Feb. 16, 2016
2016 SEC S&D Championships - Day 1 
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COLUMBIA, Mo. -
One session, two relays, two podiums. For the Auburn men's swimming and diving team, the 2016 SEC Championships had a pretty good start to it.
Auburn jumped out to a day one lead of 19 points in the men's race as it claimed second-place finishes in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay and also picked up a seventh, ninth and 12th-place finish from its divers on the 3-meter.
"It was a really good start for us," junior Kyle Darmody, who swam on both relays, said. "It's the first time since I've been here where we got on the podium in the 200 medley relay. Then Justin (Youtsey) backed it up with a strong performance on 3-meter. In the 800 free relay, people always overlook us and we always like to surprise them."
Swimming in lane six for the men's 200 medley relay, Darmody kicked off Auburn's night with a 21.54 backstroke split. Michael Duderstadt, Arthur Mendes and Peter Holoda took over from there, racing to a second-place finish in 1:23.74. Duderstadt's breaststroke leg of 23.22 was second-fastest in the field while Holoda's 18.57 anchor was the fastest.
Darmody and Mendes would return 45 minutes later for another second-place finish, swimming the final two legs of the 800 free relay. Joe Patching led off in 1:34.85, eighth-fastest in school history, before giving way to Hugo Morris, who split 1:33.33. Mendes (1:33.70) and Darmody (1:33.71) would bring it home for a total time of 6:15.59.
"We still have to get four swims together," Auburn associate head coach John Hargis said. "It seems every year on this one day we get three good and one mediocre (swims). Getting four guys on at the same time is difficult. I think tonight again, on both sides, we had three men really good and one man was not where we wanted it. But at the same time we were very good. That's good as we move forward in the meet."
On the men's 3-meter, Youtsey earned his first career top-eight finish, scoring a 366.05 in prelims and a 364.90 in the finals to place seventh. Scott Lazeroff just missed a top-eight finish, scoring 351.65 to finish ninth, missing the finals by 1.60 points, while Pete Turnham scored a 325.50 to finish 12th.
"You come into the season and it's really just for one goal and that goal is SECs and NCAAs. As a senior you just come out and enjoy the experience," Youtsey said. "We picked up a ninth, a 12th and my seventh and that's huge for the swimmers and it's huge to be ahead of Florida and Georgia. Our divers are really good and it's great to see them improve."
In the women's championship Auburn stands in 10th with 106 points. Kentucky and Tennessee are tied for the lead with 154 points.
Auburn touched in 1:37.09 to finish fifth in the women's 200 medley relay. Ashton Ellzey anchored in 21.92, one of only two anchors to go sub-22.
Auburn touched in eighth in the women's 800 free relay in 7:07.74. Freshman Erin Falconer led off in 1:45.83, a personal-best and the 10th-fastest time in school history.
On the women's 1-meter, Maddie Cox earned Auburn's first points of the championships with a 15th-place finish, scoring a 256.00. Morgan Mullins finished 29th (232.95) and Carly Scheper was 35th (224.05).
Individual swimming begins on Wednesday with the 500 freestyle, the 200 IM and the 50 free. The men's 1-meter diving prelims and finals will also be contested along with the 200 freestyle relay. The meet runs through Saturday.
The SEC Championships are being broadcast live on SEC Network+. A one-hour wrap-up show will air on the SEC Network in March.
SEC CHAMPION & AUBURN FINISHES
Women's 1-meter
1. Kahlia Warner (FLA) -- 346.10
15. Maddie Cox -- 256.00
29. Morgan Mullins -- 232.95
35. Carly Scheper -- 224.05
Women's 200 Medley Relay
1. Tennessee -- 1:35.86
5. Auburn -- 1:37.09 (Vitarius, Lloyd, Tetzloff, Ellzey)
Men's 200 Medley Relay
1. Florida -- 1:23.69
2. Auburn -- 1:23.74 (Darmody, Duderstadt, Mendes, Holoda)
Men's 1-meter
1. Sam Thornton (Texas A&M) -- 411.15
7. Justin Youtsey -- 325.50/364.90
9. Scott Lazeroff -- 351.65
12. Pete Turnham -- 325.50
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay
1. Georgia -- 6:55.56
8. Auburn -- 7:07.74 (Falconer, Thatcher, McKernan, Neidigh)
Men's 800 Freestyle Relay
1. Florida -- 6:13.64
2. Auburn -- 6:15.59 (Patching, H. Morris, Mendes, Darmody)
Women's Team Scores
T1. Kentucky -- 154
T1. Tennessee -- 154
3. Georgia -- 149
4. LSU -- 133
5. Texas A&M -- 132
10. Auburn -- 106
Men's Team Scores
1. Auburn -- 170
2. Missouri -- 141
3. Florida -- 145
4. Tennessee -- 141
5. Alabama - 140