COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 11 Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team remained in second place after four days competition at the Southeastern Conference Championships and will go into the Sunday's final day in position to tally the highest team finish since joining the elite league in 2013..
In the Team Standings…
The Aggies scored 252 points on Saturday and have scored 779 points entering the final day. Florida leads the way with 876 points and were trailed by the Aggies, Georgia (753.5), Tennessee (690), Missouri (604.5), Auburn (575.5), South Carolina (551), Alabama (506.5), Kentucky (488) and LSU (364). Texas A&M's highest team finish since joining the SEC is seventh (three times).
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"This meet is so emotionally draining – and so much fun. My team is having a lot of fun. It's a thrill for us to be in the team race that we're in right now. Florida is still out there in first, but we're working as hard as we can to close the gap. When these seniors were freshmen, we were eighth at this meet. To see what this team is doing, particularly that senior class, is a lot of fun. We still have a whole day left and we'll see what it brings but I know we're going to keep fighting."
Martinez takes down school record, Aggies take silver and bronze in 200 fly
The Aggies put a pair of swimmers on the award podium for a second straight night with junior Angel Martinez and senior Brock Bonetti taking the silver and bronze medals in the 200-yard butterfly. Martinez lowered the school record to 1:41.56, while Bonetti, who had broken the school mark in the prelims, touched just a hundredth of second behind in 1:41.57.
Kim wins 100 back consolation final
Sophomore Anthony Kim won the consolation final of the 100 backstroke in a lifetime best time of 46.18. He moves up to No. 2 on the Aggies' all-time list in the race.
Castillo takes silver, shaves .01 off his school record
Senior Mauro Castillo placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 52.11, which shaved .01 of a second off his school record. Also chipping in points for the Aggies were freshman Tanner Olson, who won the consolation final in a lifetime best 53.01, senior Jonathan Tybur (14th, 53.48) and sophomore Raiz Tjon-a-joe (23rd, 54.16).
Courageous effort from Henschel
Fans at the Student Recreation Natatorium witnessed a perfect example of the Aggie Spirit as senior diver Tyler Henschel rallied from a frightening fall to place fourth in the platform dive. Henschel, who matched the SEC meet record with a school record of 496.55 in the prelims, appeared to contact the platform with his foot as he dove from the 10-meter height. His entry into the water elicited gasps from the crowd, but Henschel immediately showed the crowd that he was ok. His dive was legal, but he scored just 8.5 points. The courageous Henschel displayed his never-quit attitude by posting scores of 92.50, 89.10 and 91.20 on his next three dives to finish just off the award stand.
Also contributing points for the Aggies were junior Sam Thornton (9th, 335.25) and junior Skylar Lake (15th, 301.10).
Silver medal and school record for the 400 medley relay
The Aggies closed out the night with the program's highest relay finish since joining the SEC with a runner-up effort in the 400 medley relay. The foursome of Bonetti, Castillo, Martinez and sophomore Adam Koster destroyed the old school record by more than two seconds with a time of 3:05.13 that came up just shy of Florida's winning time of 3:04.55. The Aggies' old school standard was 3:07.16 from last year's NCAA Championships.
In the Team Standings…
The Aggies scored 252 points on Saturday and have scored 779 points entering the final day. Florida leads the way with 876 points and were trailed by the Aggies, Georgia (753.5), Tennessee (690), Missouri (604.5), Auburn (575.5), South Carolina (551), Alabama (506.5), Kentucky (488) and LSU (364). Texas A&M's highest team finish since joining the SEC is seventh (three times).
Head Coach Jay Holmes said:
"This meet is so emotionally draining – and so much fun. My team is having a lot of fun. It's a thrill for us to be in the team race that we're in right now. Florida is still out there in first, but we're working as hard as we can to close the gap. When these seniors were freshmen, we were eighth at this meet. To see what this team is doing, particularly that senior class, is a lot of fun. We still have a whole day left and we'll see what it brings but I know we're going to keep fighting."
Martinez takes down school record, Aggies take silver and bronze in 200 fly
The Aggies put a pair of swimmers on the award podium for a second straight night with junior Angel Martinez and senior Brock Bonetti taking the silver and bronze medals in the 200-yard butterfly. Martinez lowered the school record to 1:41.56, while Bonetti, who had broken the school mark in the prelims, touched just a hundredth of second behind in 1:41.57.
Kim wins 100 back consolation final
Sophomore Anthony Kim won the consolation final of the 100 backstroke in a lifetime best time of 46.18. He moves up to No. 2 on the Aggies' all-time list in the race.
Castillo takes silver, shaves .01 off his school record
Senior Mauro Castillo placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 52.11, which shaved .01 of a second off his school record. Also chipping in points for the Aggies were freshman Tanner Olson, who won the consolation final in a lifetime best 53.01, senior Jonathan Tybur (14th, 53.48) and sophomore Raiz Tjon-a-joe (23rd, 54.16).
Courageous effort from Henschel
Fans at the Student Recreation Natatorium witnessed a perfect example of the Aggie Spirit as senior diver Tyler Henschel rallied from a frightening fall to place fourth in the platform dive. Henschel, who matched the SEC meet record with a school record of 496.55 in the prelims, appeared to contact the platform with his foot as he dove from the 10-meter height. His entry into the water elicited gasps from the crowd, but Henschel immediately showed the crowd that he was ok. His dive was legal, but he scored just 8.5 points. The courageous Henschel displayed his never-quit attitude by posting scores of 92.50, 89.10 and 91.20 on his next three dives to finish just off the award stand.
Also contributing points for the Aggies were junior Sam Thornton (9th, 335.25) and junior Skylar Lake (15th, 301.10).
Silver medal and school record for the 400 medley relay
The Aggies closed out the night with the program's highest relay finish since joining the SEC with a runner-up effort in the 400 medley relay. The foursome of Bonetti, Castillo, Martinez and sophomore Adam Koster destroyed the old school record by more than two seconds with a time of 3:05.13 that came up just shy of Florida's winning time of 3:04.55. The Aggies' old school standard was 3:07.16 from last year's NCAA Championships.