Columbia, Mo. – LSU’s Leah Troskot and Andrew Suchla reached the final of the 50 free and one-meter respectively on the second day of Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships at the Missouri Aquatic Center.
“Today was a mixed day of results for us,” co-head coach Dave Geyer said. “There were some opportunities for points that we left on the table, but there were also some swims tonight that we moved up on. For Leah, to have three consecutive best times today in her 50 free is a great sign for the rest of her week. We still have a lot of swimmers who still have their main event ahead.”
Troskot touched the wall seventh in the 50 free with a time of 22.31. Suchla finished seventh on one-meter in the finals. Suchla advanced to the finals of one-meter after finishing fifth in prelims with a score of 342.70.
“The men competed really well today,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Andrew qualified into the finals and gained valuable SEC Championship final experience. Matt McClellan just narrowly missed his first final but he was definitely in the hunt. Matthew Phillip also scored at his first SEC appearance, which was big for our team. We just look to continue to build on this success with women’s three-meter tomorrow.”
Freshman Matt McClellan had a strong showing in just his second SEC event. McClellan finished ninth on one-meter with a score of 318.70.
Junior Devon Dabney led off the evening with a fifth-place finish in the ‘C’ final of the 500 free (4:46.05). During prelims, Dabney set the school record in the event with a time of 4:45.89.
In the ‘B’ final of the 200 IM, Kara Kopcso touched the wall fourth in 1:57.81. Colleen O’Neil reached the ‘C’ final of the 200 IM and finished second in the event. O’Neil’s time of 1:58.30 in the final was a personal best. Brandon Goldman finished sixth in the ‘C’ final of the 200 IM for the men with a time of 1:47.59.
In the 50 freestyle, Alex Linge led the way for LSU by touching the wall second in the ‘C’ final with a time of 19.90. Joao Mescolote also reached the ‘C’ final and finished fourth in the event with a time of 19.96. Mescolote’s time of 19.92 in prelims was a personal best.
The women’s team of Troskot, Haylee Knight, Megan Cox and Danielle Stirrat finished the 200 free relay in eighth place overall with a time of 1:30.57. Troskot’s split time of 22.23 was enough for third on LSU’s top time list and a personal best.
The LSU men closed out the evening with a sixth-place finish in the 200 free relay. Linge, Mescolote, Devin McCaffrey and Tyler Harper finished the event with a time of 1:19.53. Linge’s opening split time of 19.78 was a personal best and the ninth-fastest time in school history.
Eight other swimmers set personal best times on Wednesday during prelims. Jake Markham and Alarii Levreault-Lopez set personal bests in the 500 free with times of 4:25.07 and 4:35.19. In the 200 IM, senior Jessie James finished in 2:04.38 for a best time.
In the men’s 200 IM, Harrison Jones (1:49.91) and Will Arthur (1:48.66) notched top marks. Harry Ackland (20.51), Alex Carson (20.80) and Austin Drummond (20.80) also set best times in the 50 free.
The LSU women sit in sixth place with 226 points after two days while the men are in 10th place. The squad returns to action Thursday for women’s three-meter, 400 IM, 100 fly and 200 free.
Live results can be found at http://stats.mutigers.com/live/sec/ throughout the week’s events. Live video of both swimming and diving prelims and finals will be available on SECNetwork+ (Watch ESPN) each day.
A full recap will be available on lsusports.net at the conclusion of each day. For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.
Schedule of Events
Thursday, February 18
400 IM (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
100 Fly
200 Freestyle
Women’s 3-meter- 12 p.m.
400 IM (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Butterfly (Finals)
Women’s 3- meter (Final)
200 Freestyle (Finals)
Friday, February 19
200 Butterfly (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
100 Backstroke (Prelims
100 Breaststroke (Prelims)
Men’s Platform (Prelims)- 12 p.m.
200 Butterfly (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Backstroke (Finals)
100 Breaststroke (Finals)
Men’s Platform (Final)
400 Medley Relay (Finals)
Saturday, February 20
100 Freestyle (Prelims)- 10 a.m.
200 Backstroke (Prelims)
200 Breaststroke (Prelims)
Women’s Platform (Prelims)- 12 p.m.
1650 Freestyle (Finals)- 6 p.m.
100 Freestyle (Final)
200 Backstroke (Final)
200 Breaststroke (Final)
Women’s Platform (Final)
400 Freestyle Relay
*All times listed in CT.