Texas A&M
SEC Championships
No. 11 Aggies Take Third at SEC Championships
Feb 24, 2024 | Women's Swimming and Diving
AUBURN – The No. 11 Texas A&M women's swimming & diving team wrapped up competition at the SEC Championships Saturday, making two trips to the podium. The Aggies ended the meet in third place as a team, accumulating 926.5 total points and earning eight medals.
Hayden Miller got the night started in a big way for A&M, claiming a bronze medal in the 1650 free with a time of 16:02.35. The time ranks as Miller's fastest of the season and the fourth-best in program history. Rachel Love and Abby Grottle added top-15 placements in the same event, with Love (16:21.24) at 12th and Grottle (16:21.61) at 14th.
Miranda Grana closed out an outstanding week medaling in all three of her individual events after claiming bronze in the 200 back with a time of 1:51.06, marking the second-fastest time in school history. Earlier in the meet, the freshman lowered the school record in the 100 back with a time of 50.65. The Aggies filled two more spots in the top-10 in the event with Aviv Barzelay (1:52.89) and Abigail Ahrens (1:53.73) lowering personal-best times and finishing fifth and ninth, respectively.
Senior Chloe Stepanek battled in a tight 100 free final to finish fourth with a season-best time of 47.77. Kaitlyn Owens added points by clocking a 50.25 and placing 16th overall.
The Maroon & White picked up big points in the 200 breast by sending five swimmers to the final. Bobbi Kennett lowered her personal-best time and touched the wall first in the B-final at 2:09.91. Hannah O'Leary and Desirae Mangaoang cracked the top-15 as O'Leary (2:11.59) placed 12th and Mangaoang (2:12.11) notched 14th. Additionally, Giulia Goerigk recorded a 2:13.06, placing 19th, and Joelle Reddin tallied a 2:13.06 to end the night at 21st.
On the diving end, Payton Props finished in 26th place with a total score of 179.30.
The women's squad ended the meet with a ninth-place finish in the 400 free relay as the team of Olivia Theall, Owens, Jordan Buechler and Stepanek clocked a season-best time of 3:15.03.
POST MEET QUOTES
Head Coach Steve Bultman on the team's performance at SECs...
"We saw some really good stuff this week and we're excited with how we placed. We had a team goal to place higher, but third is right up there behind two of the top teams in the country, so we're really excited. The team picked up a lot of best times during this meet. We feel like we've got a couple more swimmers to qualify for NCAAs, and we've now got some times that can score solidly at NCAAs. It was definitely an exciting meet, and we're very happy."
UP NEXT:
Aggie swimmers are back in action Feb. 29 – Mar. 2 for the Last Chance Meet at the Rec Center Natatorium. Divers are set to compete in the NCAA Zone D Championships Mar. 11-13 at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas.
Medal Recap (8)
1-meter: Joslyn Oakley – Gold
400 IM: Giulia Goerigk – Bronze
100 fly: Miranda Grana – Bronze
200 free: Chloe Stepanek – Bronze
100 back: Miranda Grana – Bronze
1650 free: Hayden Miller – Bronze
200 back: Miranda Grana – Bronze
400 medley relay: Miranda Grana, Bobbi Kennett, Olivia Theall, Chloe Stepanek – Bronze
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's swimming & diving. Fans can keep up to date with the Aggies Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter/X by following @AggieSwimDive.
Players Mentioned
