COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 11 Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team stood in third place after two days of action on Thursday at the 2018 Southeastern Conference Championships at the Student Recreation Natatorium.
In the Team Standings…
The Aggies finished day two with 409 points and were one of three teams to surpass the 400-point plateau. Florida leads the way with 432 points, followed by Tennessee with 411 points. Looking up at the Gators, Volunteers and Aggies were Georgia (365), Kentucky (298), South Carolina (285), Auburn (283.5), Alabama (268.5), Missouri (267.5) and LSU (220.5).
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"It's a long meet and we have so much ahead of us, but it's a good start. We're sitting in third right now. Florida is out there, and we are right there with Tennessee. But there are a lot of really good teams behind us with a bunch of good events ahead of them. Anything could still happen in this meet. We have some strong events coming and we need to cash it in when we get the opportunity."
Thornton grabs the bronze in the 1m dive
Junior Sam Thornton earned the bronze medal in the one-meter dive to highlight the Aggies' day at the SEC meet. Thornton, who was sixth in the three-meter dive on Wednesday, placed third in the one-meter with a score of 406.35. Teammate Tyler Henschel, the 2018 three-meter dive SEC Champion, placed fifth with a score of 387. 50. Also contributing points was junior Skylar Lake, who placed 10th with 328.15 points.
Bonetti breaks 200 IM school record twice
Senior Brock Bonetti broke his own school record in the 200-yard IM twice on Thursday. Bonetti went 1:42.48 in the morning and then turned in a time of 1:42.32 in the final while placing fifth. Junior Austin Van Overdam won the consolation final with a lifetime best time of 1:43.54, which moved him to No. 2 on A&M's all-time performers list in the race. Also chipping in points were sophomore Anthony Kim (19th, 1:45.45) and sophomore Ben Walker (21st, 1:46.63).
Two lifetime bests for Koster
Sophomore Adam Koster lowered his lifetime best in the 50 free twice with a 19.48 effort in the morning and then a 19.45 performance at night while placing fifth. Koster now ranks No. 4 on the Aggies' all-time list in the 50 free. Junior Steven Richardson chipped in a 22nd place finish in a time of 20.12.
200 free relay
The Aggies closed out the night with a fourth-place effort in the 200 free relay with the foursome of Koster, junior Angel Martinez, senior Justin Morey and Richardson turning in a time of 1:18.30.
In the Team Standings…
The Aggies finished day two with 409 points and were one of three teams to surpass the 400-point plateau. Florida leads the way with 432 points, followed by Tennessee with 411 points. Looking up at the Gators, Volunteers and Aggies were Georgia (365), Kentucky (298), South Carolina (285), Auburn (283.5), Alabama (268.5), Missouri (267.5) and LSU (220.5).
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"It's a long meet and we have so much ahead of us, but it's a good start. We're sitting in third right now. Florida is out there, and we are right there with Tennessee. But there are a lot of really good teams behind us with a bunch of good events ahead of them. Anything could still happen in this meet. We have some strong events coming and we need to cash it in when we get the opportunity."
"It is a long meet, and we have so much to do...but it's a good start."
— Texas A&M Swimming (@AggieSwimDive) February 16, 2018
Comments from Jay Holmes after day two of #SECSD18:#12thMan pic.twitter.com/RwghH2GHRK
Thornton grabs the bronze in the 1m dive
Junior Sam Thornton earned the bronze medal in the one-meter dive to highlight the Aggies' day at the SEC meet. Thornton, who was sixth in the three-meter dive on Wednesday, placed third in the one-meter with a score of 406.35. Teammate Tyler Henschel, the 2018 three-meter dive SEC Champion, placed fifth with a score of 387. 50. Also contributing points was junior Skylar Lake, who placed 10th with 328.15 points.
Bonetti breaks 200 IM school record twice
Senior Brock Bonetti broke his own school record in the 200-yard IM twice on Thursday. Bonetti went 1:42.48 in the morning and then turned in a time of 1:42.32 in the final while placing fifth. Junior Austin Van Overdam won the consolation final with a lifetime best time of 1:43.54, which moved him to No. 2 on A&M's all-time performers list in the race. Also chipping in points were sophomore Anthony Kim (19th, 1:45.45) and sophomore Ben Walker (21st, 1:46.63).
Two lifetime bests for Koster
Sophomore Adam Koster lowered his lifetime best in the 50 free twice with a 19.48 effort in the morning and then a 19.45 performance at night while placing fifth. Koster now ranks No. 4 on the Aggies' all-time list in the 50 free. Junior Steven Richardson chipped in a 22nd place finish in a time of 20.12.
200 free relay
The Aggies closed out the night with a fourth-place effort in the 200 free relay with the foursome of Koster, junior Angel Martinez, senior Justin Morey and Richardson turning in a time of 1:18.30.