GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Senior Christian Clausen’s career-fast swim to win the consolation final of the men’s 100 breaststroke highlighted the LSU swim team’s performance on day three of the 2005 SEC Championships on Friday night.
Heading into the final day of competition, the LSU men sit in seventh place with a score of 139.5, while the Tiger women hold eighth place with 147 points. The Auburn men and Georgia women regained the top spots for the second consecutive day.
Clausen, a native of Trelleborg, Sweeden, shattered his previous career best of 54.77 in the 100 breaststroke with a swim of 54.46 to notch an NCAA “B” cut and take ninth overall in the event. Clausen beat out Florida’s Will Ratliff by nearly a full second to capture the consolation final.
In the women’s 100 breaststroke, Lauren Harvey was impressive taking second-place (10th overall) in the consolation final with a “B” cut of 1:03.57. The swim was also a career-best and third-fastest mark in school history.
Heather Brand posted the third-fastest time in school history in the 100 butterfly with a swim of 54.67 in the prelims, which was also an NCAA “B” cut. Brand took fifth in the consolation final (13th overall) with a time of 54.90.
Kevin Braud leaped into LSU’s all-time top three in the men’s 100 backstroke with his performance on Friday. Braud took second in the consolation final (10th overall) with a “B” cut time of 48.90. Captain Jared Strecker set a career-best time in the prelims of the event (49.39). Strecker then took fifth in the consolation final (13th overall), touching the wall at 49.79.
Justin Boyes qualified for his first final of the championships in the 400 individual medley. Boyes placed eighth (16th overall) in the consolation final with a final time of 4:04.82.
The LSU women’s 200 freestyle relay team closed the evening by nearly setting a school record in the event. Colleen Bertirotti, Brand, Harvey and Mallory Neltner swam a time of 1:32.70 to finish seventh. They were .02 seconds away from the school record of 1:32.68 set during the 1993 season.
The final day of competition begins with prelims at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday.