Alabama Closes SEC Swimming and Diving Championships with Gold, Silver, Bronze Finishes

Big individual finishes boosted the Crimson Tide women two spots over the championships’ final day.

All information courtesy of Alabama Athletic Communications.

On the final day of the 2023 Southeastern Conference Championships, the Alabama Swimming and Diving team captured gold, silver and bronze across three individual events, with the women’s team jumping two spots in the team standings in College Station, Texas.

Kensey McMahon added to the Crimson Tide’s gold medal haul, clocking the fastest 1,650 freestyle time in the nation at 15:47.02. It marked her fifth SEC medal in the 1,650 freestyle and second win.

Kalia Antoniou touched the wall at 47.46 to secure her second-consecutive silver medal in the 100 freestyle, while Avery Wiseman earned her second bronze medal of the meet and third of her career, this time in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.85).

The Crimson Tide’s multiple medal performances helped propel the women’s side to a fourth-place finish with 791 points, jumping two spots from where they sat entering the final day of the meet. The men finished seventh with 667 points.

HEAD COACH MARGO GEER SAID

“We had a great start to finals tonight. Our distance swimmers put up some big performances and really helped the team out. Being able to get three in the A Final of the women’s 200 breast was huge, providing a big points boost for us. I’m proud of the fight that the team showed during the meet and we’re going to keep improving as we head into March.”

CRIMSON TIDE HIGHLIGHTS

• Kensey McMahon took gold in the women’s 1,650 freestyle for the second time in her career, recording a time of 15:47.02 which sets the mark for the fastest time in the nation this season
• In addition to McMahon’s win, Mackenzie Brandt (16:14.39) and Stella Watts (16:26.95) placed 18th and 23rd, respectively
• Brandt and Watts now rank fourth and sixth all-time at Alabama in the 1,650
• Kalia Antoniou earned a silver in the women’s 100 freestyle, touching the wall in 47.46
• It marked the second-consecutive year that Antoniou took silver in the 100 freestyle at the SEC Championships
• In addition to Antoniou’s silver medal, Diana Petkova (48.86) and Jada Surrell-Norwood (49.16) took 15th and 21st, respectively
• Avery Wiseman took bronze in the women’s 200 breaststroke in 2:05.85
• Wiseman, Cat Wright (2:09.31) and Jocelyn Fisher (2:09.36) finished in third, sixth and seventh place, respectively, tallying 74 points
• Victor Johansson finished seventh in the men’s 1,650, stopping the clock at 14:47.51
• Antoniou, Petkova, Emily Jones and Kailyn Winter recorded a fourth-place finish in the women’s 400 freestyle relay (3:13.88)
• Charlie Hawke, Kaique Alves, Tim Korstanje and Matt Menke also placed fourth in the men’s 400 freestyle relay with a time of 2:49.64
• Hawke (42.77), Alves (43.03), Korstanje (43.02) and Kacper Piotrowski (43.35) placed 11th, 15th, 22nd and 23rd, respectively, in the men’s 100 freestyle
• Rhyan White (1:52.79) won the B Final of the women’s 200 backstroke, taking ninth overall
• Eric Stelmar (1:41.16), Jake Marcum (1:41.40) and Matt Menke (1:42.22) placed 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively in the men’s 200 backstroke

UP NEXT

• The Crimson Tide will take a week off before traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., for the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships, March 5-8

All information courtesy of Alabama Athletic Communications.