[break] Hali Flickinger, Chase Kalisz and Matias Koski all won individual titles to highlight Georgia’s showing on Thursday at the Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at Auburn’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center.
[break] Hali Flickinger

[break] Flickinger went 4:03.42 to claim the 400-yard individual medley, becoming the first Lady Bulldog to win the league title since Keegan Walkley in 1999. Flickinger’s time is the second-fastest in school history and is the best in the nation this season.

“It feels amazing,” Flickinger said. “We take a lot of pride in the 400 IM. I was able to keep it smooth on the front side. Being ahead after the breaststroke was a good sign since breaststroke is weak for me. Staying relaxed today after having yesterday off was really important for me.”

Kalisz won the 400-yard individual medley for the third straight year, the first Bulldog to accomplish that feat. His time of 3:38.39 eclipsed the Martin Aquatics Center record and improved his national-leading effort this season.
[break] Chase Kalisz

[break] “Winning again today really means a lot,” Kalisz said. “The key was staying focused and swimming my own race and not worrying about what the others were doing. I just focused on the back half of the race like I always do.”

Koski rolled to a time of 1:33.23 to claim the 200-yard freestyle. Koski and Mike Walsh from 1963 are the only Bulldogs to win the SEC title in the 200-yard freestyle.
[break] Matias Koski

[break] “That’s a neat feeling, knowing I’m just the second Bulldog to win,” Koski said. “Winning is definitely a good feeling. It feels good to help the team as much as you can. I was disappointed in how I did on Wednesday, so I had motivation to prove myself today.”

Amber McDermott took third in the 400-yard individual medley in 4:05.57, while Emily Cameron was seventh in 4:07.45 and Annie Zhu finished seventh in 4:09.57.

Lauren Harrington paced the Lady Bulldogs in the 100-yard butterfly as she touched in 51.84 to finish fourth. Kylie Stewart came in fifth in 52.46, while Courtney Weaver placed 10th in 52.69 and Megan Kingsley finished 13th in 53.22.

Jordan Mattern led the Lady Bulldogs’ charge in the 200-yard freestyle as she placed second in 1:45.07. Brittany MacLean came in fifth in 1:46.30, followed by Anna Kolanowski in 12th at 1:47.15, Olivia Boggs in 14th in 1:47.33 and Meaghan Raab in 17th in 1:46.05.

Gunnar Bentz took sixth in the 400-yard individual medley in 3:42.72, followed by Jay Litherland in seventh with a time of 3:43.12, Jared Markham in 10th in 3:44.62, Mick Litherland in 16th in 3:47.93 and Derek Onken in 20th in 3:50.38.

In the 200-yard freestyle, Alec Cohen followed Koski in fifth with a time of 1:34.96. Kevin Litherland came in 19th in 1:36.80.

Ian Forlini placed seventh on 3-meter springboard with 366.30 points, while Crawford Berry took 19th with 283.80.

In the 100-yard butterfly, Pace Clark touched in 46.93 to win the C final for 17th.

“It was another good day all the way around,” Georgia coach Jack Bauerle said. “My hat’s off to Flick, Chase and Matias for their wins. Winning a race in this conference is no small feat. We were good up and down the lineup today and I’m proud of our efforts.”

The SEC Championships will continue on Friday and will conclude on 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 +.