Thornton receives his gold medal from Coach Jay Lerew
Texas A&M freshman Thornton wins SEC 3m dive crown
Feb 16, 2016 | Men's Swimming and Diving
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Texas A&M freshman diver Sam Thornton struck gold with a win in the three-meter springboard to highlight the Aggies' first day at the 2016 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships on Tuesday at the Mizzou Aquatic Center.
Thornton, from Baildon, United Kingdom, tallied the Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team's third SEC individual championship since joining the league in 2012. The other two SEC crowns came from diver Ford McLiney on his way to SEC Diver of the Meet honors in 2014.
Thornton posted a score of 411.15 to edge out Kentucky's Sebastian Masterton by 3.05 points. Thornton was amazingly consistent in the final with five of six dives producing a 60-point plus score, including three 70-point plus efforts. Thornton iced his victory with a dazzling 72.20 score on his final dive of the night.
"It's really hard to believe," Thornton said. "There are so many great divers in the SEC and to being able to get the victory at my first conference meet is a huge honor. I missed on a couple of dives in the prelims, but I was able to feed off the extra adrenaline and pressure in the finals to put together a clean list. It's an honor to be able to add to the great diving tradition that guys like Ford McLiney and Grant Nel have built at Texas A&M."
The Aggies also received solid points from divers Skylar Lake and junior Colton Haffey. Lake placed 13th with 323.25 points, while Haffey was 15th with a 304.05 point total.
After day one at the SEC Championships, the Aggies stand in sixth place with 136 points. The Aggies were chasing first-day leader Auburn (170 points) followed by Missouri (151), Florida (145), Tennessee (141) and Alabama (140). Rounding out the leaderboard were Georgia (122), Kentucky (114), South Carolina (114) and LSU (105).
The Aggies' 200-yard medley relay turned in one of the fastest times in school history with the foursome of sophomore Brock Bonetti, sophomore Mauro Castillo, sophomore Justin Morey and junior Jacob Gonzales touching in 1:25.06 while finishing in eighth place. The time ranks No. 4 in school history.
A&M's 800 freestyle relay of freshman Angel Martinze, senior Antoine Marc, senior Mateo Muzek and junior Turker Ayar placed 10th in a season-best time of 6:29.78.
Thornton, from Baildon, United Kingdom, tallied the Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team's third SEC individual championship since joining the league in 2012. The other two SEC crowns came from diver Ford McLiney on his way to SEC Diver of the Meet honors in 2014.
Thornton posted a score of 411.15 to edge out Kentucky's Sebastian Masterton by 3.05 points. Thornton was amazingly consistent in the final with five of six dives producing a 60-point plus score, including three 70-point plus efforts. Thornton iced his victory with a dazzling 72.20 score on his final dive of the night.
"It's really hard to believe," Thornton said. "There are so many great divers in the SEC and to being able to get the victory at my first conference meet is a huge honor. I missed on a couple of dives in the prelims, but I was able to feed off the extra adrenaline and pressure in the finals to put together a clean list. It's an honor to be able to add to the great diving tradition that guys like Ford McLiney and Grant Nel have built at Texas A&M."
The Aggies also received solid points from divers Skylar Lake and junior Colton Haffey. Lake placed 13th with 323.25 points, while Haffey was 15th with a 304.05 point total.
After day one at the SEC Championships, the Aggies stand in sixth place with 136 points. The Aggies were chasing first-day leader Auburn (170 points) followed by Missouri (151), Florida (145), Tennessee (141) and Alabama (140). Rounding out the leaderboard were Georgia (122), Kentucky (114), South Carolina (114) and LSU (105).
The Aggies' 200-yard medley relay turned in one of the fastest times in school history with the foursome of sophomore Brock Bonetti, sophomore Mauro Castillo, sophomore Justin Morey and junior Jacob Gonzales touching in 1:25.06 while finishing in eighth place. The time ranks No. 4 in school history.
A&M's 800 freestyle relay of freshman Angel Martinze, senior Antoine Marc, senior Mateo Muzek and junior Turker Ayar placed 10th in a season-best time of 6:29.78.
Players Mentioned
Back/IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Breast/Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Sprint
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
IM/Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free/Fly
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free/Back
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Diving
/ Men's Swimming and DivingWednesday, March 13
Wednesday, February 14
Tuesday, November 14
Friday, October 13
