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Florida Men Set SEC Championship Record In 800 Free Relay

2019 Southeastern Conference Swimming & Diving Championships

The Florida Gator men kicked off the 2019 SEC Championships with their seventh consecutive title in the 800 free relay, setting a new Championship Meet Record in a time of 6:10.50.

The team of Trey Freeman (1:33.83), Khader Baqlah (1:32.48), Kieran Smith (1:32.09), and Maxime Rooney (1:32.10) combined to take out the 2018 mark set by Rooney, Baqlah and the now graduated Jan Switkowski and Mark Szaranek of 6:12.06.

However, the SEC Conference Record and Florida School Record of 6:09.30 remains intact. That was set by Switkowski, Rooney, Szaranek, and Mitch D’Arrigo at the 2017 NCAA Championships.

Below, check out a split comparison between the new and old record Championship Records and the current Conference Record:

Florida, 2017 NCAAs Florida, 2018 SECs Florida, 2019 SECs
Switkowski – 1:32.44 Switkowski – 1:33.32 Freeman – 1:33.83
Rooney – 1:32.67 Rooney – 1:33.11 Baqlah – 1:32.48
D’Arrigo – 1:32.73 Baqlah – 1:33.01 Smith – 1:32.09
Szaranek – 1:31.46 Szaranek – 1:32.62 Rooney – 1:32.10
6:09.30 6:12.06 6:10.50

The Gator men also had a strong showing on the opening day in the 200 medley relay, placing third, but with diving scores factored in they sit sixth in the team race thus far with 123 points. The Tennessee men lead with 187, while Florida leads Texas A&M by a three-point margin (165-162) on the women’s side.

For a full recap on the opening session, click here.

Watch the race video, via tamuswim on Youtube, below. Florida is swimming in lane four.

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JaxSwammer
5 years ago

It appears that Mark Theall of A&M (second leg) came in to this year with a previous best of 1:36. He just dropped a 1:32 split. Talk about a diamond in the rough for the Aggies. And look at that monster kick behind him! Could be in for a big drop in the 500 tomorrow.

dpr dan
Reply to  JaxSwammer
5 years ago

Aggies have a GREAT freshman class. Shaine Casas and Clayton Bobo are doing extremely well.

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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