Florida Finishes Runner-Ups at SEC Championships

Saturday, February 22

Athens, GA

9:30 a.m. (Swim Prelims) | 11:30 a.m. (Dive Prelims) | 5 p.m. (Finals)

Florida Gators

SEC Championships

The 2025 SEC Championships welcomed newest league members, Texas, who brought their 38 Southwest Conference, 28 Big and 12 Conference conference-championship streak with.

Florida Finishes Runner-Ups at SEC Championships

Sunday, February 23, 2025 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Complete Championship Results Championship Central Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Abby Wisecup

ATHENS, Ga. – The University of Florida men's and women's swimming & diving team finished second at the 2025 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships, where the six-day event was held inside the University of Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium.

Two Gators earned SEC Championship awards, as Julian Smith was named the SEC Men's Swimmer of the Meet and Camyla Monroy earned SEC Women's Diver of the Meet. The senior received the accolade after winning two individual events and breaking the 100 breaststroke NCAA record. He was also part of two winning relay teams as well as the 400 medley relay who smashed the NCAA record on Friday night.

Throughout the six days of competition, the Gators totaled 29 medals, 15 of which were gold. Additionally, Florida broke 46 records, including two NCAA records, 13 program, 11 SEC Meet, 11 pool, six SEC, two US Open and one American. Additionally, 25 NCAA A-cuts were recorded throughout the final events.

Florida had several Gators capture two event tiles, as Josh Liendo, Julian Smith and Jonny Marshall took home two individual gold medals. On the women's side, Bella Sims led the way with two gold in both backstroke events, while Monroy won the first event of the week in the 1-Meter, while Emma Weyant defended her title in the 400 IM for the third-straight year.

Final Men's Team Scores

1.	Texas	1474.5
2.	Florida	1325
3.	Tennessee	977.5
4.	Georgia	796.5
5.	Texas A&M	790
6.	Alabama	667
7.	LSU	579
8.	Auburn	554.5
9.	Kentucky	431.5
10.	Missouri	362.5
11.	South Carolina	338

Final Women's Team Scores

1.	Texas	1450
2.	Florida	1179
3.	Tennessee	1172
4.	Georgia	689.5
5.	South Carolina	635.5
6.	Alabama	620
7.	LSU	609
8.	Texas A&M	566.5
9.	Auburn	524.5
10.	Missouri	398
11.	Kentucky	345
12.	Arkansas	244
1.	Texas	1450

Florida Medal Count: 29 total
Gold Medals:

Camyla Monroy – women's 1-meter diving
Alexander Painter, Josh Liendo, Julian Smith, Jake Mitchell – Men's 800 free relay
Julian Smith – 200 IM
Emma Weyant – 400 IM
Josh Liendo – 100 butterfly
Conor Gesing – men's 1-meter diving
Bella Sims 100 backstroke
Jonny Marshall – 100 backstroke
Julian Smith – 100 breaststroke
Bella Sims, Anita Bottazzo, Olivia Peoples, Micayla Cronk - Women's 400 medley relay
Jonny Marshall, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo, Alex Painter – Men's 400 medley relay
Bella Sims – 200 Backstroke
Jonny Marshall – 200 Backstroke
Josh Liendo – 100 Freestyle
Aleksas Savickas – 200 Breaststroke

Silver Medals:

Conor Gesing – men's 3-meter diving
Jonny Marshall, Julian Smith, Scotty Buff, Ed Fullum-Huot - Men's 200 medley relay
Josh Liendo, Alexander Painter, Ed Fullum-Huot, Scotty Buff – Men's 200 free relay
Josh Liendo – 50 freestyle
Olivia Peoples – 100 butterfly
J. Liendo, J. Smith, A. Painter, S. Buff – 400 Free Relay

Bronze Medals:

