Swim and Dive Ties Bow on SEC Championships

AUBURN, Ala. – The University of Missouri swimming and diving program completed its six-day program at the SEC Championships on The Plains. Final team standings saw the women’s side finish 11th (332.5 points), while the men came in eighth (527.5).

Similarly to the rest of the week, Saturday’s action saw plenty of Tigers either set personal records or enter the history books, the likes of which were highlighted by a trio of swimmers competing in the men’s 200 back.

Junior Grant Bochenski and sophomore’s Sam Brown and Jan Zubik each logged all-time top 10 times in the event. Classmates Brown and Zubik touched the wall at identical paces, finishing at 1:42.09 apiece, tying for seventh all-time. Bochenski paced Mizzou in the event, finishing 14th with a time of 1:41.85. In prelims, the new program record-holder in the 100 back turned in a 1:41.76, moving himself into sole fifth position all-time in the 200 back.

Senior Sierra Smith and freshman Zara Zallen spearheaded the women’s 100 free, both putting up impressive times throughout the day. In prelims, Smith clinched a personal record that saw her rise to fifth all-time in the event (48.52) before racing to a 48.94 in finals that gave her an eighth-place finish. Zallen also lifted herself to the school’s leaderboards by boasting a 48.68 in finals, the program’s eighth-fastest time ever, and earning herself a 13th-place finish.

In the men’s 200 breast, graduate Will Goodwin was one of three Tigers to qualify for finals, joined by freshmen Logan Ottke and John Watson. Goodwin used consistency to swim his way to a sixth-place finish in the event, garnering a time of 1:54.44.

Sophomore Kamryn Wong started the evening for MU in the women’s platform dive, where she finished 14th with a score of 206.30. Her prelims mark of 216.85, however, represents a new personal record for the Flower Mound, Texas native.

To finish off the evening, the men’s 400 free relay team with Daniel Wilson, Grant Bochenski, Darden Tate and Sam Brown came home in seventh with a 2:51.84, narrowly missing out on the all-time leaderboard.

NOTABLE RESULTS

• In the women’s 200 breast, sophomore Lina Bank beat her own previous record by over two seconds in prelims, touching the wall in 2:12.36. She would ultimately finish 23rd in finals with a 2:13.99.
• In the men’s 1650 free, junior Jibran Himsieh raced a 15:24.93 to finish 24th in finals.
• Freshmen John Watson and Logan Ottke, who each joined Will Goodwin in the men’s 200 breast finals, finished 23rd (1:58.84) and 24th (1:58.96), respectively. Watson’s 1:57.87 in prelims is a new personal record.

UP NEXT

Mizzou Swim and Dive comes back to the Mizzou Aquatic Center one final time this season, competing in the Mizzou Qualifier on March 2-3. First gun goes off at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, as live results will be made available on the Meet Mobile app.

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