Alexander Places Second, Mizzou Earns Three Top Three Finishes During Day Two Action at SECs

Wednesday, February 20

Athens, Ga.

All Day

University of Missouri

SEC Championships

Alexander Places Second, Mizzou Earns Three Top Three Finishes During Day Two Action at SECs

2/20/2019 7:58:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

ATHENS, Ga. – The Mizzou men's and women's swimming and diving teams earned three top three finishes, including runner-up honors for junior Nick Alexander (St. Louis, Mo.) in the men's 200 IM, on Wednesday during day two action at the 2019 SEC Championships in Athens, Ga. With three days of action left, the Tiger men sit atop the standings with 378 points, 24.5 points ahead of second-place Florida, while the women are seventh with 281.5 points.

Overall, Mizzou set three school records during Wednesday action, with new program marks from freshman Jack DuBois (Alpharetta, Ga.) in the men's 500 free and in the men's and women's 200 free relays.

KEY PERFORMANCES

Seeded third after the morning session, Alexander led the 200 IM championship final with 100 yards left after a strong breaststroke leg. However, Florida's Kieran Smith tracked him down at the wall to out touch the Missouri junior, 1:43.13 to 1:43.15. Alexander's runner-up finish ties for the highest-placement for a Missouri men's swimmer at the SEC Championships.

Two other Tigers, freshman Danny Kovac (Fort Collins, Colo.) and senior Alex Walton (Wilton, Iowa) also claimed top eight placements in the 200 IM. Kovac touched fifth in a personal-best 1:43.75, and Walton was seventh in 1:44.36.

Schreuders earned third in the men's 50 free final, dropping a lifetime-best 19.24 in the final. The finish was Schreuders' second third-place finish at the SEC Championships, as he also took third in the 200 free a season ago. Also in the men's 50 free championship final was senior Luke Mankus (Keller, Texas), who took seventh in 19.41.

The Missouri women picked up points in the team race with three top eight finishers in the 50 free. Senior Annie Ochitwa (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) led the way with a 21.94 in the final after a personal-best time of 21.90 in prelims. Junior Haley Hynes (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and sophomore Sarah Thompson (Collierville, Tenn.) took seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 22.24 and 22.28.

DuBois took down Mizzou's 500 free record in the finals session and claimed 10th-place overall in the event. He touched the wall in 4:15.79, which was two seconds faster than his preliminary time and six and a half seconds better than his personal-best coming into the Championships.

The Tigers closed the night taking third in the women's 200 free relay and fourth in the men's 200 free relay. The women's quartet of Ochitwa, Thompson, Hynes and freshman Megan Keil (Derby, Kan.) clocked a 1:28.09 for their new mark, while the men's squad of Mankus, Schreuders, Kovac and freshman Kyle Leach (Colorado Springs, Colo.) turned in a record time of 1:16.68.

QUOTABLES

Mizzou Interim Head Coach Andrew Grevers
"We were resilient. The team found a way to put themselves in every race tonight. This morning there were some ups and downs but the team really committed to the process established earlier in the season and found a way to step up when the opportunities presented itself."

UP NEXT

Day three of the 2019 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships continues on Wednesday, Feb. 20 with preliminary action scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.

DAY TWO RESULTS

Women's 500 Free
27. Courtney Evensen (4:47.24)
36. Ana Pozder (4:50.21)
37. Allison Bloebaum (4:50.62)
43. Azra Avdic (4:52.95)
46. Molly Gowans (4:54.62)

Men's 500 Free
10. Jack DuBois (4:15.79 finals, 4:17.23 prelims)
13. Giovanny Lima (4:17.25 finals, 4:18.59 prelims)
15. Jack Dahlgren (4:22.15 finals, 4:17.67 prelims)
22. Jacob Wielinski (4:22.15 finals, 4:21.14 prelims)

Women's 200 IM
14. Kylie Dahlgren (1:56.87 finals, 1:57.10 prelims)
41. Devan Sweeney (2:01.09)
43. Amanda Smith (2:01.11)
48. Emily Snyder (2:02.42)
56. Kayla Jones (2:04.29)

Men's 200 IM
2. Nick Alexander (1:43.15 finals, 1:43.81 prelims)
5. Danny Kovac (1:43.75 finals, 1:44.01 prelims)
7. Alex Walton (1:44.36 finals, 1:43.83 prelims)
21. Anthony Ashley (1:46.55 finals, 1:46.47 prelims)
30. Nick Staver (1:47.59)
43. Jordan O'Brien (1:48.98)

Women's 50 Free
5. Annie Ochitwa (22.94 finals, 22.90 prelims)
7. Haley Hynes (22.26 finals, 22.26 prelims)
8. Sarah Thompson (22.28 finals, 22.24 prelims)
20. Megan Keil (22.50 finals, 22.59 prelims)
27. Iliana Jones (22.76)
31. Sammie Jo Porter (22.83)
56. Samantha Wilts (24.03)

Men's 50 Free
3. Mikel Schreuders (19.24 finals, 19.31 prelims)
7. Luke Mankus (19.41 finals, 19.40 prelims)
21. Caleb Hicks (19.84 finals, 19.84 prelims)
28. Kyle Leach (20.05)
37. Sam Coffman (20.24)
54. Caleb Rhodenbaugh (24.61)