[break] On the strength of four more titles, both of Georgia’s squads moved into first place on Wednesday at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatic Center.

[break] [break] Chantal Van Landeghem (50-yard freestyle), Amber McDermott (500-yard freestyle) and Ty Stewart (200-yard individual medley) claimed individual titles to highlight Georgia’s showing on the second day of the conference meet. The Lady Bulldogs’ 200-yard freestyle relay of Maddie Locus, Van Landeghem, Olivia Smoliga and Lauren Harrington also came in first with a time of 1:27.55.
[break] [break] Following two days of competition, the No. 2-ranked Lady Bulldogs stand first with 526 points, with Texas A&M in second with 442 and Florida in third with 410. The No. 8 Bulldogs, seeking their first conference team title since 1955, are first with 421 points, followed by Florida (391.5) in second and Auburn (379) in third.
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[break] “We are very, very pleased with the way the day went,” Georgia head coach Jack Bauerle said. “The kids really swam tough. Our men had a heck of a night after not having a heck of a morning, but we came back and turned it around. Our ladies are really utilizing our depth. We’re getting points up and down the lineup, and that’s such a key in this meet.
[break] [break] “We want our teams to go out and perform to our best each time we compete. If we can do that, everything takes care of itself. I’m really pleased with our performance today.”
[break] [break] Van Landeghem and Locus went 1-2 in the 50-yard freestyle with times of 21.74 and 21.77, respectively. Smoliga won the B final in 21.96 for ninth, followed by Harrington in 11th at 22.54.
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[break] “It feels really great,” Van Landeghem said. “I wanted to come out and race hard. The atmosphere is awesome, so I’m really happy. I’m also so proud of Maddie. I was as happy for her as I was for myself because I know how hard she’s trained.”
[break] [break] McDermott won her second 500-yard freestyle title with a time of 4:35.19. Brittany MacLean took fourth in 4:41.62 and Rachel Zilinskas placed sixth in 4:42.84. Jordan Mattern won the B final for ninth in 4:41.78, followed by Stephanie Peters in 11th at 4:43.42 and Anna Kolanowski in 19th at 4:46.60.
[break] [break] “I’m really happy, especially since I also won it my freshman year,” McDermott said. “It’s nice to start off with a bang and end with a bang. The key was to swim my own race, take it out as fast as I could and try to hold on.”
[break] [break] Olivia Ball finished fourth on 1-meter springboard with 320.30 points.
[break] [break] In the 200-yard individual medley, Emily Cameron came in fifth in 1:57.04, followed by Meaghan Raab in seventh in 1:57.91, Annie Zhu in 11th in 1:57.99 and Courtney Weaver in 21st in 1:58.78.
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[break] On the men’s side, Stewart went 1:42.82 to claim the 200-yard individual medley. Chase Kalisz took fourth in 1:43.44, Nicolas Fink was sixth in 1:43.60, Gunnar Bentz placed 10th in 1:44.10 and Jared Markham came in 12th in 1:45.71.
[break] [break] Michael Trice came in fourth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 19.39, eclipsing his own school record. Taylor Dale took 20th in 20.08.
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McDermott Podium Interview

[break] Kevin Litherland paced the Bulldogs in the 500-yard freestyle as he came in fifth with a time of 4:16.36. Matias Koski dominated the B final with a time of 4:12.01 to take ninth, followed by Jay Litherland in 13th at 4:18.84 and Alec Cohen in 15th at 4:21.40. Garrett Powell won the C final for 17th in 4:16.62.
[break] [break] The 200-yard freestyle relay of Trice, Koski, Dale and Fink came in fifth in a school-record 1:17.96.
[break] [break] The SEC Championships will continue on Thursday and will run through Saturday. Prelims will start at 11 a.m. EST, followed by diving prelims at 2 p.m. Finals will begin at 7 p.m. There will be live streams of all sessions on SEC Network +.
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Raab, Cameron 200 IM