The Missouri swim and dive program made a statement with a second-place finish in the 2019 SEC Championships.
The Tigers broke seven school records and set two SEC meet records. Overall, the men finished at a program-record second place with 1,137 points and the women placed seventh with 640 points.
The Tiger men finished behind the Florida Gators who had 1,233 points.
Senior Mikel Schreuders started the first day of the championships with a bang. He broke an SEC meet record with a swim of 1:31.61 during the first 200 yards of the 800 freestyle relay. The relay team, which consisted of Schreuders, junior Giovanny Lima, freshman Jack Dahlgren and freshman Kyle Leach, finished second and broke a school record with a time of 6:11.77.
“I wanted to try and get the biggest lead that we could, because we had strong opponents in that field,” Schreuders said in a press release. “I just went for it and tried to do as much as I could. I didn’t even know I broke the record, but after hearing it on the podium, it was awesome.”
The women’s 200 medley relay team also finished second and set a school record with a time of 1:35.62.
On Wednesday, the men ended the day atop of the standings. Junior Nick Alexander finished second in the 200 individual medley after Florida freshman Kieran Smith beat him 1:43.13 to 1:43.15.
Senior Annie Ochitwa finished No. 5 in the women’s 50 free with a time of 21.94.
Schreuders made headlines again Thursday after claiming Missouri’s first men’s SEC title with a time of 1:31.27 in the 200 free. That time ranks second in the nation, only behind California’s Andrew Seliskar. Jack Dahlgren finished fifth in the race with a time of 1:33.33. The men ended the day in second place, trailing Florida by 11 points.
Ochitwa placed third in the women’s 100 fly after finishing fourth back in 2018.
On Friday, the men’s 400 medley relay captured Missouri’s first ever conference relay win. Juniors Daniel Hein and Caleb Hicks, freshman Danny Kovac and senior Schreuders swam the race at 3:03.37. This first place time ranks No. 1 nationally and broke the pool record.
Freshman Sarah Rousseau placed fifth in the women’s platform event with 251.7 points.
In the women’s 400 medley, junior Haley Hynes, sophomore Emily Snyder, senior Annie Ochitwa and freshman Sarah Thompson touched fourth.
Entering the final day of the championships, Missouri trailed Florida by 7.5 points for first place.
On Saturday, the women’s 400 free relay placed second and finished the race at 3:14.48, the second fastest in school history. In the final race for Missouri, the men’s 400 relay team placed fourth.
The Missouri men’s team placed higher than nationally-ranked No. 12 Georgia, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 18 Alabama.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Grevers said in a press release. “This meet was a massive success for both our men and women. These are the results we deserve. We swam our best and did everything that was within our power to get to this point, and we’re very pleased with the results.”
_Edited by Adam Cole | acole@themaneater.com_
