By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
2026 SEC Championships
- Dates: Monday, February 16–Saturday, February 21
- Location: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, Knoxville, TN
- Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
- Live Results
- Live Video: SEC Network+
- Psych Sheet (UPDATED)
- Schedule of Events
- Championship Central
- Teams: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt (women only), Arkansas (women only)
- Live Recaps
We have two days left of the 2026 SEC Championships, and there have been some fast swims over the first three days of the meet.
With the new conference lineup, the events are all rearranged, so tonight we will see the finals for the 50 and 500 freestyle events, which both came two days later than normal.
The meet will start with the 200 breaststroke races. On the women’s side, Florida earned the top three qualifying spots plus the 4th qualifier. Anita Bottazzo, the 100 breaststroke champion is the top seed, swimming 2:09.16 in the prelims.
Texas earned the top two seeds on the men’s side with Nate Germonprez setting a new pool record time of 1:50.47 to earn lane four tonight.
In the 50 free, Tennessee’s Camille Spink is the top seed in 21.01, which makes her the 6th fastest performer in history in the event.
Josh Liendo is the men’s top seed, and he will be looking to earn his first ever SEC title in the event after he finished as the runner-up in 2023 and 2025 and finished 3rd in 2024.
The women’s 500 freestyle will see Georgia freshman Kennedi Dobson try to upset reigning SEC and NCAA Champion Jillian Cox. Dobson earned the top seed in 4:35.44 while Cox swam 4:38.49 and will be racing from lane six tonight.
Florida’s Ahmed Jaouadi is the top seed in the men’s 500 freestyle, and he will be trying to pick up his 2nd event win of the meet after he won the mile on night one.
In the men’s platform, Tennessee’s Bennett Greene is the top seed after scoring 417.75 points in prelims to come in almost 30 points ahead of LSU’s Carson Paul, who scored 390.90.
The evening will wrap up with the 200 freestyle relays, where the Texas women are the top seed over Alabama and Tennessee, and the Florida men will be in lane four ahead of Mizzou and LSU.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals
- NCAA Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
- SEC Record: 2:03.26 — Bethany Galat, Texas A&M (2018)
- SEC Championship Record: 2:03.84 — Mona McSharry, Tennessee (2024)
- Pool Record: 2:01.29 — Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 2:11.27
Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:46.35 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
- SEC Record: 1:49.59 — Will Scholtz, Texas (2025)
- SEC Championship Record: 1:50.02 — Aleksas Savickas, Florida (2025)
- Pool Record: 1:59.47 — Nate Germonprez (TEX) — 1:50.47
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95
Women’s 50 Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 20.37 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024/25)
- SEC Record: 20.79 — Maggie MacNeil, LSU (2023)
- SEC Championship Record: 20.98 — Maggie MacNeil (2023)
- Pool Record: 20.54 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 22.28
Men’s 50 Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
- SEC Record: 17.63 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
- SEC Championship Record: 17.85 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2023)
- Pool Record: 18.12 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2024)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 19.43
Women’s 500 Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 4:24.06 — Katie Ledecky, Stanford (2017)
- SEC Record: 4:30.68 — Jillian Cox, Texas (2024)
- SEC Championship Record: 4:31.54 — Jillian Cox (2025)
- Pool Record: 4:33.09 — Paige Madden, Virginia (2020)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:43.70
Men’s 500 Freestyle — Finals
- NCAA Record: 4:02.31 — Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2024)
- SEC Record: 4:04.45 — Rex Maurer, Texas (2024)
- SEC Championship Record: 4:06.32 — Kieran Smith, Florida (2021)
- Pool Record: 4:09.06 — Matthew Sates, Georgia (2022)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 4:18.07
Men’s Platform Diving — Finals
- NCAA Record: 548.90 — Nick McCrory, Duke (2011)
- SEC Record: 507.15 — Zhipeng Colin Zhang, Tennessee (2018)
- SEC Championship Record: 496.55 — Juan Celaya-Hernandez, LSU (2017)
Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay — Timed Final
- NCAA Record: 1:23.63 — Virginia (J. Nocentini, G. Walsh, A. Walsh, M. Parker) (2024)
- SEC Record: 1:25.41 — Auburn (J. Meynen, C. Fisch, AJ Kutsch, R. Clevenger) (2020)
- SEC Championship Record: 1:25.41 — Auburn (J. Meynen, C. Fisch, AJ Kutsch, R. Clevenger) (2020)
- Pool Record: 1:24.51 — Virginia (K. Douglass, G. Walsh, A. Cuomo, M. Parker) (2023)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:28.26
- 2026 NCAA Provisional Time: 1:28.78
Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay — Timed Final
- NCAA Record: 1:12.80 — Tennessee (J. Crooks, G. Caribe, L. Taylor, N. Blackman) (2025)
- SEC Record: 1:12.80 — Tennessee (J. Crooks, G. Caribe, L. Taylor, N. Blackman) (2025)
- SEC Championship Record: 1:12.80 — Tennessee (J. Crooks, G. Caribe, L. Taylor, N. Blackman) (2025)
- Pool Record: 1:13.72 — Arizona State University (R. Fabiani, I. Kharun, T. Palmer, J. Kulow) (2025)
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:16.23
- 2026 NCAA Provisional Time: 1:16.91
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 SEC Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
