Gamecocks Secure NCAA A-Cut, Break Three School Records on Day Five of SECs
ATHENS, Ga. – The South Carolina swimming & diving team set three new school records and earned an NCAA A-cut on day five of SECs. Additionally, the Gamecocks had their biggest finals presence of the meet thus far as 13 Gamecocks earned night swims.
Greta Pelzek kicked off the morning session recording a new South Carolina program best in the 200 fly, posting a 1:53.15 to qualify for A finals after placing fourth. Breckin Gormley clocked a 1:57.21 in the prelims, tying for 16th place to force a swim-off while Jordan Agliano posted a 1:57.41 to secure a spot in the C final at 19th. Gormley shaved off two more seconds in her swim off, winning the race to reserve her spot in the B finals with a new best time of 1:55.71. In the finals Agliano swam first, clocking 1:57.13 to take 20th place followed by Gormley in the B final who swam a 1:56.68 for 16th. Pelzek put on a show with a remarkable swim, lowering her record to 1:52.80. The senior missed the podium by .20 after a strong back half effort in a comeback attempt, out splitting five of the seven other swimmers in her heat during the last 50. She placed fourth overall and narrowly missed an NCAA A-cut by less than half a second.
Tommy Eaton qualified for B finals in the men’s 200 fly with a time of 1:43.21 during prelims while Gage Hulbert booked a spot in the C finals with new best of 1:43.59 that moves him up to fifth all-time. In the evening, Eaton added a couple tenths, swimming a 1:43.85 for 15th place overall. Hulbert shaved some additional time off his morning swim, clocking a 1:43.24 to move up another spot in the record books to fourth all-time in program history.
Amy Riordan was the top qualifier on the women’s side for the 100 back, placing 14th with a 52.41. Dylan Scholes followed closely behind her with a new best time of 52.54 to take 15th place. Pia Murray qualified for the C finals with a 53.06. Murray kicked off the event in finals breaking 53 seconds, posting a new best of 52.91. In the following heat Scholes picked up another personal best of 52.31 to move up to second all-time in program history while Riordan was only .01 off of her best time and school record, clocking a 51.93 for 11th place.
Michael Laitarovsky (46.13) and Kaden Smesko (46.47) both earned night swims on the men’s side of the 100 back, placing 13th and 19th place respectively. In the finals session Laitarovsky clocked a 46.13 for 16th while Smesko shaved a bit off of his morning swim to finish in 46.34, remaining in 19th place.
Liz Goodwin-Birnie broke 1:01 in the prelims session of the 100 breaststroke, posting a new personal best of 1:00.96 to squeeze into the consolation heat of finals at 22nd. In the evening she dropped .30 from her morning swim to clock a 1:00.60 for 19th place.
Linus Kahl posted a 52.50 for 15th place in the men’s 100 breaststroke prelims to qualify for B finals while Liam Kerns was a couple hundredths off his best time with a 52.66 for 19th. Kahl finished with a 52.42 which is less than .05 off of his best time to place 14th. Kerns dropped some time from his prelims swim, clocking a new best of 52.55 for 20th place.
Three women’s platform divers brought in some points for the Gamecocks after each placing in scoring position. Sophie Verzyl qualified for the consolation final and took 14th place with a score of 225.90 while Aislinn Zuechner (219.30) and Reagan Patterson (205.00) took 21st and 24th respectively.
The men’s and women’s medley relays capped off the finals session with exceptional performances, both breaking school records. The women’s relay of Riordan, Goodwin-Birnie, Pelzek and Peyton Curry competed in the first heat, winning with a school record and NCAA A-Cut time of 3:30.81 to place fourth overall, bringing in 52 points for the Gamecocks. Pelzek split a 50.82 for the fly leg, which was faster than every single school other than event winner Florida. The men’s relay of Smesko, Kerns, Kahl and Eldor Usmonov clocked a 3:06.70 which broke the previous record set five years ago.
At the conclusion of day five, the Gamecock women sit in sixth place with 494 points, less than 10 away from Texas A&M. The men are in 11th with 250, one point behind Missouri. Texas leads both fields with scores over 1000 points for the men and women.
The fifth and final day of the SEC Championships consists of the 1650 freestyle, 200 back, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, men’s platform and 400 free relay. Live results and streaming links can be found here.
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