Catie Choate, Anita Bottazzo, Olivia Peoples, Micayla Cronk – Women's 200 medley relay
Julie Brousseau, Bella Sims, Emma Weyant, Micayla Cronk – Women's 800 free relay
Julie Brousseau – 500 freestyle
Bella Sims – 200 IM
Scotty Buff – 100 butterfly
Anita Bottazzo – 100 breaststroke
Jesus Gonzalez – Platform
B. Sims, A. Reese, L. Kruger, M. Cronk – 400 Free Relay

Record Count
NCAA:

100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter

American:

100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith

US Open:

100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter

Program:

Men's 800 Free Relay 6:02.50 A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
Men's 200 Free Relay 1:13.29 J. Liendo, A. Painter, E. Fullum-Huot, S. Buff
Men's 1-Meter Diving 412.75 Conor Gesing
100 Backstroke 48.97 Bella Sims
100 Backstroke 43.73 Jonny Marshall
100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 3:24.78 B. Sims, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Backstroke 1:48.28 Bella Sims
200 Backstroke 1:35.85 Jonny Marshall
200 Breaststroke 1:50.02 Aleksas Savickas
Platform 452.35 Jesus Gonzalez
Men's 400 Free Relay 2:43.60 J. Liendo, J. Smith, A. Painter, S. Buff

SEC:

Men's 800 Free Relay 6:02.50 A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
100 Backstroke 48.97 Bella Sims
100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 3:24.78 B. Sims, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Breaststroke 1:50.02 Aleksas Savickas

SEC Meet:

Men's 800 Free Relay 6:02.50 A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
100 Butterfly 43.70 Josh Liendo
100 Freestyle 43.23 Josh Liendo
100 Backstroke 48.97 Bella Sims
100 Backstroke 43.73 Jonny Marshall
100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 3:24.78 B. Sims, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Backstroke 1:35.85 Jonny Marshall
100 Freestyle 40.45 Josh Liendo
200 Breaststroke 1:50.02 Aleksas Savickas

Gabrielsen Natatorium:

Men's 800 Free Relay 6:02.50 A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
200 IM 1:39.38 Julian Smith
100 Butterfly 43.70 Josh Liendo
100 Freestyle 43.23 Josh Liendo
100 Backstroke 48.97 Bella Sims
100 Backstroke 43.73 Jonny Marshall
100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Backstroke 1:35.85 Jonny Marshall
100 Freestyle 40.45 Josh Liendo
200 Breaststroke 1:50.02 Aleksas Savickas

NCAA A-Cut Times (From finals session only)
Women

200 Medley Relay 1:34.34 C. Choate, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
800 Free Relay 6:53.53 J. Brousseau, B. Sims, E. Weyant, M.Cronk
200 Free Relay 1:28.24 B. Sims, M. Cronk, O. Peoples, A. Reese
500 Freestyle 4:34.59 Julie Brousseau
200 IM 1:53.63 Bella Sims
400 IM 3:59.24 Emma Weyant
100 Backstroke 48.97 Bella Sims
100 Breaststroke 57.65 Anita Bottazzo
400 Medley Relay 3:24.78 B. Sims, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
200 Backstroke 1:48.28 Bella Sims
400 Free Relay 3:11.07 B. Sims, A. Reese, L. Kruger, M. Cronk

Men

200 Medley Relay 1:20.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, S. Buff, E. Fullum-Huot
800 Free Relay 6:02.50 A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
200 Free Relay 1:13.29 J. Liendo, A. Painter, E. Fullum-Huot, S. Buff
200 IM 1:39.38 Julian Smith
50 Freestyle 18.35 Josh Liendo
100 Butterfly 43.23 Josh Liendo
100 Butterfly 44.28 Scotty Buff
100 Backstroke 43.73 Jonny Marshall
100 Breaststroke 49.51 Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay 2:55.66 J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Backstroke 1:35.85 Jonny Marshall
100 Freestyle 40.45 Josh Liendo
100 Freestyle 41.34 Julian Smith
200 Breaststroke 1:50.02 Aleksas Savickas
400 Free Relay 2:43.60 J. Liendo, J. Smith, A. Painter, S. Buff

