University of Missouri
SEC Championships
@MizzouSwimDive Nabs Relay Gold for Program's First Men's Conference Relay Title
2/22/2019 8:37:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
ATHENS, Ga. – Mizzou claimed it's first-ever men's conference relay title as the Tigers won the 400 medley relay in a Southeastern Conference meet record time Friday night to put the men's program only 7.5 points out of first at the 2019 SEC Championships with one day of completion left. The Missouri men sit at 860.5 points, behind only Florida's 868, with six events remaining in the meet. The women are seventh with 503.5 points.
In day four action on Friday, Mizzou combined to post two top two finishes, seven top five placements and 10 top eight finishes to boost the teams' point totals. Junior Caleb Hicks (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who swam on the winning really team, also earned an individual runner-up performance in the men's 100 breast.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Missouri made history in the final event of the night with an SEC meet and Gabrielsen Natatorium pool record in the men's 400 medley relay. The Tiger quartet of junior Daniel Hein (Sycamore, Ill.), Hicks, freshman Danny Kovac (Fort Collins, Colo.) and senior Mikel Schreuders (Oranjestad, Aruba) were third after the backstroke leg and second at the halfway mark following the breaststroke. Kovac surged Missouri into the lead at the 250-yard mark in the butterfly and Mizzou held on to touch in 3:03.37 for the program's first men's relay conference title. The time, which ranks first nationally, broke Florida's old SEC mark of 3:03.86 and the pool record of 3:03.82 set by California in 2016.
In the women's 400 medley relay, Mizzou clocked an NCAA 'A' cut and finished fourth overall as junior Haley Hynes (Lee's Summit, Mo.), sophomore Emily Snyder (Canton, Ga.), senior Annie Ochitwa (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and freshman Sarah Thompson (Collierville, Tenn.) touched in season-best time of 3:31.30.
Individually, Hicks led a two-four finish in the men's 100 breast. The junior made a late charge but was out touched at the wall by South Carolina's Itay Goldfaden, 51.72 to 51.80. The junior, who went a personal best in the final, finished 18th in the same event at last year's SEC Championships for a 16 spot improvement.
The Tigers also received a big swim in the 100 breast from senior Jordan O'Brien (Naperville, Ill.), who placed fourth with a lifetime best time of 52.43. He also made a jump from a season ago, where he took seventh in the event.
Freshman Sarah Rousseau (Melbourne, Fla.) claimed big points for the Tigers in the diving well. She earned a fifth-place finish in the women's platform competition with a total of 251.7 points, which included a 69-point dive on her first attempt.
Mizzou earned finishes of fifth and seventh in the women's 100 back on Friday. Hynes led the way in fifth after a swim of 51.92, while Thompson was seventh in 52.21.
In the men's 200 fly, junior Micah Slaton (Austin, Texas) placed fifth after he dropped almost a full second from his prelims time to record a 1:41.86, which moved him up to second all-time at Mizzou in the event. The Tiger men also picked up important points from sophomore Carter Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev.), who took 10th overall after a personal-best finals swim of 1:43.75.
The Tigers also claimed a pair of top eight finishes in the men's 100 back Hein broke the Mizzou record for the second time in as many chances on Friday with a finals time of 45.69 for sixth-place overall in the event. Junior Nick Alexander (St. Louis, Mo.) joined Hein in the championship final and finished eighth after a swim of 46.13.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Interim Head Coach Andrew Grevers
On Friday's performance…
"We did as a team did an incredible job today. The women moved up tonight, we got some big diving points, and the men knew what they had to do. They had to keep themselves in it for another day. We had some great races tonight after an incredible morning session, they showed up and improved tonight, and it all culminated with an amazing relay and an SEC record at the end."
On the men's 400 medley relay title…
"It's great to get to celebrate something like that, but more importantly it's a reward to our athletes for all the hard work they've done. It's their reward for sticking to the process and believing in our program and in our system. As a team we had planned on doing what we're doing right now and the athletes have stuck to it. It's tremendous to both get a team to buy into a plan like that and then execute it."
Junior Caleb Hicks
"We swam our hearts out. When you look at SECs and see Florida, Texas A&M, all those big schools, we're right up there with them."
UP NEXT
The fifth and final day of the 2019 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships continues on Saturday, Feb. 23 with preliminary action scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
DAY FOUR RESULTS
Women's 200 Fly
26. Azra Avdic (2:00.00)
28. Devan Sweeney (2:00.11)
33. Ana Pozder (2:02.55)
Men's 200 Fly
6. Micah Slaton (1:41.86 finals, 1:42.80 prelims)
10. Carter Grimes (1:43.75 finals, 1:44.41 prelims)
Women's 100 Back
5. Haley Hynes (51.92 finals, 52.20 prelims)
7. Sarah Thompson (52.21 finals, 52.63 prelims)
10. Audrey Guyett (53.01 finals, 53.39 prelims)
21. Jennifer King (53.54 finals, 53.74 prelims)
38. Iliana Jones (54.89)
47. Samantha Wilts (55.52)
Men's 100 Back
6. Daniel Hein (45.69 finals, 45.79 prelims)
8. Nick Alexander (46.13 finals, 45.96 prelims)
Women's 100 Breast
16. Emily Snyder (1:01.27 finals, 1:00.78 prelims)
xx. Kayla Jones (1:01.84 finals, 1:01.87 prelims)
Men's 100 Breast
2. Caleb Hicks (51.80 finals, 51.87 prelims)
4. Jordan O'Brien (52.43 finals, 52.52 prelims)
11. Nick Staver (52.92 finals, 52.75 prelims)
15. Danny Kovac (53.20 finals, 52.74 prelims)
23. Caleb Rhodenbaugh (53.81 finals, 53.48 prelims)
Women's Platform
5. Sarah Rousseau (251.7 finals, 253.65 prelims)
16. Payton Conrad (222.95)
22. Tally Brown (180.55)
Women's 400 Medley Relay
4. Haley Hynes, Emily Snyder, Annie Ochitwa, Sarah Thompson (3:31.30)
Men's 400 Medley Relay
1. Daniel Hein, Caleb Hicks, Danny Kovac, Mikel Schreuders (3:03.37)
Players Mentioned
