KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time since 2020, the Auburn swimming and diving team returned to the podium at the SEC Championships. The Tigers earned bronze with a third-place finish in the men's 200 freestyle relay Wednesday night.
The group of Nate Stoffle, Logan Tirheimer, Matthew Yish and Aidan Stoffle achieved an NCAA A-cut time, 1:16.49, and missed second place by 0.01.
Three individuals added their name to Auburn history with top 10 swims, and after a slow start on the opening day, both teams began to rise in the standings. The men moved up into sixth place while the women are in seventh place through the first two days.
WOMEN
The Auburn women nearly made the podium in the 200 freestyle relay but finished fourth in a relay for the second consecutive day. The Tigers still earned an NCAA A Cut with a season-best time of 1:28.06 from Lexie Mulvihill, Mykenzie Leehy, Emma Steckiel and Rebekah Hamilton. Steckiel and Hamilton both went under 22.0 in their splits.
Mulvihill came back in the 50 freestyle finals and swam a personal best to take second in the C Final. At 22.16, it was the fastest 50 free time of the season for Auburn.
The Tigers had seven swimmers advance to the finals on the women's side. Meghan Lee (200 IM) and Emma Steckiel (50 Free) both made B Finals, and Lee finished second in her 200 IM B Final with a time of 1:57.20, moving her up to eighth-fastest in Auburn history.
Senior Emily Hetzer advanced to the C Final in the 500 freestyle. It was the fourth straight year Hetzer has reached the 500 free finals at the SEC Championships.
Sophomore Hannah Ownbey (200 IM and seniors Valerie Tarazi (200 IM) and Mykenzie Leehy (50 Free) also made the C Final in their respective events.
MEN
The men's 200 free relay might have been the highlight of the night, but the best swim of the day came from Michael Bonson in the 500 freestyle prelims. The sophomore shattered his career best and moved into second place all-time at Auburn with a time of 4:13.89.
Bonson returned in the night session and swam a 4:15.84 to finish sixth in the A Final. Both times rank among the eight fastest 500 free times in Auburn history.
Freshman Mason Mathias also made Auburn's Top 10 in the 500 freestyle, coming in at No. 9 all-time following a prelims time of 4:17.98 that put him in the B Final. Mathias and fellow freshman Grant Davis both made finals and finished 16th and 20th respectively.
The Tigers had three swimmers advance to finals in all three men's events Wednesday.
In the 200 IM, Reid Mikuta and Jacques Rathle made the B Final while freshman Henry Bethel qualified for the C Final. Mikuta set a new personal best, 1:44.55, to place third in the B Final and ninth overall. All three swimmers finished in the top 20.
Three of the four members of the 200 free relay team closed out the night in the 50 free finals. Tirheimer and Yish went 7-8 in the A Final, and Nate Stoffle finished seventh in the B Final. All three swimmers went under 19.5 in prelims. Tirheimer led the way with a time of 19.37, Yish was just behind at 19.38, and Stoffle came in at 19.49. All three were personal bests.
DIVING
After advancing to the 3-meter finals Tuesday and finishing fourth, Conner Pruitt just missed the final in Wednesday's 1-meter event. The senior scored 308.25 points, good for 11th place. Freshman Whit Andrus and sophomore Hunter Kebler both scored points for Auburn, finishing 14th and 19th respectively in the 1-meter prelims.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will compete in three more swimming events Thursday with the 400 IM, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle on tap. Prelims begin at 8:30 a.m. CT with finals at 4:30 p.m. CT. It will be the women's turn again on the boards with the 3-meter event.
Watch: Prelims | Finals
Men’s relay wins SEC bronze to highlight second day