Florida Top-Ten Times
Women

Event	Top-10 placement	Time	Swimmers
800 free relay	No. 2	6:53.53	J. Brousseau, B. Sims, E. Weyant, M.Cronk
200 medley relay	No. 3	1:34.34	C. Choate, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
200 free relay	No. 9	1:28.24	B. Sims, M. Cronk, O. Peoples, A. Reese
500 freestyle	No. 5	4:34.59	Julie Brousseau
200 IM	No. 5	1:54.08	Lainy Kruger
200 freestyle	No. 7	1:43.90	Lainy Kruger
400 IM	No. 7	4:03.93	Mabel Zavaros
400 IM	No. 8	4:04.21	Julie Brousseau
200 butterfly	No. 10	1:55.62	Addison Reese
100 backstroke	No. 1 No. 6 No. 10	48.97 51.54 52.38	Bella Sims Catie Choate Carly Meeting
400 medley relay	No. 1	3:24.78	B. Sims, A. Bottazzo, O. Peoples, M. Cronk
200 backstroke	No. 1 No. 8	1:48.28 1:51.78	Bella Sims Catie Choate
200 Breaststroke	No. 5	2:08.66	Anita Bottazzo
200 Breaststroke	No. 8	2:10.14	Gracie Weyant
200 Breaststroke	No. 9	2:10.17	Sofia Plaza
400 Free Relay	T-No.3	3:11.07	B. Sims, A. Reese, L. Kruger, M. Cronk

Men

Event	Top-10 placement	Time	Swimmers
800 Free Relay	No. 1	6:02.50	A. Painter, J. Liendo, J. Smith, J. Mitchell
200 Medley Relay	No. 2	1:20.66	J. Marshall, J. Smith, S. Buff, E. Fullum-Huot
200 Free Relay	No. 1	1:13.29	J. Liendo, A. Painter, E. Fullum-Huot, S. Buff
200 IM	No. 2	1:39.38	Julian Smith
50 Freestyle	No. 3 No. 5	18.73 18.80	Scotty Buff Alexander Painter
400 IM	No. 8	3:48.46	Gio Linscheer
200 Freestyle	No. 3	1:31.13	Alexander Painter
100 Butterfly	No. 3	44.28	Scotty Buff
1-Meter diving	No. 1	412.25	Conor Gesing
100 Backstroke	No. 1	43.73	Jonny Marshall
100 Breaststroke	No. 1	49.51	Julian Smith
400 Medley Relay	No. 1	2:55.66	J. Marshall, J. Smith, J. Liendo, A. Painter
200 Backstroke	No. 1 No. 9	1:35.85 1:40.05	Jonny Marshall Caleb Maldari
100 Freestyle	No. 4	41.34	Julian Smith
100 Freestyle	No. 5	41.41	Alexander Painter
200 Breaststroke	No. 1	1:50.02	Aleksas Savickas
Platform	No. 1	452.35	Jesus Gonzalez
400 Free Relay	No. 1	2:43.60	J. Liendo, J. Smith, A. Painter, S. Buff

Hear from the Gators
Sophomore Bella Sims:
On how happy she was with her time and how swimming the 200 back felt:
"I was talking about how the 200 back is one of the most painful 200's. It hurt so bad, but best time and I am always happy with a best time."

Sophomore Jonny Marshall:
On being the fifth-fasest performer ever and swimming next to the defending Olympic gold medalist (Hubert Kos of Texas):
"I knew it was going to be fast and that he was coming from me, so I knew I had to set myself up for success and get out as far ahead as I could."

On how he carries his momentum in the backstroke into next month at NCAA's:
"Just celebrating the success here and keep it as a chip on our shoulder as we go through the next month of training and what not. I know when I get back on Monday its not going to be a taper, so keep that same grit I had in the fall and keep the confidence as well.

Saturday Recap
There were eight program top-ten times recorded and three NCAA A-cut times recorded during morning prelims, as 21 swimmers advanced to Saturday finals.

