Dobson Earns Silver and Program Record in 500 Freestyle

Friday, February 20

Knoxville, Tenn.

9:30 a.m. (Swimming Prelims) | 12 p.m. (Diving Prelims & Consolation) | 5:30 p.m. (Finals)

University of Georgia

SEC Swimming & Diving Championships

Photo by: Randy Sartin Photography

Dobson Earns Silver and Program Record in 500 Freestyle

February 20, 2026 | Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Results

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Georgia freshman Kennedi Dobson continued her outstanding performance at the 2026 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships with a silver medal and program record in the 500-yard freestyle Friday at the University of Tennessee Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

With one day of competition remaining, the Georgia men stand fifth with 554 points, while the Bulldog women moved up two spots to seventh with 504 points.

Fast Facts

Women's 500y Freestyle – Dobson earned her third medal of the week as she placed second with a school record time of 4:30.70. Dobson led for the first half of the race before ceding first to eventual winner Jillian Cox of Texas. With her time, she broke the 12-year-old record of 4:32.53 set by Brittany MacLean at the 2014 NCAA Championships and became the first Georgia freshman woman to medal in each of her individual SEC events since Zoie Hartman in 2020. Along with Dobson, five Bulldogs scored in the event, including sophomore Marie Landreneau, who placed 11^th with an NCAA time of 4:41.33, followed by freshman Clarke Neace in 15^th place with a PB of 4:42.52. Senior Shea Furse took 18^th with an NCAA time of 4:43.37, while junior Elizabeth Tilt finished 23^rd with a time of 4:48.01.
Women's 200y Freestyle Relay – Sophomore Katie Belle Sikes, freshman Hayden Hollingsworth, Dobson, and senior Emma Norton finished fifth with a season-best B-cut of 1:28.36. Sikes (22.07) and Norton (21.96) posted season-best splits in leadoff and anchor position.
Men's 200y Breaststroke – Senior Cale Martter placed sixth with a season-best NCAA cut of 1:52.94, his fastest time as a Bulldog and the fifth-fastest performance in program history. In prelims, Martter took eighth with a then-season-best time of 1:53.35.
Men's 500y Freestyle – Freshman Sean Green finished seventh with a personal-best NCAA cut of 4:12.01, becoming the sixth-fastest performer in program history. In prelims, Green moved to No. 7 in the program rankings with a then-PB of 4:12.38, finishing fifth overall. Junior Tomas Koski prevailed in the 'C' final with an NCAA time of 4:14.88.
Women's 50y Freestyle – Sikes finished eighth with a season-best NCAA cut of 22.03, tying her collegiate personal best. In prelims, Sikes finished seventh at 22.05.
Women's 200y Breaststroke – Freshman Elizabeth Nawrocki finished third in the consolation final (11^th overall) with an NCAA cut time of 2:10.17. Sophomore Charlotte Headland won the bonus final (17^th overall) with an NCAA time of 2:09.99.
Men's 50y Freestyle – Sophomore Tane Bidois placed 23^rd with a time of 19.54, following a 19^th-place time of 19.47 in prelims. Freshman Jayson Ross set a new PB of 19.83 in the morning, finishing 35^th overall.
Men's Platform – Junior Matthew Bray finished 28^th overall with a score of 246.15. Bray closed out competition with his highest score of 57.40 in round six.
Men's 200y Freestyle Relay – Bidois, seniors Ruard van Renen and Roman Valdez, and sophomore Drew Hitchcock initially finished eighth with a B-cut time of 1:16.96 but were disqualified for an early takeoff.

Events
Women's 200y Breaststroke
Gold: Anita Bottazzo, Florida – 2:07.26
Silver: Grace Rabb, Florida – 2:08.48
Bronze: Angie Coe, Texas – 2:08.80

Men's 200y Breaststroke
Gold: Nate Germonprez, Texas – 1:48.94
Silver: Gabe Nunziata, Tennessee – 1:50.59
Bronze: Campbell McKean, Texas – 1:51.03
Sixth: Cale Martter, Georgia – 1:52.94

Women's 50y Freestyle
Gold: Camille Spink, Tennessee – 20.87
Silver: Eva Okaro, Texas – 21.26
Bronze: Lisa Klevanovich, Auburn – 21.55
Eighth: Katie Belle Sikes, Georgia – 22.03

Men's 50y Freestyle
Gold: Josh Liendo, Florida – 18.42
Silver: Gui Caribe, Tennessee – 18.46
Bronze: Jere Hribar, LSU – 18.57

Women's 500y Freestyle
Gold: Jillian Cox, Texas – 4:30.53
Silver: Kennedi Dobson, Georgia – 4:30.70 (School Record)
Bronze: Ella Jansen, Tennessee – 4:34.10

Men's 500y Freestyle
Gold: Rex Maurer, Texas – 4:08.46
Silver: Ahmed Jaouadi, Florida – 4:09.28
Bronze: Ahmed Hafnaoui, Florida – 4:10.18
Seventh: Sean Green, Georgia – 4:12.01

Men's Platform
Gold: Carson Paul, LSU – 448.70
Silver: Jesus Gonzalez, Florida – 431.85
Bronze: Bennett Greene, Tennessee – 410.00

Women's 200y Freestyle Relay
Gold: Tennessee – 1:26.27
Silver: Alabama – 1:26.39
Bronze: Texas – 1:26.62
Fifth: Georgia – 1:28.36

Men's 200y Freestyle Relay
Gold: Florida – 1:14.44
Silver: LSU – 1:15.13
Bronze: Tennessee – 1:15.27
DQ: Georgia

Standings
Men

Texas, 1,110.5
Florida, 1,056
Tennessee, 840.5
Auburn, 595
Georgia, 554
LSU, 525
Alabama, 505.5
Kentucky, 487
Texas A&M, 391.5
Missouri, 347
South Carolina, 308

Women

Texas, 1,003.5
Tennessee, 817
Florida, 804.5
South Carolina, 543.5
LSU, 533.5
Alabama, 532.5
Georgia, 504
Auburn, 499.5
Texas A&M, 424
Missouri, 344
Arkansas, 245
Kentucky, 201
Vanderbilt, 118

Up Next
The SEC Swimming & Diving Championships conclude Saturday with the 200y individual medley, 100y freestyle, 200y backstroke, women's platform relay, and 400y freestyle relay. Swimming prelims begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by diving prelims at 12 p.m. and finals at 5:30 p.m. Live coverage of all session can be found on SEC Network+ with live results available on UTSports.com, MeetMobile, and DiveMeets.