Dressel Breaks American Record on Day 2 of SEC Championships

Thursday, February 15

College Station, TX

ALL DAY

Florida Gators

SEC Championships

Gators senior Caeleb Dressel, center, set an NCAA record in the 200 IM on Thursday at the SEC Championships in College Station, Texas. (Photo: Russell James for UAA Communications)

Dressel Breaks American Record on Day 2 of SEC Championships

Thursday, February 15, 2018 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Florida earned four medals on second day of championship meet.

By: Katie Callahan

Results | Day 2 Prelim Recap | Meet Notes | Championship Central

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 3 Florida men and No. 17 Florida women each moved up in the standings on Day 2 of the SEC Championships. The men overtook first place with 432 points, while the women moved up to eighth place, gathering 219.5 points.

Caeleb Dressel earned the lone SEC title of the day, winning the 200 IM with a time of 1:38.13. Dressel's performance not only set a Florida record, but also broke the American, NCAA, and US Open record of 1:39.38, set by David Nolan of Stanford back in 2015. The time also established a new Texas A&M pool record, topping Bradley Allen's time of 1:40.09, which has stood since 2009.

Mark Szaranek also medaled in the 200 IM, posting an A-cut time of 1:41.00 to finish third overall. Jan Switkowski finished fourth in the A final, posting a B-cut time of 1:41.83.

Alex Lebed (1:45.07) and Grant Sanders (1:45.86) finished 13th and 15th, respectively in the 200 IM B final, both earning B-cuts. Ross Palazzo rounded out the Gators in the 200 IM finals, posting a B-cut of 1:48.00 in the C final.

The Gator men had four swimmers in the final of the 500 free, with Khader Baqlah earning his way onto the podium in third place. He swam a B-cut time of 4:14.48 and was followed by Ben Lawless' B-cut of 4:17.35 in fourth. Blake Manganiello (4:21.46) and Andrew Brady (4:22.55) went seventh and eighth, respectively, with each notching a B-cut time.

In her first individual event at the SEC Championships, freshman Taylor Ault finished fifth in the women's 500 free A final with a career-best time of 4:41.64. That swim bested her preliminary time of 4:42.64 by a full second and topped her previous best of 4:44.00.

Savanna Faulconer and Kahra Williams made appearances in the B and C finals, respectively. Faulconer finished sixth in the B final with a time of 4:43.98, knocking nearly a second off her preliminary time, while Williams set a new career-best in the C final, swimming a 4:44.60.

Hannah Burns and Kelly Fertel each earned their way into a final in the 200 IM, where they finished 16th and 17th overall, respectively. Burns' notched a B-cut time of 1:57.83 and Fertel's B-cut of 1:57.16 set a new personal-best for her.

Enzo Martinez-Scarpe earned his way into the 50 free A final, where he finished with a B-cut time of 19.68. Bella Garofalo finished 21st in the 50 free C final, posting a B-cut time of 22.71.

To close out the night, Florida's relay of Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, Dressel, Switkowski and Szaranek medaled in the 200 free relay, finishing second with an A-cut time of 1:16.59.

Florida's women's 200 free relay finished seventh with a time of 1:30.49. Amelia Maughan recorded the best split, swimming a 22.17.

Results can be followed live here and full results will be posted at the conclusion of competition each day at FloridaGators.com.

Fans who plan to attend are encouraged to check out the Championship Central for information on tickets, parking, the venue and Texas A&M's clear bag policy.

Gator Titles:

200 IM – Caeleb Dressel – 1:38.13
- American, NCAA, US Open, SEC Meet and pool record
200 medley relay – Michael Taylor, Chandler Bray, Jan Switkowski, Caeleb Dressel – 1:22.94
- New school record and new SEC Meet record
800 free relay – Jan Switkowski, Maxime Rooney, Khader Baqlah, Mark Szaranek – 6:12.06
- SEC Meet record

Straight from the Source: Head Coach Gregg Troy:
- "Today we got to see some really good individual swims. We started out a little flat in the women's 500 free, but after that, everyone got going. The men were tremendous in the prelim, we positioned people really well, but we weren't quite as good tonight in finals, but everyone swam hard. The men's medley was great, led by Caeleb and the we had couple guys in the 500 free. The women are in a really good spot and we have three more good days to go and we look forward to some great races."

- "Caeleb's 200 IM was tremendous tonight. To break the American record by over a second is something really special. He is a special athlete who knows how to focus in. He has great teammates around him, supporting him and making he better and those two guys (Mark Szaranek and Jan Switkowski) are right there with him. We had talked about the switch from the 50 free to the 200 IM, it was all part of the plan. He wanted to do it and he has been a staple to what we have been able to accomplish, so if he wanted the opportunity, we were going to give it to him."

Straight from the Source: Senior Caeleb Dressel:
On 200 IM win:
"It was an exciting race - it is not usually known as my forte, but I decided to mix it up a little bit this year and it was a fun race to do something different."

On setting multiple records:
"Ever since high school, I always thought I had a little bit of IM in me and I wanted to go for it since this is probably the last chance I was going to have to do it. It feels good to get it and it was just a fun swim. I am still figuring out the IM, but I had fun and was happy with it."

Straight from the Source: Freshman Taylor Ault:
On getting the A-cut with the 800 free relay on Day 1:
"It was so exciting to get that A-cut down. Last year they had the B-cut, but this year they were just so excited to get that A-cut. To be a part of the relay was just such an amazing feeling."

On making an A final in her first individual event:
"It was definitely nervous going in to it and did not really know what to expect, but it was fun and I am glad it turned out the way it did. People told me that this was just another swim meet and to not put it on a pedestal.

Standings – Men:

Florida – 432
Tennessee – 411
Texas A&M – 409
Georgia – 365
Kentucky – 298
South Carolina – 285
Auburn – 283.5
Alabama – 268.5
Missouri – 267.5
LSU – 220.5

Standings – Women:

Texas A&M - 469
Georgia – 361
Tennessee – 337.5
Auburn – 250.5
Kentucky – 250
Alabama – 241
Missouri – 236
Florida – 219.5
South Carolina – 218.5
Arkansas – 188
LSU – 161
Vanderbilt - 106

Broadcast Information:

Live results will be available for the entire meet
Live stream will be aired on the SEC Network + for all five days
Sunday's finals session will aired on the SEC Network at 7 p.m. EST
The Championship Central can be found here

Next Up:

The Gators are back in action on Friday for the third day of the SEC Championships
Prelims begin at 11 a.m. EST and feature the 400 IM, 100 fly and 200 free
Diving prelims are set to 1:30 p.m. EST and feature the women's 3-meter event
Finals will be streamed on the SECN+ and are set to begin at 7 p.m. EST

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