Feb. 21, 2015
AUBURN, Ala. - Fraser McKean won the SEC men's title in platform diving and Auburn's men's 400 freestyle took home gold for the 10th-straight season on Saturday to close the 2015 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships.
"We wanted to win the 400 free relay and get a win at the end. It felt good for the guys to get that win," Auburn head coach Brett Hawke said. "There were some outstanding performances at this meet. A lot of good swims from freshman performances so it's really good for the future. Overall, it wasn't enough and now we'll have to get ready for the NCAA Championships.
Auburn's men finished third overall at the meet with 1,084 points, while the women took sixth place with 722 points.
McKean became the second Auburn diver to win the platform title in the last three seasons, posting a personal-best score of 451.95 to take the victory after setting his PR in prelims earlier in the day.
"I have been working on that dive all year," McKean said. "It came down to the last round just like it did last year, and I am just so glad I was able to pull it out this time."
"I'm really proud of Fraser," Auburn diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "He had a great list in prelims and stayed with the gameplan to set a personal best. Then he came out firing tonight. He had a little mistake on his reverse 3 ½ but hung in there and put it away on his last dive."
Auburn closed out the meet with a strong performance from the foursome of Arthur Mendes, Jacob Molacek, Michael Duderstadt and Kyle Darmody, who recorded the nation's best time of the year in the 400 freestyle relay with a mark of 2:48.98.
"It was huge for us. We haven't won a relay all week," Darmody said following the win. "We hadn't won an individual award since platform right before, so it was huge for us to get a win especially because we are the defending national champions in that in event. We always like to put a lot of emphasis on that relay."
Darmody also led an Auburn quartet in the 100 free championship final, taking home his second bronze medal of the week by collecting the third-best time in the country this year at 42.44. Mendes' 42.62 and Molacek 42.85 were set personal records as the pair finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Peter Holoda was sixth overall at 43.13.
Joe Patching picked up his second individual medal of the week, placing third at 1:40.46 in the 200 back. His time now ranks as the fifth-fastest time in Auburn's record book. Taylor Copeland was 22nd overall at 1:45.27.
Michael Duderstadt continued his strong performance at the conference meet, placing seventh in the 200 breast championship final with a new PR time of 1:54.06. His time ranks as third-best in school history. Zach Warner also continued his string of good swims, putting up the fourth-fastest swim in Auburn's record book in the 200 breast at 1:55.40 to place 10th overall. Jordan Jones lowered his personal-best time from Saturday's prelims, clocking 1:57.57 for 13th overall.
Grant Schenk swam the fifth-best time in Auburn history during the timed final of the men's 1,650 free to place 11th overall at 15:07.50. The freshman picked up an NCAA `B' cut time with his performance.
Allyx Purcell was Auburn's top finisher, placing fourth overall in the women's 100 free final with a time of 48.84. Valerie Hull claimed 11th place with a swim of 49.00 in the consolation final. McKenna DeBever dropped time in the C-final to take 19th at 49.54. Alex Merritt took 24th overall in 50.87.
Annie Lazor placed fifth at 2:09.24 in the 200 breast championship final, the highest-finish for Auburn in the event since 2011. Lazor posted a 2:09.08 in the prelims, the second-fastest time in school history. In the C-final, senior Sarah Peterson took 18th with a season-best 2:11.81. Natasha Lloyd set a personal-best at 2:12.98 for 19th, while Kristen Murslack was 22nd overall with a time of 2:15.23.
Auburn's Ashley Neidigh took seventh overall in the women's 1,650 free with the ninth-fastest time in the event in school history at 16:15.78.
Jillian Vitarus placed 11th overall in the women's 200 back consolation final, touching in with a time of 1:55.00, while Sarah Reynolds took 16th place at 1:55.97.
The Tigers closed out the night with a fourth-place finish as Hull, Purcell, DeBever and Megan Fonteno put up a time of 3:15.38 in the 400 free relay to pick up a NCAA automatic qualifying time.
Select Auburn swimmers will compete at the Florida Last Chance Meet next Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. Auburn's divers will now get ready for the NCAA Zone B Diving Championships in Athens, Ga., March 9-11. The NCAA Championships will run March 19-21 for the women in Greensboro, N.C. The men's national meet is March 26-28 in Iowa City, Iowa.
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Auburn Swimming & Diving Results
2015 SEC Championships - Day Five Finals
February 21, 2015
James E. Martin Aquatics Center
Men's Team Scores: Florida 1314.5, Georgia 1134.5, Auburn 1084, Tennessee 918, Alabama 911.5, Missouri 768, South Carolina 567, Texas A&M 555, LSU 538.5, Kentucky 407
Womens' Team Scores: Georgia 1450, Texas A&M 1166, Florida 963.5, Tennessee 793.5, LSU 725, Auburn 722, Kentucky 608, Missouri 592, Alabama 531, Arkansas 465, South Carolina 355, Vanderbitlt 171
Men's 1650 Freestyle (Timed Finals)
11. Grant Schenk (15:07.50)(PR)
27. Logan Samuelson (15:41.16)(PR)
29. Tommy McKee (15:48.26)
Women's 1,650 Freestyle (Timed Finals)
7. Ashley Neidigh (16:15.78)(PR)
17. Zoe Thatcher (16:28.53)(PR)
Men's 200 Backstroke
3. Joe Patching (1:40.46)(PR)
22. Taylor Copeland (1:45.27)
Women's 200 Backstroke
11. Jillian Vitarius (1:55.00)
16. Sarah Reynolds (1:55.97)
Men's 100 Freestyle
3. Kyle Darmody (42.44)
4. Arthur Mendes (42.62)(PR)
5. Jacob Molacek (42.85)(PR)
6. Peter Holoda (43.13)(PR)
17. Allen Browning (43.54)(PR)
Women's 100 Freestyle
4. Allyx Purcell (48.82)
11. Valerie Hull (49.00)
19. McKenna DeBever (49.54)(PR)
24. Alex Merritt (50.72)
Men's 200 Breaststroke
7. Michael Duderstadt (1:54.68)
10. Zach Warner (1:55.40)
13. Jordan Jones (1:57.57)
Women's 200 Breaststroke
5. Annie Lazor (2:09.24)(PR)
18. Sarah Peterson(2:11.81)
19. Natasha Lloyd (2:12.98)(PR)
22. Kristen Murslack (2:15.23)
Men's Platform
1. Fraser McKean (451.95)(PR)
14. Justin Youtsey (308.95)(PR)
22. Pete Turnham (255.20)
Men's 400 Medley Relay
1. Mendes, Molacek, Duderstadt, Darmody (2:48.98)
Women's 400 Medley Relay
4. Hull, Purcell, DeBever, Fonteno (3:15.38)
Auburn Notes (Day Five)
- Auburn's men have won the SEC title 10 straight times, dating back to 2006
- Fraser McKean's 451.95 in platform diving was a personal-best. He's the seventh different diver to win the tower competition for the Tiger men at the SEC Championships
- Auburn's 400 free relay time is the nation's fastest this season
- Annie Lazor's time of 2:09.08 in Saturday's prelims marked the second-best time in Auburn history