Bowshire Claims SEC Gold to Close Out Championship Meet

ATHENS –  Freshman Jaxon Bowshire claimed the gold medal on platform on the final day SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Saturday at Gabrielsen Natatorium. The men's team finished the meet in fifth with 790 points, while the women's squad took eighth with 566.5 points.
 
As the top seed coming out of prelims, Bowshire remained consistent in the final. He registered 80-or-more points on four of his six dives to become an SEC Champion with a score of 476.25. The score is a collegiate-best for the Australian and ranks second all-time at A&M. 
 
Following the gold medal performance, the men's 400 free relay team of Connor Foote, Ben Scholl, Seth Reno and Collin Fuchs took down their second school relay record with an A-cut time of 2:48.39 to place sixth. Foote lowered the 100 free school record for the second time of the night, this times as the relay leadoff, going 41.38  for this third individual program record of the week. 
 
The Aggies closed out the individual events with a loaded men's 200 breast final that saw three Aggies in the A final, three in the B and one in the C, totaling 122 points. Alex Sanchez led the way with a fourth-place time of 1:52.55. Baylor Nelson was close behind, clocking a season-best 1:53.24 to take sixth and Vincent Ribeiro placed eighth with a time of 1:54.90. Logan Brown lowered his season-best, going 1:53.99 to finish 11^th, while Roberto Bonilla Flores clocked a new top time of 1:54.99 to place 14^th and Lane White (1:55.48) was right behind him in 15^th. Travis Gulledge maximized his opportunity, finishing atop the C final in 17^th with a new personal-best of 1:53.89, the ninth-fastest time of the night.
 
Foote capped off an impressive week with the 100 free, touching the wall in 41.47 to temporarily lower his own program mark and win the B final. Ben Scholl also added points for the Aggies in the 100 free, clocking the third-fastest time in program history, 42.26, to place 18^th. In the women's 100 free, Chloe Stepanek took sixth, posting a time of 48.31.
 
Advancing to the platform consolation final, Rhett Hensley and Matthew Aigner moved up the scoreboard to add a pair of top-12 finishes. Hensley finished atop the field in ninth with a near-career-best score of 386.40 and Aigner notched the highest finish of his career at SEC Championships, placing 12^th with a score of 336.90. 
 
Hayden Miller earned a 12^th-place finish in the 1650 free with a time of 16:11.59 and Trey Dickey added 17^th-place points on the men's side with a season-best 14:53.63. 
 
In the 200 back finals, Aviv Barzelay clocked a season-best 1:53.25 to place 14^th, while Thomas Shomper (1:43.27) and Tyler Hulet (1:43.18) took 16^th and 22^nd, respectively. 
 
Hannah O'Leary and Desirae Mangaoang dropped time from the morning session to add top-20 points in the 200 breast. O'Leary went a personal-best 2:10.50 to place 18^th and Mangaoang took 20^th with a season-best time of 2:11.49. 
 
The Aggies return to action next weekend, hosting the Last Chance Meet Feb. 27 through March 1. 

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