Schultz Claims SEC 1-Meter Title
Knoxville, Tenn. – South Carolina graduate diver Brooke Schultz won the 1-meter event at the SEC Championships on Tuesday. The Fayetteville, Ark., native held the lead through both the preliminary and final rounds to earn her spot at the top of the podium for the third time in her career.
“It was a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day, it was just going back to doing what I know how to do,” said Schultz. “Last year was not my best performance in SECs, so coming back and winning is exciting.”
Schultz and freshman Sophie Verzyl went 1-2 in the preliminary round of dives to start off the competition. Schultz scored a 331.35 and Verzyl scored a 315.60 to lead the pack of 35 divers and advance to the finals.
In finals, Schultz held the lead from her very first dive and never dropped from first place. She finished the competition with a 334.30, leading the next closest competitior by over 17 points.
For the men divers, Manny Vazquez Bas led the Gamecocks. He scored a 324.35 to place 15th in the prelims and earn 12 points for the team. Senior Alex Claus came closely behind in 17th place with a 310.95 to earn nine points.
On the swim side of the competition, all Gamecock relays posted their fastest times of the season. The higest placements came from the men’s 200 medley relay and the women’s 800 freestyle relays, which each placed eighth, earning 44 points for their respective teams.
The women’s 200 medley relay placed nintth in the competition and was just .2 seconds away from the current school record.
Through the first day of competition, the Gamecock women are tied for fifth place while the men are in ninth.
Competition will continue Wednesday with the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, and men’s 1-meter diving. Prelims begin at 9:30 a.m. and finals will begin at 5:30 p.m.
For all the latest South Carolina swimming and diving information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockSwim).
Results
Women’s 1-meter
Prelims
1. Schultz – 331.35p
2. Verzyl – 315.60p
26. Isenhour – 214.40p
34. Gray – 160.45p
Finals
1. Schultz – 334.30
7. Verzyl – 287.70
Women’s 200 Medley Relay
9. South Carolina (Pantano, Steele, Toh, Smith) – 1:37.64
Men’s 200 Medley Relay
8. South Carolina (Laitarovsky, Massey, Gropper, Ross) – 1:25.09
Men’s 3-meter
Prelims
15. Vazquez Bas – 324.35p
17. Claus – 310.95p
Women’s 800 Free Relay
8. South Carolina (Kraus, Parker, Alexander, Smith) – 7:07.60
Mens’s 800 Free Relay
9. South Carolina (Costin, Novoszath, Daniels, Davila) – 6-22.72
