ATHENS, Ga. – The swimming and diving ended the 2025 SEC Championship with a silver medal on Saturday, the final day of competition, thanks to the junior Levi Sandidge. The Wildcat women end the 2025 SEC Championship in 11th place with 349 points and the men in 9th with 431.5.

The Wildcats started the day with preliminary races. The 200 back was the first event, where junior Paige Taber qualified for the C Final with a time of 1:54.38 and fifth-year Bridget Engel led herself to the A Final in 1:52.99. Junior Lydia Hanlon reached a B-Standard time as did Torie Buerger, additionally. The men were led by junior Logan Ingerick, who raced the seventh best 200 back time in program history (1:43.75) and picked up a B-Standard. In the 100 free prelims, sophomore Madi McGlothen picked up a personal best of 50.38. The 200 breast brought three finals qualifiers total, Engel for the A, senior Olivia Mendenhall the C, and on the men’s side Adomas Gatulis for the B with a sixth best time in history (1:56.19). Freshman Eli Greinke also swam a top 10 time at 1:57.41, checking just in just inside at 10.

The 1650 free went on throughout the day, with Sandidge winning the Wildcats a silver medal in the final heat of the men’s race and breaking his own previous school record with a 14:30.61. Sophomore Carson Hick finished just outside the podium in fourth place (14:43.83), with Chris Nagy coming in eleventh with a new fourth best program time at 14:49.30. In the same race on the women’s side, sophomore Libby Grether cracked the tenth top program time with a 16:21.12 and Paige Housman (16:30.96) and Sammie Hamilton (16:24.17) both set personal bests.

In the other final races Paige Taber picked up a B-Standard time of 1:54.02 in the 200 back C Final, while Frericks ended the A Final in seventh place (1:53.13). Mendenhall fought for fifth in the C Final (2:11.65) of the 200 breast along with Engel in the A Final, who finished seventh (2:08.76). Gatulis picked up the program’s second best 200 breast time, finishing second in the C Final.

To wrap up the week, both teams competed in the 400 medley relay. The women’s team of Frericks, Maddy Hartley, Hayden Penny, and Lauren West set a new personal best. On the other side the men’s team of Max Berg, Justin Peresse, Logan Ingerick, and Ryan Merani did the same, ending the 2025 SEC Championship in fitting fashion.

While the 2025 SEC Championships have ended, there is a lot that the Wildcats look to build from. This week they achieved not just a silver medal but also 31 new top 10 times and 51 personal bests. The Wildcats will now begin to prepare for the NCAA Championships and Diving Zones in March, where they will send representatives to compete for Kentucky. There will be one last chance for individuals to qualify, which is a meet at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee on Feb. 28 and March 1.

New NCAA B-Standard:

  • Lydia Hanlon- 200 back
  • Logan Ingerick- 200 back
  • Olivia Mendenhall- 200 breast
  • Adomas Gatulis- 200 breast
  • Libby Grether- 1650 free
  • Paige Housman- 1650 free
  • Nick Caruso- 1650 free

 

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