Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M takes third straight SEC 800 free relay crown
Feb 19, 2019 | Women's Swimming and Diving
ATHENS, Ga. --- The Texas A&M women's 800-yard freestyle relay won its third-straight conference title in school record fashion to highlight the three-time defending champion Aggies' first day at the 2019 Southeastern Conference Swimming & Diving Championships on Tuesday at the University of Georgia.
The foursome of junior Katie Portz, senior Claire Rasmus, senior McKenna DeBever and senior Sydney Pickrem took control midway through the race and cruised to victory in a time of 6:54.47, which lopped more than a second off the old record set at last year's SEC meet. It was old hat for Portz, Rasmus and Pickrem, who were also on the winning relays in 2017 and 2018.
"It feels really good," Pickrem said. "We always try to start this meet with a bang with this relay so being able to do it three years in a row is great way to motivate the team to finish out the meet."
Added Rasmus. "I just wanted to swim for my girls. We came here to win the whole meet so we wanted to get team going for tomorrow."
The Aggies grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay with the foursome of freshman Amanda Armstrong, junior Anna Belousova, freshman Emma Carlton and junior Raena Eldridge touching in a season-best and NCAA "A" cut time of 1:35.86.
The Texas A&M dive crew contributed big points as the Aggies received three top 12 efforts as junior Haley Allen, sophomore Charlye Campbell and Alais Kalonji placed 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively. Allen led the way with a score of 300.40, while Campbell totaled 295.65 and Kalonji scored 287.90.
After one day of action, the Aggies were in second place in the team standings with 162 points. Florida took the day one lead with 165 points. Looking up at the Gators and Aggies were Arkansas (139), Georgia (132), Auburn (126), Tennessee (123), Kentucky (122), LSU (118), Missouri (113), South Carolina (105), Alabama (97) and Vanderbilt (60).
The foursome of junior Katie Portz, senior Claire Rasmus, senior McKenna DeBever and senior Sydney Pickrem took control midway through the race and cruised to victory in a time of 6:54.47, which lopped more than a second off the old record set at last year's SEC meet. It was old hat for Portz, Rasmus and Pickrem, who were also on the winning relays in 2017 and 2018.
Watch as @sydneypickrem brings home the #SECSD19 800 free relay crown! ??#ButTheyDid #GigEm pic.twitter.com/GuTGNviDUX
— Texas A&M Swimming (@AggieSwimDive) February 20, 2019
"It feels really good," Pickrem said. "We always try to start this meet with a bang with this relay so being able to do it three years in a row is great way to motivate the team to finish out the meet."
Added Rasmus. "I just wanted to swim for my girls. We came here to win the whole meet so we wanted to get team going for tomorrow."
The Aggies grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay with the foursome of freshman Amanda Armstrong, junior Anna Belousova, freshman Emma Carlton and junior Raena Eldridge touching in a season-best and NCAA "A" cut time of 1:35.86.
The Texas A&M dive crew contributed big points as the Aggies received three top 12 efforts as junior Haley Allen, sophomore Charlye Campbell and Alais Kalonji placed 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively. Allen led the way with a score of 300.40, while Campbell totaled 295.65 and Kalonji scored 287.90.
After one day of action, the Aggies were in second place in the team standings with 162 points. Florida took the day one lead with 165 points. Looking up at the Gators and Aggies were Arkansas (139), Georgia (132), Auburn (126), Tennessee (123), Kentucky (122), LSU (118), Missouri (113), South Carolina (105), Alabama (97) and Vanderbilt (60).
Players Mentioned
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