By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
2025 SEC Championships
- Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
- Prelims: 9:30 am EST/ Finals 5:30 pm EST (Tuesday-5:00 EST)
- Location: Gabrielsen Natatorium — Athens, GA
- Defending Champions: Florida women (2x); Florida men (12x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: SEC Network+
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide (Men)
- Fan Guide (Women)
- Psych Sheets
- Teams: Alabama, Arkansas (women), Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas*, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women)
- Live Recaps
2025 SEC Championships
- Dates: Tuesday, February 18–Saturday, February 22
- Prelims: 9:30 am EST/ Finals 5:30 pm EST (Tuesday-5:00 EST)
- Location: Gabrielsen Natatorium — Athens, GA
- Defending Champions: Florida women (2x); Florida men (12x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: SEC Network+
- Championship Central
- Fan Guide (Men)
- Fan Guide (Women)
- Psych Sheets
- Teams: Alabama, Arkansas (women), Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas*, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women)
- Live Recaps
It’s time for the fourth finals session of the 2025 SEC Championships. On tap tonight is finals of the 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, and men’s 1-meter diving.
If you missed prelims, the biggest headline of the morning came out of the men’s 100 butterfly, where Josh Liendo took down his own championship record with a 43.70. He leads the way into the final by .83 seconds, cementing himself as the favorite while he aims to defend his title from last season. The Gators went 1-2 in this event last year and the defending silver medalist, Scotty Buff, is back in the ‘A’ final as well, qualifying fourth in 44.67.
Though Jordan Crooks opted for the 200 freestyle today, Tennessee still had a strong showing in the men’s 100 butterfly, putting four swimmers through to the ‘A’ final. Also in the mix for the title is 200 butterfly NCAA record holder Luca Urlando.
Emma Sticklen kept her momentum rolling in the women’s 100 butterfly prelims, as she has for the majority of the season. She cracked 50 seconds again, this time clocking 49.85 to secure lane four this evening. She’ll aim to win her second individual SEC title after winning the 200 IM yesterday.
In the first event of the session, Emma Weyant looks to defend her title in the women’s 400 IM. The Gator women won all three events on day four last year and while that’s going to be a challenge for them this year, Weyant is the favorite in the 400 IM after posting a 4:03.34 for the fastest time of the morning. The Gators showed out in this event, putting four women through to the ‘A’ final tonight.
On the men’s side, defending champion Baylor Nelson will face a tough challenge from Longhorns Rex Maurer and David Johnston. Maurer qualified first overall, swimming 3:38.61 to get the better of Nelson’s time in the heat before by three-hundredths. It took a 3:40.09 to make it back for the championship final, so there should be great races throughout the field. Georgia, the host team, has two up in this final, fifth-year Jake Magahey (3:39.52) and freshman Drew Hitchcock (3:40.09).
Chris Guiliano swam a lifetime best 1:30.31 in the men’s 200 freestyle prelims, taking down the pool record that Charlie Hawke swam leading off Alabama’s 800 freestyle relay. Last year, there was only one 1:30-point swim in the individual 200 freestyle between prelims and finals. This year, there’s already been four as Luke Hobson, Hawke, and Tomas Koski joined Guiliano sub-1:31. Crooks is also in the mix as well, and still owns the fastest time in the NCAA this season (1:30.00). On the women’s side, Erin Gemmell was the lone 1:42 this morning, swimming 1:42.84. She’s followed by three Tennessee women, Brooklyn Douthwright (1:43.38), Julia Mrozinski (1:44.00), and Camille Spink (1:44.00).
WOMEN’S 400 IM – Final
- NCAA Record: 3:54.60 – Ella Eastin, Stanford (2018)
- SEC Record: 3:58.23 – Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M (2019)
- SEC Championship Record: 3:58.35 – Elizabeth Beisel, Florida (2012)
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 4:03.62
Final:
- Emma Weyant (FLOR), 3:59.24
- Ella Jansen (TENN), 4:01.61
- Campbell Stoll (TEX), 4:03.11
- Mabel Zavaros (FLOR), 4:03.93
- Julie Brousseau (FLOR), 4:04.21
- Emily Brown (TENN), 4:05.17
- Campbell Chase (TEX), 4:06.63
- Sofia Plaza (FLOR), 4:07.23
Ella Jansentouched first after the butterfly leg in the women’s 400 IM ‘A’ final and continued to lead at the halfway mark, turning in 1:54.61. Emma Weyant made the backstroke-to-breaststroke turn in third and went right to work, eating away at Jansen’s lead. 50 yards into the breaststroke leg, Jansen and Weyant were tied.
