Kovac Claims 200 IM Silver at SECs

Wednesday, February 24

Columbia, Mo.

All Day

University of Missouri

SEC Men's Swimming Championships

2/24/2021 8:07:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Junior Danny Kovac (Fort Collins, Colo.) of the Mizzou men's swimming team claimed runner-up honors in the 200 IM during day two action on Wednesday at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Men's Swimming Championships at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo. The meet, which runs through Friday, Feb. 26, will determine a team champion by adding the men's swimming team scores to the diving results from last week's SEC Diving Championship.

After two days of competition, the Tigers sit sixth as a team with 379 points.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Kovac broke Mizzou's 200 IM school record twice on Wednesday en route to runner-up honors in the event. He first went 1:41.75 in prelims to break the previous mark of 1:42.49, then responded with a 1:41.35 in finals to break his own school mark and notch the second-fastest time in the nation this season. The second-place finish marked Kovac's second-straight podium finish in the event at SECs, as he took third as a sophomore in 2020.

The Tigers also had a pair of 10th-place finishes in the 500 free and 200 IM. Junior Jack Dubois (Alpharetta, Ga.) swam a season-best 4:16.95 in the 500 free to take 10th, while sophomore Ben Patton (Wichita, Kan.) took 10th in the 200 IM with a personal-best 1:44.15.

The Tigers also placed fifth in the 200 free relay, as Kovac, sophomore Kevin Hammer (Austin, Texas) and juniors Kyle Leach (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Jack Dahlgren (Victoria, Minn.) just missed an NCAA A cut with a 1:17.19.

QUOTABLES

Mizzou head coach Andrew Grevers
"Danny setting the team record twice in one day is pretty nice. I love how he gave himself a shot in the final, he really got out there fast. Maybe didn't execute the perfect race but put himself in a position where, if an opportunity arose, he was there. I'm very excited with tomorrow's showdown in the 100 fly, it looks like both Danny and Shane Casas (the 200 IM winner) will go head to head. We had a lot of good swims overall. Kevin Hammer stepping up in the 50 free C final was a lot of fun to watch, and the relay was very good, four solid splits in the relay that ended up fifth."

UP NEXT

Action at the 2021 SEC Men's Swimming Championships continues with day three action on Thursday, Feb. 25 with prelims at 10 a.m. CT and finals at 6 p.m. CT.

DAY TWO RESULTS

500 Free
10. Jack Dubois (4:16.95 final, 4:19.56 prelims)
41. Joseph Gutierrez (4:30.76)
43. Mikolaj Malec (4:32.33)

200 IM
2. Danny Kovac (1:41.35 finals, 1:41.75 prelims)
10. Ben Patton (1:44.15 finals, 1:44.63 prelims)
11. Frederik Rindshoej (1:44.57 finals, 1:44.67 prelims)
20. Will Goodwin (1:45.91 finals, 1:45.88 prelims)
22. Grant Reed (1:46.30 finals, 1:45.97)
31. Luke Davis (1:47.89)
45. Carter Grimes (1:50.04)

50 Free
17. Kevin Hammer (19.58 finals, 19.97 prelims)
23. Kyle Leach (19.97 finals, 19.88 prelims)
25. Daniel Wilson (19.98)
32. Alex Moore (20.19)
48. Josh Pales (20.60)
51. Jackson Kent (20.70)