The 1650 free opened Saturday finals, as 10 Gators competed in the event. Emma Weyant (14:53.23) and Michaela Mattes (16:02.53) went four-five on the women's side, respectively. Julie Brousseau finished in 11th after swimming a 16:09.69. Jake Mitchell had the fastest time on the men's side after going 14:47.44 in the second heat. Josh Parent's 14:48.46 followed in tenth, while Luke Corey (14:49.56) and Gio Linscheer (14:51.03) placed 12th and 14th, respectively. Eric Brown and Andrew Taylor added points to Florida's team total as well, finishing in 21st (14:56.84) and 22nd (15:01.05), respectively.

For the second-consecutive day, Bella Sims and Jonny Marshall swept the backstroke event, as the two sophomores defended their title in the 200 back, Sims posted a winning time of 1:48.28 to win the event in over two seconds to improve her school record time of 1:48.47 from last year's NCAA Championships. Marshall followed up with a school record and SEC Meet record time of 1:35.85 to defeat defending Olympic gold medalist Hubert Kos of Texas and maintain his title.

In the men's 100 free, Josh Liendo tied with Jordan Crooks of Tennessee for first place, finishing at 40.45 for an SEC Meet record and his second-straight event title. Smith and Alexander Painter also swam in the A final, registering the program's fourth and fifth-fastest times in history after finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Aleksas Savickas reset his program as well as well as the SEC and SEC Meet record to win the men's 200 breaststroke for the second time in three years, posting a 1:50.02 to best his own record set in 2023. The junior now has two golds and one silver medal in the event.

Gator diver Jesus Gonzalez had a record-breaking night himself, breaking the program's platform record from 2004. He advanced to the finals after scoring a 90.10 on his second-prelim dive to place second and advance to prelims, where he went on to earn third with a final score of 452.35. Conor Gesing finished second in the B final to earn 10th overall with 353.15.

The women's 400 free relay team of Bella Sims, Addison Reese, Lainy Kruger and Micayla Cronk finished third after going 3:11.07, while the men's 400 free relay team of Josh Liendo, Julian Smith, Alex Painter and Scotty Buff finished second after breaking the school record with a 2:43.60.

