COLLEGE STATION, Texas — After staging a monumental comeback in the preliminary round of the one-meter springboard Wednesday afternoon, freshman Brooke Schultz edged into the finals, where the Fayetteville native coasted to an SEC one-meter springboard title with a Texas A&M pool record of 363.45.
Schultz was the third Razorback to qualify for the afternoon finals, but it took an incredible comeback in prelims to clinch her berth.
After scoring a 22.10 in her first dive of the prelims, Schultz found herself in last to begin the event.
Schultz would average 52.68 points on her final five dives to turn in a prelim score of 285.50, placing seventh.
In the finals, Schultz paced the field the entire six dives, but her second and fourth dive of 72.00 and 70.50, created separation from the pack, allowing her to become the first SEC diving champion in school history.
It is Arkansas’ fifth individual SEC title in school history, as Yi-Ting Siow took home the 200-yard breaststroke title in 2010 and 2011, while Nicola Atkinson won the 1500-meter freestyle and the 200-meter butterfly in 1992.
Of the eight divers who qualified for finals, Arkansas was the only school to claim multiple spots, as three of its five athletes clinched their place, including two freshmen.
Freshmen Maha Amer led the way in the prelims for Arkansas, scoring a then-career-best 308.40 to qualify third.
Amer would top her career best that she set earlier in the day, scoring a 322.35 to finish fourth overall in her championship debut. Senior Nicole Gillis scored a 286.05 to place sixth in prelims.
Gillis and Amer went back and forth in the finals, but Gillis would pull ahead on the final dive with a score of 323.85 to earn a third-place showing, becoming the second Razorback to earn a podium finish in the event.
In the first swimming event of the championships, senior Sydney Angell, junior Madison Strathman, senior Olivia Weekley and junior Kiera Michailoff-Russell combined to finish 11th in the 200 medley relay in a season-best 1:40.05.
The time ranks fifth on Arkansas’ all-time performer’s list.
In the final event of day one, the quartet of freshman Ayumi Macias and seniors Chelsea Tatlow, Jessie Garrison and Chloe Hannam was disqualified in the 800 free relay.
Action from College Station will start back on Thursday at 10 a.m. with the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley and the 50 freestyle prelims.
Standings – Day One
1. Texas A&M – 160
2. South Carolina – 142
3. Tennessee – 136
4. Georgia – 124
5. Auburn – 121
6. Arkansas – 117
7. LSU – 116
8. Kentucky – 113
9. Florida – 105
10. Missouri – 100
11. Alabama – 92
12. Vanderbilt – 76
