News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BIRMINGHAM — Seven members of the Texas A&M men’s swimming & diving team were recognized with All-SEC accolades, the league office announced Wednesday morning. SEC champions Baylor Nelson, Victor Povzner and Alex Sanchez earned first-team distinction, while Allen Bottego, Rhett Hensley and Connor Foote garnered second-team honors and Logan Brown was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Nelson brought home three individual medals from SEC Championships for the second straight season, including a pair of golds to help him earn his second Commission’s Trophy in as many years as a top-scorer at the meet. The sophomore defended both of his IM titles to become the first person to sweep the events in back-to-back years since the 1993 and 1994 seasons. He touched the wall in 1:41.72 to claim his first gold of the week in the 200 IM and went a then-personal-best 3:38.05 in the 400 IM to secure a second top finish. Nelson rounded out the week with a second-place finish in the 200 breast, clocking a career-best 1:52.43 to join Sanchez on the podium for the second time that week. The Huntersville, North Carolina, native closed out the year with top-eight finishes in both IM events at NCAA Championships, including a third-place finish with a school-record time of 3:37.46 in the 400 IM.
Povzner defended his 1-meter title on day one of SEC Championships, using a season-best score of 403.05 to secure his second gold medal on the board and the third medal of his career. The Toronto native also added points for the Aggies on the 3-meter, posting a score of 412.40 to place fourth. At his final NCAA Championships, Povzner got things started with a 13th-place finish on the 1-meter (358.50) and later placed sixth on the 3-meter with a score of 404.50 with a to close out his collegiate career as a seven-time All-American.
Sanchez medaled in all three of his individual events, becoming an SEC Champion in the 200 breast and bringing home silver medals in the 100 breast and 200 IM. The Plano, Texas, native started the week joining Nelson on the podium, touching the wall in 1:42.55 in the 200 IM to place second and returned to the podium Friday, claiming his second silver of the week after taking down the school record with a time of 51.19 in the morning session. Sanchez lowered the 200 breast school record on the final day, using a time of 1:50.36 to earn the first gold medal of his career. He closed out the season with a 10th-place finish in the 200 breast at NCAA Championships, while also earning All-America Honorable Mention accolades with the 200 and 400 medley relay teams.
Bottego made his podium debut, bringing home bronze on the 3-meter with a career-high score of 421.05, while also adding top-10 points on the 3-meter. Hensley posted his highest finish at SEC Championships, claiming silver on the 1-meter to start the post-season meet with a career-best score of 381.60. He added points for the Aggies taking fourth on platform (367.20) and adding a 13th-place finish on 3-meter (328.65).
Foote medaled for the first time in his young career, clocking a school record time of 44.76 in the 100 fly to place third. He went on to lower his own school record in the 50 free (18.87) and add a program-best time in the 100 free (41.49) while racking up five All-America Honorable Mention accolades at NCAA Championships. Brown advanced to the consolation final in all three of his individual events at his first SEC Championships, placing ninth in the 200 breast (1:54.77) and 10th in the 200 IM (1:43.76).
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M men’s swimming & diving. Fans can keep up to date with the Aggies Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter/X by following @AggieSwimDive.
Seven members of the Texas A&M women’s swimming & diving team earned All-SEC accolades, the league office announced Wednesday morning. Joslyn Oakley headlined the group earning first-team distinction, while Miranda Grana, Chloe Stepanek, Giulia Goerigk, Hayden Miller, Bobbi Kennett and Olivia Theall were named to the second team and Grana also brought home SEC All-Freshman Team honors.
Oakley claimed the first SEC gold of her younger career, winning a league title on the 1-meter with a score of 325.65. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native went on to register a pair of top-10 finishes at NCAA Championships to become a four-time All-American. Oakley started the meet with a fourth-place finish on the 1-meter with a score of 311.60 and went on to place ninth on the 3-meter with a score of 317.30. She earned four SEC Diver of the Week accolades this season and was named the SEC Freshman Female Diver of the Year a season ago.
Grana impressed in her SEC Championships debut, reaching the podium in all three of her individual events, while also helping the 400 medley relay team to a third-place finish. The Guadalajara, Mexico, native started the meet with a bronze-medal finish in the 100 fly, an event she rarely raced through the dual meet season, clocking the fourth-fastest time in program history, 51.32. The next day she took down the school record in the 100 back with a time of 50.65 to place third in the event and later helped the 400 medley relay team post the third-fastest time in school history, going 3:28.61 to bring home bronze. She closed out the week with another third-place finish with a time of 1:51.06, which stands as the second-fastest time in program history, to earn a fourth bronze medal. She went on to register top-eight finishes in both backstroke events at NCAA Championships, while helping the 400 medley relay to a 10th-place finish.
Stepanek earned a pair of bronze medals, picking up the fourth of her career in the 200 free while also helping the 400 medley relay reach the podium. The Northport, New York, native was just 0.01 off her school record, going 1:42.41 to return to the podium. She added points for the Aggies with a fifth-place finish in the 50 free and a fourth-place finish in the 100 free. Stepanek, the two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, upped her All-America accolade count to 13 by season’s end with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free and 15th-place time in the 100 free, while also helping the 800 free relay and 400 medley relay register top-16 times.
Goerigk and Miller each notched third-place individual finishes at SEC Championships as Goerigk earned the second bronze of her career in the 400 IM, going 4:06.79, while Miller reached the podium with a time of 16:02.35 in the 1650 free. Goerigk went on to place 12th in the event at NCAAs, and Miller used career-best times in the 500 free (4:36.60) and 1650 free (15:56.53) to place 10th in both events.
Theall and Kennett rounded out the 400 medley relay team that reached the podium and brought home bronze. Theall also added points for the Aggies placing fifth in the 200 fly final and finishing atop the consolation final in the 100 fly, while Kennett claimed the top spot in the 200 breast B final and earned a seventh-place finish n the 100 breast.
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.