Reported by James Sutherland.
2018 SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, February 14 – Sunday, February 18
- Rec Center Natatorium, College Station, TX (Central Time Zone)
- Prelims 10AM / Finals 6PM
- Defending Champion: Florida (5x) (results)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live results
- Live Video (finals)
WOMEN’S 400 IM FINAL
- Championship Record: 3:58.35, Elizabeth Beisel (Florida), 2012
- Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M, 3:59.30
- Bethany Galat, Texas A&M, 4:04.17
- Emma Barksdale, SCAR, 4:05.66
Sydney Pickrem finished off the IM sweep with a dominant win in the 400 IM, holding the lead at the halfway mark and only extending it from there, touching in a time of 3:59.30. That time knocks .06 off her school record set at last year’s NCAAs where she was the runner-up to Stanford’s Ella Eastin. The swim puts Pickrem 1st in the country this season, passing Katie Ledecky and her 3:59.69 from the Art Adamson Invite.
Pickrem’s teammate Bethany Galat claimed 2nd in 4:04.17, trailing Pickrem by just a second and a half heading into the free before she lost a bit more ground. South Carolina’s Emma Barksdale was solid for 3rd in 4:05.66, and Tennessee’s Meghan Small (4:07.17) held off Missouri’s Sharli Brady (4:07.47) for 4th. Kentucky’s Kathryn Painterposted a strong 4:06.82 from the B-final.