COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Auburn men nearly tripled the number of night swims from one day to the next with 13 finals appearances on Thursday night, the third day of the SEC Men's Championships.
Sophomore Lleyton Smith led the way with two finals, including a spot in the 100 backstroke A-Final where he placed seventh to pick up 23 points for the Tigers. He also swam in the C-Final of the 100 butterfly, achieving a lifetime best in prelims of the event.
Senior Christian Ginieczki also qualified for two finals Thursday, making the B-Final in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
As a team, Auburn picked up 182 points on day three, and now heading into the fourth and final day of competition, the Tigers are currently in eighth place with 502 points.
"I really challenged the men to come out tonight and see if we could hit 200-plus points for the evening," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "Honestly, we fell a little bit short of that. We've shown growth and we get guys better and we're getting some night swims, but we've just got to learn to perform in each and every session.
"We have one more day left. We've got a lot of opportunities tomorrow. It could be a really good day for us, but the guys have to make that decision."
DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS
Freshman McInerny led off the day by advancing to the C-Final in the 400 IM. In that C-Final, he swam a lifetime-best 3:50.89 to finish fourth and place 20th overall.
McInerny was one of five Auburn freshmen who qualified for finals Thursday. Mikkel Gadgaard paced the Tigers in the 200 freestyle, finishing second in the B-Final. With a time of 1:34.72, Gadgaard is now 10th-fastest in program history in the 200 free. Fellow freshman Michael Bonson swam a season best (1:36.29) in prelims to make the C-Final.
Freshmen Reid Mikuta and Alejandro Flores both earned a spot in the B-Final of the 100 breastroke. Mikuta placed second in the B-Final with a time of 52.71, which moved him to ninth all-time at Auburn. He bumped Flores, who was 10th-fastest heading into finals after achieving a lifetime-best 52.86 in prelims. Flores finished seventh in the B-Final, 15th overall.
Ginieczki and Smith were joined by Nik Eberly and Matthew Yish in the 100 fly finals. Eberly, Yish and Smith went second, fourth and eighth respectively in the C-Final.
Sophomore Aidan Stoffle made it three Tigers in the 100 backstroke finals, advancing to the first SEC final of his career. He and Ginieczki swam in the B-Final while Smith represented Auburn in the A-Final. Between the three, they scored 46 points in the event.
Auburn capped the night with a seventh-place finish in the 400 medley relay. Smith led off by going under 47 seconds in the 100 backstroke for the third time of the day. His prelims time of 46.78 was a lifetime best.
Other lifetime bests from prelims Thursday included Logan Tirheimer (100 fly), Aryan Makhija (200 free), Ryan Husband (200 free), Jadan Nabor (100 back) and Elliott Jones (100 back).
QUOTEABLE
Head coach Gary Taylor
On the 100 breaststroke…
"I can't say enough about the two freshmen in that event. Alejandro Flores, coming back – he had a really good time trial the other day – he drops time from that. He goes 52.8 this morning getting that B-Final. Reid Mikuta puts in a good morning swim and comes back tonight and just about wins that B-Final with a 52.7. I thought that was really good by the two freshmen and shows well for the future in that event."
On Lleyton Smith's performance…
"An awesome 100 fly to lead us into that event and then three 100 backstrokes – he's never been under 47.0, and did it three times today. He showed a lot heart and a lot of grit and a lot of effort for his teammates and the AU. I'm really proud of him and his performances today."
UP NEXT
The Auburn men will close out this year's SEC Championships with another full day of competition. The events include the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 1650 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay. Prelims will kick off at 10 a.m. CT.
Watch
Day 4 Prelims
Day 4 Finals
Auburn men earn 13 finals swims on Day 3 of SECs
