SEC Championships, Night 6: Jillian Cox Starts Final Night with Mile Record
Texas has turned its first SEC Championships on the women’s side into a rout. Jillian Cox added a little flourish to that to start the final night.
Cox won the mile in 15:30.33, setting a meet record that had held since 2016. It’s part of a romp for Texas to the crown, with the men also well positioned to end Florida’s decade-plus of dominance. The final night’s action:
Women - Team Rankings - Through Event 30 1. University of Texas 1157.5 2. University of Tennessee 854 3. University of Florida 834 4. Georgia, University of 538.5 5. Texas A&M University 503 6. South Carolina, University of, 494 7. Louisiana State University 470 8. University of Alabama 459 9. Auburn University 407.5 10. Missouri 288.5 11. Kentucky, University of 249 12. University of Arkansas 210 13. Vanderbilt University 135
Men - Team Rankings - Through Event 31 1. University of Texas 1091 2. University of Florida 929 3. University of Tennessee 713.5 4. Georgia, University of 642.5 5. Texas A&M University 503 6. Auburn University 427.5 7. University of Alabama 425 8. Louisiana State University 413 9. Kentucky, University of 320.5 10. Missouri 251 11. South Carolina, University of, 250
Women’s 1650 freestyle
Jillian Cox started the night with a bang, downing one of the older meet records. Her time of 15:30.33 battered the field by more than 15 seconds. It also took down the SEC Championships record set Brittany MacLean of Georgia in 2016 (15:36.52). MacLean’s 15:27 from NCAAs in 2014 remains the conference mark.
To get the win, Cox had to beat the reigning NCAA and SEC champion, Abby McCulloh. The Georgia sophomore went 15:45.77 and saw her pool record from last year’s NCAAs (15:37.74) fall into Cox’s hands.
Kate Hurst was third for Texas. Emma Weyant, last year’s runner-up, followed in fourth ahead of Florida mate Michaela Mattes.
Event 32 Women 1650 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 15:03.31 11/18/2017Katie Ledecky, Stanford
SEC: S 15:27.84 3/20/2014 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
SEC Meet: M 15:36.52 2016 Brittany MacLean, Georgia
Pool: P 15:37.74 3/23/2024 Abby McCulloh, Georgia
15:52.41 A
16:41.45 B
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
=========================================================================
1 Cox, Jillian SO Texas 15:34.66 15:30.33MA 32
r:+0.69 26.30 54.44 (28.14)
14:35.05 (28.39) 15:03.26 (28.21) 15:30.33 (27.07)
2 McCulloh, Abby JR UGA 15:46.99 15:45.77 A 28
r:+0.72 26.18 54.70 (28.52)
14:49.75 (29.01) 15:18.31 (28.56) 15:45.77 (27.46)
3 Hurst, Kate FR Texas 15:48.78 15:47.93 A 27
r:+0.68 26.69 55.38 (28.69)
14:52.38 (28.55) 15:20.79 (28.41) 15:47.93 (27.14)
4 Weyant, Emma J SR FLOR-FL 16:03.47 15:53.23 B 26
r:+0.73 26.90 55.58 (28.68)
14:55.33 (29.73) 15:24.77 (29.44) 15:53.23 (28.46)
5 Mattes, Michael SO FLOR-FL 15:59.38 16:02.53 B 25
r:+0.70 26.63 54.94 (28.31)
15:03.25 (30.11) 15:33.36 (30.11) 16:02.53 (29.17)
6 Coetzee, Dune JR UGA 16:25.64 16:02.60 B 24
r:+0.66 26.45 55.45 (29.00)
15:06.48 (28.82) 15:35.20 (28.72) 16:02.60 (27.40)
7 Stege, Rachel G JR UGA 16:08.11 16:03.73 B 23
r:+0.74 26.75 55.73 (28.98)
15:06.54 (29.42) 15:35.85 (29.31) 16:03.73 (27.88)
8 Kolessar, Madis GS South Carolina-S 16:12.57 16:06.49 B 22
r:+0.78 27.19 56.43 (29.24)
15:08.72 (29.35) 15:38.03 (29.31) 16:06.49 (28.46)
Men’s 1650 freestyle
Texas distance doing what Texas distance does. David Johnston won the race in 14:26.00, clear of the field by 6.5 seconds. Levi Sandidge, the 2023 champion from Kentucky, was third in 14:30.61. Rex Mauer of Texas was third with Kentucky’s Carson Hick fourth. Sandidge was third last year, Hick fifth. Mason Mathias was down a spot from last year in fifth for Auburn.
The massive shortfall in the mile, though, was Florida. A year ago, the Gators went 1-2-6-7 in the mile. This year, it was nowhere close. Jake Mitchell, sixth last year, finished ninth for the Gators this time around, their best finisher, a spot up on Josh Parent. Last year’s runner-up, Gio Linscheer, plummeted to 14th. Oskar Lindholm dropped from seventh to 18th. And the reigning SEC champion Andrew Taylor was a nonfactor in 22nd. Linscheer had been second at NCAAs in 2024, Taylor third.
Event 33 Men 1650 Yard Freestyle
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 14:12.08 2/22/2020 Bobby Finke, Florida
SEC: S 14:12.08 2/22/2020 Bobby Finke, Florida
SEC Meet: M 14:12.08 2020 Bobby Finke, Florida
Pool: P 14:23.01 2/23/2019 Bobby Finke, Florida
14:37.31 A
15:21.20 B
Name Year School Seed Finals Points
=========================================================================
1 Johnston, David SR Texas 14:35.42 14:26.00 A 32
r:+0.69 24.10 50.57 (26.47)
13:35.69 (25.86) 14:01.35 (25.66) 14:26.00 (24.65)
2 Sandidge, Levi JR Kentucky-KY 14:46.97 14:30.61 A 28
r:+0.68 23.98 49.90 (25.92)
13:39.32 (26.53) 14:05.40 (26.08) 14:30.61 (25.21)
3 Maurer, Rex SO Texas 14:30.47 14:32.78 A 27
r:+0.75 23.81 50.21 (26.40)
13:41.14 (26.43) 14:07.48 (26.34) 14:32.78 (25.30)
4 Hick, Carson J SO Kentucky-KY 14:43.70 14:43.83 B 26
r:+0.75 24.42 50.88 (26.46)
13:50.70 (26.89) 14:17.56 (26.86) 14:43.83 (26.27)
5 Mathias, Mason SR Auburn-SE 14:58.11 14:45.11 B 25
r:+0.67 24.36 50.82 (26.46)
13:53.18 (26.69) 14:19.67 (26.49) 14:45.11 (25.44)
6 Huckabay, Jacks JR Texas 14:46.77 14:45.18 B 24
r:+0.63 24.57 51.45 (26.88)
13:54.42 (26.71) 14:20.76 (26.34) 14:45.18 (24.42)
7 Alcantara, Leon SO Alabama-SE 14:48.31 14:45.45 B 23
r:+0.71 24.81 51.85 (27.04)
13:53.65 (26.93) 14:20.66 (27.01) 14:45.45 (24.79)
8 Simic, Nikola FR LSU-LA 14:56.69 14:47.23 B 22
r:+0.68 24.56 51.32 (26.76)
13:55.14 (27.01) 14:22.12 (26.98) 14:47.23 (25.11)
Women’s 200 backstroke
Men’s 200 backstroke
Women’s 100 freestyle
Men’s 100 freestyle
Women’s 200 breaststroke
Men’s 200 breaststroke
Men’s platform diving
Women’s 400 freestyle relay
Men’s 400 freestyle relay
