcat this week to qualify for an A-final by clocking a prelims time of 4:14.44, but was disqualified in the night session for an improper turn.
In the men’s preliminary session, all five UK representatives, including Ryan Merani, Zane Rosely, Lance Johnson, Levi Sandidge and Aaron Gasiewicz, swam B-standard times, with Gasiewicz and Johnson doing so for the first time. Johnson’s time of 3:47.25 was the tenth-fastest time in school history. In the consolation final, Sandidge tied the sixth-fastest time in program history with his swim of 3:46.05. The five men combined to add 35 points to the team score by all reaching the finals.
Five more personal bests came in the preliminary round of the men’s 100 butterfly event, from Carter Ruthven (47.22), Logan Ingerick (47.45), Jackson Mussler (47.99), Drew Johnson (48.21) and Bradley Boyd (49.12). Ruthven’s swim tied for the seventh-fastest time in UK history.
In the women’s 200 freestyle, Freshman Libby Grether set a new personal record with a time of 1:48.56. In the B-final, Grace Frericks’ top-24 finish added a pair of points to end the night for the women.
On the men’s side, both Carson Hick and Josh Fujimoto set personal best times, while senior Max Berg finished second in the consolation final with his 1:33.28 swim, tallying 17 more points for the men’s team.
The women’s 1-meter was on the docket for diving, where Claire McDaniels, Abby Devereaux and Kristy Pfaff all scored for the Wildcats, placing inside the top-24. McDaniels led the way in 19th with a score of 239.70.
Friday’s competition begins with prelims for the 200 butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke at 9:30 a.m. (C.T). Men’s diving will take to the platform at 11:30 a.m. (C.T.), with the B-final to commence at 1:40 p.m. (C.T.). The night session will get under way with finals from all morning events at 5:30 p.m. (C.T.), ending with the 400 Medley Relay. All sessions can be live streamed on SECN+, and live stats can be found here.
For the latest on UK Swim & Dive, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSwimDive, and on Facebook at Kentucky Swimming and Diving.
Top-10 Times:
Men’s 100 Butterfly:
T-No.7 – Carter Ruthven- 47.22
Men’s 400 Individual Medley:
T-No.6 – Levi Sandidge – 3:46.05
No.10 – Lance Johnson – 3:47.25
New NCAA B-Standard Times:
Women’s 200 Freestyle:
Grace Frericks – 1:46.99
Men’s 400 Individual Medley:
Lance Johnson – 3:47.25
Aaron Gasiewicz – 3:56.19
Personal Best Count: 28
