KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Redshirt senior Lauren Reedy (Rochester Hills, Michigan) set new Southeastern Conference meet and Missouri school records as she claimed the women's 1-meter springboard title Wednesday during day two action at the 2017 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee. The title was the first of Reedy's career and Mizzou's first in the diving well since the 2013 Championships.
Reedy, who was the 1-meter runner-up at the 2014 SEC Championships, tallied a six-round score of 364.3, besting her old school mark of 355.8 and the SEC meet record of 358.85. She sat sixth after two rounds but rebounded with dives of 62.4 in the third round, 64.5 in the fourth round and 67.5 in the fifth round as she took an eight-point lead with one dive remaining. Reedy then closed with a 66.3 on her final dive to secure her first-ever SEC title.
"I was really proud of the way I got to dive yesterday and today," Reedy said. "For me it's all about, 'did I dive with courage or did I dive fearful?' I can say with confidence that both days I dove with courage, and that's important to me. That's kind of the first time I ever won anything. I tend to come close, so it was cool to finally finish on top. To get the title is the icing on the cake."
The Tiger women sit in fourth-place with 349 points after two days of action, while the Tiger men are 10th with 186 points. Texas A&M leads the standings on the women's side with 488 points and the Florida men are in first with 486.5 points.
Reedy's win highlighted four individual top six finishes for the Tigers on Wednesday, as senior Michael Chadwick (Charlotte, North Carolina) took third in the 50 free, junior Kira Zubar (Chaska, Minnesota) was sixth in the 500 free and junior Kendra Kieser (Plano, Texas) placed seventh on 1-meter.
Kieser joined Reedy in 1-meter finals and finished seventh with a personal high 313.6 points. Also earning on the event were juniors Madeline McKernan (Montgomery, Texas), who placed 14th, and junior Alexa Beckwith (Denver, Colorado), who finished 16th.
In the men's 50 free, Chadwick matched his finish from a year ago as he touched third in the championship final. After a 19.41 in prelims, Chadwick dropped to a 19.21 in finals, only 0.04 behind the second-place finisher. The race marked the fourth top three SEC Championships placement of his career. In addition to Chadwick's finish, sophomore Luke Mankus (Keller, Texas) finished 12th in a personal best 19.64, which also moved him into fourth all-time at Mizzou in the event.
Zubar touched sixth in the 500 free after a championship final swim of 4:42.79, better than her prelims time of 4:43.00. Her finish was 12 spots ahead than last year, as she placed 18th in the 50 free at the 2016 Championships.
In the women's 200 IM, junior Sharli Brady (Burlington, Kentucky) touched fourth in the B final to place 12th overall in a time of 1:57.66. Additionally, sophomore Kylie Dahlgren (Victoria, Minnesota) took 18th in 1:58.38.
Senior Nick Davis (Chesterfield, Missouri) earned a 14th-place finish in the men's 500 free after a swim of 4:19.01 in finals, just off his prelims swim of 4:18.76.
Four Tigers represented Mizzou in the women's 50 free C final. Junior Hannah Stevens (Lexington, Ohio) won the heat to place 17th overall in a personal best 22.63 to move into sixth all-time in the event in program history. Freshman Haley Hynes (Lee's Summit, Missouri) was right behind her in 22.69, while junior Rachel Hayden (Indianapolis, Indiana) finished 22nd in 22.84 and sophomore Iliana Jones (Casper, Wyoming) took 23rd in a personal best 22.90.
In the men's 200 IM, freshman Nick Alexander (Crestwood, Missouri) took 18th overall after a finals swim of 1:45.83, while senior Eddie Mapel (Hinsdale, Illinois) placed 23rd in 1:47.24.
The Tigers closed the meet with the men's and women's 200 free relays. The men's team of Mankus, Chadwick, senior Andrew Sansoucie (Wentzville, Missouri) and sophomore Mikel Schreuders (Oranjestad, Aruba) placed fourth in 1:17.45 and the women's foursome of Hayden, Stevens, Hynes and Jones was seventh in 1:30.03.
Championships action continues with day three action on Thursday, Feb. 16 with prelims at 10 a.m. ET.
Women's 500 Free
6. Kira Zubar (4:42.79, 4:43.00 prelims)
15. Courtney Evensen (4:44.89 finals, 4:44.70 prelims)
34. Azra Avdic (4:49.93)
Men's 500 Free
14. Nick Davis (4:19.01 finals, 4:18.76 prelims)
29. Giovanny Lima (4:25.50)
Women's 200 IM
12. Sharli Brady (1:57.66 finals, 1:58.54 prelims)
18. Kylie Dahlgren (1:58.38 finals, 1:59.67 prelims)
26. Ellie Suek (2:00.01)
Men's 200 IM
18. Nick Alexander (1:45.83 finals, 1:46.39 prelims)
23. Eddie Mapel (1:47.24 finals, 1:47.19 prelims)
25. Alex Walton (1:47.33)
44. Nick Staver (1:52.04)
45. Jordan O'Brien (1:53.22)
Women's 50 Free
17. Hannah Stevens (22.63 finals, 22.76 prelims)
18. Haley Hynes (22.69 finals, 22.83 prelims)
22. Rachel Hayden (22.84 finals, 22.77 prelims)
23. Iliana Jones (22.90 finals, 23.00 prelims)
26. Maddie Gehrke (23.04)
35. Victoria Trost (23.35)
Men's 50 Free
3. Michael Chadwick (19.21 finals, 19.41 prelims)
12. Luke Mankus (19.64 finals, 19.72 prelims)
25. Andrew Sansoucie (20.04)
28. Mikel Schreuders (20.15)
38. Sam Coffman (20.35)
45. Jordy Groters (20.68)
Women's 1-Meter
1. Lauren Reedy (364.3 finals, 331.05 prelims)
7. Kendra Kieser (313.6 finals, 310.1 prelims)
14. Madeline McKernan (290.85)
16. Alexa Beckwith (288.30)
36. Payton Conrad (220.85)x`
Women's 200 Free Relay
7. Hayden, Stevens, Hynes, Jones (1:30.03)
Men's 200 Free Relay
4. Mankus, Chadwick, Sansoucie, Schreuders (1:17.45)