Saturday, Feb. 22 9:30 a.m. Prelims
Women's 200 Backstroke	1st place: Bella Sims – 1:44.99 (A-cut) 3rd place: Catie Choate – 1:51.78 (B-cut) 5th place: JoJo Ramey – 1:52.33 (B-cut) 10th place: Zoe Dixon – 1:53.48 (B-cut) 14th place: Mabel Zavaros - 1:53.98 (B-cut) 23rd place: Katelyn Schroeder – 1:55.17 (B-cut) 36th place: Carly Meeting – 1:57.51 (B-cut)
Men's 200 Backstroke	1st place: Jonny Marshall – 1:37.94 (A-cut) 6th place: Caleb Maldari – 1:40.60 (B-cut) 11th place: Aiden Norman – 1:40.97 (B-cut)
Women's 100 Freestyle	16th place: Addison Reese – 48.62 (B-cut) 29th place: Micayla Cronk – 49.12 (B-cut) 50th place: Julia Heimstead – 50.15
Men's 100 Freestyle	2nd place: Josh Liendo – 40.83 (A-cut) 6th place: Julian Smith – 41.68 (B-cut) 7th place: Alexander Painter – 41.81 (B-cut) 12th place: Ed Fullum-Huot – 42.15 (B-cut) 32nd place: Devin Dilger - 43.04 (B-cut)
Women's 200 Breaststroke	5th place: Molly Mayne – 2:08.50 (B-cut) 9th place: Anita Bottazzo – 2:09.17 (B-cut) 11th place: Grace Rainey – 2:09.92 (B-cut) 13th place: Sofia Plaza - 2:10.37 (B-cut) 15th place: Gracie Weyant – 2:11.52 (B-cut)
Men's 200 Breaststroke	2nd place: Aleksas Savickas – 1:51.21 (B-cut) 9th place: Peter Bretzmann – 1:54.19 (B-cut)
Men's Platform Prelims	Jesus Gonzalez \| 2nd place \| 425.30 Round 1 – 59.20 Round 2 – 90.10 Round 3 – 67.50 Round 4 – 69.30 Round 5 – 72.00 Round 6 -67.20 Conor Gesing \| 10th place \| score Round 1 – 57.20 Round 2 – 43.20 Round 3 – 63.00 Round 4 – 62.00 Round 5 – 69.75 Round 6 - 58.00
Men's Platform B Final	Conor Gesing \| 2nd place (10th overall) \| 353.15 Round 1 – 57.20 Round 2 – 43.20 Round 3 – 63.00 Round 4 – 62.00 Round 5 – 69.75 Round 6 – 58.00
Women's 1650 Freestyle Heats	4th place: Emma Weyant – 15:53.23 (B-cut) 5th place: Michaela Mattes – 16:02.53 (B-cut) 11th place: Julie Brousseau – 16:09.69 (B-cut)
Men's 1650 Freestyle Heats	9th place: Jake Mitchell – 14:47.44 (B-cut) 10th place: Josh Parent – 14:48.46 (B-cut) 12th place: Luke Corey - 14:49.56 (B-cut) 14th place: Gio Linscheer – 14:51.03 (B-cut) 21st place: Eric Brown – 14:56.84 (B-cut) 22nd place: 15:01.05 (B-cut)
5:30 p.m. Finals
Women's 200 Backstroke	Championship Final 1st place: Bella Sims – 1:48.28 (A-cut) 4th place: Catie Choate – 1:51.95 (B-cut) 7th place: Jo Jo Ramey – 1:52.77 (B-cut) B Final 9th place: Mabel Zavaros – 1:52.24 (B-cut) 10th place: Zoe Dixon: 1:52.40 (B-cut) C Final 22nd place: Katie Schroeder – 1:55.26 (B-cut)
Men's 200 Backstroke	Championship Final 1st place: Jonny Marshall – 1:35.85 (A-cut) 5th place: Caleb Maldari – 1:40.05 (B-cut) B Final 9th place: Aiden Norman – 1:40.09 (B-cut)
Women's 100 Freestyle	B Final 12th place: Addison Reese - 48.48 (B-cut)
Men's 100 Freestyle	Championship Final T1st place: Josh Liendo – 40.45 (A-cut) 6th place: Julian Smith – 41.34 (A-cut) 7th place: Alexander Painter – 41.41 (B-cut) B Final 16th place: Ed Fullum-Huot – 42.90 (B-cut)
Women's 200 Breaststroke	Championship Final 8th place: Molly Mayne – 2:09.55 (B-cut) B Final 9th place: Anita Bottazzo – 2:08.66 (B-cut) 11th place: Gracie Weyant – 2:10.14 (B-cut) 12th place: Sofia Plaza – 2:10.17 (B-cut) 13th place: Grace Ramey – 2:10.83 (B-cut)
Men's 200 Breaststroke	Championship Final 1st place: Aleksas Savickas – 1:50.02 (A-cut) B Final 9th place: Peter Bretzmann – 1:53.36 (B-cut)
Men's Platform A Final	Jesus Gonzalez \| 3rd place \| 452.35 Round 1 – 76.80 Round 2 – 85.00 Round 3 – 67.50 Round 4 – 74.25 Round 5 – 73.60 Round 6 -75.20
Women's 400 Free Relay	A Relay Team \| 3rd place \| 3:11.07 B. Sims (47.06), A. Reese (48.36), L. Kruger (48.06) M. Cronk (47.59)
Men's 400 Free Relay	A Relay Team \| 2nd place \| 2:43.60 J. Liendo (40.78), J. Smith (40.76), A. Painter (40.85), S. Buff (41.21)