Alabama
SEC Championships
Alabama Swimming and Diving Wins Three Titles and Sets Multiple Records on Day Four of the SEC Championships
2/21/2020 10:01:00 PM | Swimming & Diving
Zane Waddell and Rhyan White set SEC records on the way to winning the men’s and women’s 100 backstroke titles, while the Crimson Tide closed the day with the men's 400 medley relay champion and record
AUBURN, Ala. – To say Alabama's fourth day at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships was a good one would be a vast understatement. Saying it was a great day would probably still not do the Tide's performance justice.
Alabama earned gold medals in three events, added silver in two more and collected a trio of SEC records to go with five school standards.
Sophomore Rhyan White got the Tide's winning ways started, breaking her own SEC and school records from prelims and going 50.02 in finals to run away with the women's 100 backstroke title. Senior Zane Waddell came back in the men's race and broke the SEC and school record on the way to taking his second 100 backstroke title in a row and second individual SEC championship in a row after the 50 freestyle on Wednesday.
Freshman Liam Bell posted a scorching time in the 100 breaststroke, taking second with a school record 51.39, just four-hundredths of a second out of first.
The women closed their day with a huge swim in the 400 medley relay. White, junior Kaila Wong, junior Flora Molnar and sophomore Morgan Scott destroyed the old school record by more three seconds and came within seven-hundredths of a second of winning the race with a time of 3:28.90.
One event later, the quartet of Waddell, Bell, junior Tyler Sesvold and sophomore Jonathan Berneburg shaved more than a second off the previous SEC record and exactly two second off the school record to win the Tide's second relay title of the week with a 3:02.17 in the men's 400 medley relay. Waddell also bettered his own SEC and school 100 backstroke record on the leadoff leg with a 44.10, which ranks him as one of the top-five 100 backstrokers in swimming history.
Alabama's men are in the fifth place with 655.5 points, while the women are in seventh 526 points with one more day to go.
Head Coach Coley Stickels Said
"With a day like today, it's hard to know where to start. Zane and Rhyan continue to have extraordinary meets, winning races and setting and resetting SEC records in the process, while guys like Liam, Derek (Maas) and Matt (Menke) announced themselves on the conference level. Liam not only set the school record, but he came within hundredths of a second of winning the 100 breaststroke as a freshman. Those relays were pretty spectacular. Zane, Liam, Tyler and Jonny were unstoppable and Rhyan, Kaila, Flora and Morgan put us on the podium for a relay for the first time in a long while, and to come within hundredths of a second of winning that relay says a lot about the direction we're heading. Today was a great day, but we need to keep grinding and finish strong tomorrow."
More from Day Four
- Freshman Matt Menke took sixth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 46.29, while fellow rookie Derek Maas was sixth in 100 breaststroke in a time of 52.24.
- Scott took sixth in the 100 backstroke with a time of 52.42.
- Senior Alexis Preski (8th/1:56.82), sophomore Morgan Liberto (12th/1:56.85) and sophomore Cat Wright (15th/1:57.96) all scored in the 200 butterfly.
- Wong was 12th in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:00.42.
- Sophomore Nichols Perner (1:45.14) and junior Cade Auerbach (1:45.63) took 16th and 17th, respectively, in the men's 200 butterfly.
- Junior Alex Robinson scored in the 100 backstroke, taking 24th with a time of 48.43, while sophomore Nico Perner was 24th in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 54.69.
Coming Up
- Saturday marks the final day of competition and includes four individual swimming events, a diving event and a relay.
- Prelims getting underway at 9:30 a.m., and finals starting at 5:30 p.m.
- The Crimson Tide will compete in the men's and women's 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke and 1,650 freestyle as well as the women's platform before closing with the 400 freestyle relay on the championships' fifth and final day.
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Players Mentioned
