Schultz's Record Night Sweeps Springboards at SECs

Knoxville,  Tenn. – South Carolina graduate diver Brooke Schultz won the 3-meter dive event at the SEC Championships on Thursday. Scoring a 407.30, she broke both the school and the pool records, both of which were previously set by Julia Vincent in 2015. The win gave her a sweep of the springboard SEC titles after claiming the 1-meter title Tuesday night.
 
Schultz scored a 365.65 in the prelims to go into the finals as the top seed. As the top seed, Schultz was the final diver in each round. She fell behind only after the first round before jumping to the first place position and holding it through the remaining five rounds.
 
“It was an exciting 3-meter final tonight,” said head diving coach Dale Schultz. “There were several international divers and Olympians in the contest, and for Brooke to dominate was in her competitive nature. I’m so proud of Brooke for her accomplishments this week and am excited to see what our divers can do next at NCAA Zones.”
 
Schultz won the 1-meter dive event on Tuesday, holding the lead through both prelims and finals. Her two gold medals mark the third time in her career that she has swept the springboards at SECs. She accomplished the feat twice before at Arkansas in 2018 and 2019.
 
“It was really exciting,” said Brooke Schultz. “After the 1-meter, I knew that I had to come back and reset for 3-Meter. Getting this gold medal was really exciting, and doing it for the Gamecocks was awesome.” 
 
Schultz is the first Gamecock female diver to claim an SEC title since Marissa Roth was the platform diving champion in 2019.
 
On the swim side of the competition, the Gamecocks earned five heat wins in the prelims and had eight swimmers qualify for a final.
 
The top performer of the day was senior Mari Kraus who set a new personal best time of 1:46.25 in the prelims of the 200 free. She qualified for the B-final where she placed fourth, giving her 12th place overall.
 
Senior Ellie Masterson also made it to the B-final of the 400 IM. She swam a new personal best time of 4:14.38 in prelims to secure her spot and went on to claim 15th place overall.
 
The Gamecock women’s 200 medley relay team swam a time trial following the day’s events in an effort to receive and invitation to NCAA Championships. Bella Pantano, Taylor Steele, Nicholle Toh and Janie Smith combined for a new school record of 1:37.42.  
 
Through Thursday’s finals, the Gamecock women are in eighth place while the men are in 10th.
 
Competition will continue Friday with the 200 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, men’s platform diving, and the 400 medley relay.
 
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 400 IM
Prelims
12. Masterson – 4:14.38 (PB)
32. Goettler – 4:20.53
33. Johnson – 4:21.25 (PB)
Finals
15. Masterson – 4:15.72
Men’s 400 IM
Prelims
21. Groters – 3:49.54
31. Allison – 3:53.87 (PB)
36. Faber – 3:59.37 (PB)
Finals
18. Groters – 3:47.17 (PB)
Women’s 100 Fly
Prelims
11. Toh – 52.55
23. Pelzek – 53.36
25. Collins – 53.49
37. Horomanski – 54.58
39. Pantano – 54.71
Finals
16. Toh – 53.15
22. Pelzek – 53.38
Men’s 100 Fly
Prelims
19. Gropper – 47.30
29. Laitarovsky – 48.19
30. Yip – 48.28
31. DeVore – 48.30
35. Shperkin – 49.05
Finals
24. Gropper – 49.30
Womens’s 200 Free
Prelims
9. Kraus – 1:46.25
17. Alexander – 1:46.78
27. Parker – 1:47.58
47. Arner – 1:48.80
49. Mason – 1:48.88
58. Doennebrink – 1:50.70
62. Shanks – 1:51.41
Finals
12. Kraus – 1:46.18
18. Alexander – 1:46.53
Men’s 200 IM
Prelims
15. Costin – 1:34.70
25. Ross – 1:35.45
30. Daniels – 1:36.34
40. Martin – 1:37.18
46. Novoszath – 1:37.61
51. Ratzlaff – 1:38.21
53. Davila – 1:38.49
Finals
16. Costin – 1:35.19
Women’s 3-meter divng
Prelims
1. Schultz – 365.65
21. Verzyl – 271.65
30. Isenhour – 233.90
33. Gray – 208.00
Finals
1. Schultz – 407.30