Florida Wins Six Medals, Sets Five Records on Night 4 of SEC Championships

Friday, February 17

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Florida Wins Six Medals, Sets Five Records on Night 4 of SEC Championships

Friday, February 17, 2023 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

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No. 5/6 Gators lead men’s and women’s heading into final day

By: Nick Yuska

Day 4 Results | Prelims Recap | Championship Central | Meet Notes

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5/6 Florida men's and women's swimming and diving teams added six medals to their medal count Friday night at the SEC Championships. The Gators have 22 medals headed into the final day, and lead on both the men's and women's teams headed into the final day of competition.

Florida's 400 medley relay team of Adam Chaney, Dillon Hillis, Joshua Liendo, and Macguire McDuff smashed the SEC, Meet, and School Record with a time of 2:59.48, nearly breaking the all-time mark of 2:59.22. The Gators are now the three-time defending conference champions in the event.

"This is the team to beat at the NCAA Championships," tonight's announcer and former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines said during the race.

Chaney had already made history prior to his performance in the relay, lowering his own school record in the 100 back to 44.18, the fastest time in the nation this year, winning gold. The sophomore was only .08 off the SEC meet record.

Florida went one-two in the 100 breast, as Dillon Hillis won gold with a time of 51.02, just .05 of Aleksas Savickas who claimed silver. Hillis, who was the 2021 SEC Champion, earned his first individual medal of the week. Julian Smith finished sixth, giving the Gators three of the top-six finishes in the event.

"We got the best breastroke program in the country right now," Hillis said on the broadcast. "We're moving forward. It's amazing."

Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero won the first medal of the night for the Gators, winning silver in the 200 fly after clocking the sixth-fastest time in school history at 1:41.37. Mason Laur finished seventh, while Jace Crawford, who competed in the B-final, placed 12th overall.

The women's 400 medley relay team of Aris Runnels, Nina Kucheran, Olivia Peoples, and Micayla Cronk earned bronze, swimming the second-fastest time in school history of 3:29.98. The team dropped 4.54 seconds off its seeded time.

Before winning bronze in the relay, Kucheran registered a Florida-record with a 59.12 in the women's 100 breast A-final, just missing the podium in fourth, but tallying 26 points towards Florida's team score. Kucheran sits atop Florida history in her first season as a Gator.

In the first final of the night, Amanda Ray finished sixth, swimming a 1:55.88 to secure 24 points for the Florida women's team. In the B-final Allie Piccirillo claimed 10th overall at 1:56.74, while Kathleen Golding's 1:56.98 put her in 12th.

The only representative for the Gators in the 100 back, Aris Runnels continued to improve her time, swimming a 51.97 for sixth place, and moving into the top-five of the fastest times in school history.

Florida will go for SEC Titles tomorrow, starting with prelims at 10:30 a.m. (ET) and finals at 6:30 p.m. (ET). The men's platform prelims are set to begin at 12:30 p.m. (ET), with the 1650 free beginning after.

Women's Team Results (through Event #30):

1.	Florida	962
2.	Tennessee	709.5
3.	Kentucky	698
4.	LSU	624
5.	Georgia	577.5
6.	Alabama	560
7.	Auburn	499
8.	South Carolina	489
9.	Texas A&M	470
10.	Arkansas	415
11.	Missouri	312
12.	Vanderbilt	135

Men's Team Results (through Event #31):

1.	Florida	1056.5
2.	Auburn	774.5
3.	Texas A&M	765
4.	Tennessee	727.5
5.	Georgia	584.5
6.	Missouri	517.5
7.	Alabama	464
8.	Kentucky	369
9.	South Carolina	366.5
10.	LSU	240