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Yesterday was the penultimate day of competition at the SEC Championships in College Station, TX.
The Kentucky Wildcats were looking to build on the success from the first three days and they did so in a big way.
The biggest result of the day was sophomore Asia Seidt’s gold medal performance in the women’s 100-yard backstroke. Seidt won the race with a school record time of :50.86, only five-hundredths of a second ahead of the second place finisher. This gold was the first in program history for the event.
WATCH: Sophomore Asia Seidt becomes the first Kentucky swimmer in program history to win an SEC title in the 100 backstroke⤵️https://t.co/1UaURAfvCm
— Kentucky Swim & Dive (@UKSwimDive) February 18, 2018
Seidt had this to say about her performance:
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling. I got third last year at SECs and I just wanted to come in and see what I could do. Lars (Jorgensen) and I talked at the beginning of the year and we really wanted to focus on being able to take it out in the 100 back and then bring it back even faster and that was something I was able to do tonight and I was really excited about it.”
Seidt wasn’t the only Kentucky swimmer to reach the podium on day four. Fellow sophomore Madison Winstead finished third in the 100-yard breaststroke. Her time of :59.38 also set a new school record.
Sophomore @WinsteadMadison takes bronze in the 100 breaststroke with a school-record time of 59.38! #BeELITE pic.twitter.com/wFWzaw6Cna
— Kentucky Swim & Dive (@UKSwimDive) February 18, 2018
There were lots of other great swims for the women on Saturday, but the night was capped off by a fourth place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Bridgette Alexander, Winstead, Seidt, and Geena Freriks posted a new school record time of 3:31.01.
The men’s side was paced by three divers finishing in the top eight of the men’s platform competition.
Men’s platform final results:
— Kentucky Swim & Dive (@UKSwimDive) February 18, 2018
5. @chaseo_lane - 419.10
6. Seb Masterton - 391.85
8. Kevin Frebel - 307.05 #BeELITE
The men’s side also had several top-25 finishes throughout the night. Junior Matthew Beach finished 21st in the 200 butterfly, fellow juniors Josh Swart and David Dingess finished 15th and 16th overall in the 100 backstroke, and sophomore Wyatt Amdor posted a 12th place finish in the 100 breaststroke. The men’s team rallied to finish the night with an eighth place finish in the 400 medley relay, finishing with a time of 3:10.78.
Tonight marks the final night of competition. The meet begins at 7 PM Eastern and will air live on the SEC Network.