Weyant continued to push the pace and made her final stroke exchange at 3:04.37, 1.77-seconds ahead of Texas sophomore Campbell Stoll. Weyant anchored her swim in 54.87, stopping the clock at 3:59.24 to win her third-straight 400 IM SEC title. The swim is just .24 seconds from her lifetime best and her first time sub-4:00 this season.
The early leader Jansen touched third after the breaststroke leg, three-hundredths behind Stoll. She battled back on the freestyle leg, pulling well ahead of Stoll and winning the silver medal in 4:01.61. It’s her second lifetime best of the day. After coming into the meet with a lifetime best of 4:06.06, the Canadian Olympian swam 4:04.45 in prelims before taking another 2.84 seconds off her best in the final.
Stoll held off a charge from Florida fifth-year Mabel Zavaros on the freestyle leg. She earned bronze in a lifetime best 4:03.11, improving from 4:03.89 at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
MEN’S 400 IM – Final
- NCAA Record: 3:28.82 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
- SEC Record: 3:33.42 – Chase Kalisz, Georgia (2017)
SEC Championship Record: 3:35.76 – Hugo Gonzalez, Auburn (2018)- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 3:38.37
Final:
- Rex Maurer (TEX), 3:35.61 CR
- Baylor Nelson (TAMU), 3:37.47
- Jake Magahey (UGA), 3:37.89
- Giovanni Linscheer (FLOR), 3:38.46
- Cooper Lucas (TEX), 3:39.02
- Drew Hitchcock (UGA), 3:39.98
- David Johnston (TEX), 3:40.86
- Mason Laur (FLOR), 3:42.53
Rex Maurertook control of the men’s 400 IM championship final on the backstroke leg. He was just two-hundredths behind Georgia’s Jake Magaheyat the end of the butterfly leg and quickly took over the lead, flipping .87 seconds ahead of Magahey, now running second, 50 yards into the backstroke leg.
Maurer opened his race in 48.75/53.95, but his breaststroke leg provided an opening for two-time defending champion Baylor Nelsonto make his move. Nelson split 1:01.62 on his breaststroke leg while Maurer split 1:03.30. The two turned to freestyle nearly together, with Nelson just .17 seconds off Maurer’s lead.
But last night’s 500 freestyle champion pulled away on the freestyle elg, splitting 49.61 to earn his second individual SEC title in as many days with an overall time of 3:35.61. The time is a new championship record for Maurer, erasing Hugo Gonzalez’s meet record from his Auburn days.
Magahey, another excellent 500 freestyler, also closed strong, splitting 50.22 over the final 100 yards. Nelson had enough left in the tank to hold him off, and earned the silver medal in 3:37.47, which is a hundredth off his lifetime best. Magahey was also not far from his lifetime best (3:37.64) clocking a season-best 3:37.89 to win bronze, improving on his fifth-place finish from 2024 SECs.
Giovanni Linscheer, Cooper Lucas, and Drew Hitchcock all swam lifetime bests in the championship final. Lucas’ and Hitchcock’s swims marked their first sub-3:40 efforts.
WOMEN’S 100 FLY – Final
- NCAA Record: 47.35 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
- SEC Record: 48.51 – Maggie MacNeil, LSU (2023)
- SEC Championship Record: 48.99 – Maggie MacNeil, LSU (2023)
- 2025 NCAA ‘A’ Cut: 50.52
Final:
- Emma Sticklen (TEX), 49.40
- Olivia Peoples (FLOR), 50.96
- Abby Arens (TEX), 51.21
- Olivia Bray (TEX), 51.28
- Sara Stotler (TENN), 51.50
- Morgan Carteaux (AUB), 51.64
- Greta Pelzek (SCAR), 51.73
- Olivia Theall (TAMU), 51.90
This race was all about Emma Sticklen. She’s been hacking time off her lifetime best and the Texas program record all season, and tonight was no exception. She was out like a shot, turning at the halfway mark in 22.79, under Maggie MacNeil’s championship record pace.
She gave back time to MacNeil’s blistering back Half over the closing 50 yards, but still lowered her lifetime best again this season, slicing .15 seconds off her time from the Eddie Reese Showdown last month with a 49.40. Per USA Swimming’s database, that makes her the 8th fastest performer in history, pending tonight’s results around the league.
Sticklen won the