People say that athletes perform the best when the lights are brightest. Though Vanderbilt’s weekend may not look favorable on the scoreboard, the SEC Championships in Athens, Georgia, featured plenty of results for the Commodores to celebrate. While the Commodores came in 13th on the week, they posted 11 new top-three times in program history and swimmers saw 23 career-bests across the board.
Kailia Utley was especially exceptional, breaking two program records and competing in two individual finals — the only Commodore to do so. Mercedes Traba led the Commodores in the 400-yard individual medley and the 500 freestyle, while four relays also posted top-three times in program history.
Feb. 18
Both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay teams posted season bests while also breaking into the top-three all-time results for the program on the first day of the meet.
The 200 medley relay team — composed of Aubrey Hull, Emily Constable, Karsyn Cook and Megan Ciezczak — opened up the week with a time of 1:39.77. Not only was this a personal best for the quartet — it was also the third-best time in Vanderbilt history. Though it was a massive personal victory for the Commodores, the team placed last in its heat, with 12th place Arkansas touching at 1:39.32. Texas earned first place in the event, posting a time of 1:33.84 — a new SEC record.
The 800 freestyle relay team — Traba, Libby Gilbert, Kate Heintz and Reagan Mathieson — also swam the program’s third-fastest time, finishing the race in 7:20.53. While this was over eight seconds faster than the team’s previous best, it was still almost nine seconds slower than 12th-place Arkansas.
Feb. 19
Vanderbilt continued making program history on Day Two, with two individuals and another relay team breaking inside Vanderbilt’s all-time top-three finishes.
The day started with the 200 freestyle relay, when Vanderbilt placed 12th with a time of 1:31.70, finishing after Kentucky (1:30.89) and ahead of Auburn, which was disqualified. The group of Mathieson, Ciezczak, Jenna Ravarino and Hannah Weissman recorded the second-best time in program history.
Though no Commodores qualified for the 500 freestyle finals, Traba led the pack in the event, placing 44th. Madelyn Porter’s performance, however, entered her name into the history books. The sophomore swam a career-best 4:54.24 — over three seconds faster than her previous personal best — moving her into third place all-time in the event, trailing only two of Traba’s performances from this season.
In the 200 IM, Mathieson led the way while sophomore Liv Gooding swam a career best of 2:05.16, over a second faster than her previous time set in February of 2024.
Eight Commodores also competed in the 50 freestyle, with Ravarino leading the team with a time of 23.09. Not only was this time the best of any Commodore this season, but it was the third fastest time in program history. Three other swimmers — Cook, Constable and Olivia Solimine — also posted career times in the event.
Feb. 20
Thursday saw Vanderbilt’s first finalist qualify, as Utley placed 18th in the prelims of the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.55. Utley’s time broke her previous school record in the event, a time of 52.92 set during last season’s SEC Championships. Utley finished sixth in the C Finals later in the evening. Cook, Heintz, Quinlan Hinerfeld and Taylor Carey also posted career bests in the event.
In the 400 IM preliminaries, Traba once again shone with the team’s best time. Grace Ciaramitaro posted a season-best 4:28.12, making the cut for the CSCAA National Invitational Championship B. Bailey Ratzburg also impressed, posting a career-low 4:22.86, now the sixth-best time in program history.
The final event of the day was the 200 freestyle and there, Mathieson dropped the second-fastest time in program history — a 1:48.78. Gilbert also moved up in the history books, as the Ohio State transfer’s 1:49.38 marked her best score for the Black and Gold and the sixth-best in the program’s history. Porter also earned her second career-low time of the week, recording a 1:50.72 in the event.
Feb. 21
Utley made her second final in as many days on Day Four, this time competing in the B Final of the 200 butterfly; she has yet to miss an SEC final in the 200 fly for her career. Utley’s 1:55.32 in the prelims was the second time of the week that Utley broke her own school record in an event. Utley ended up placing fifth in the final. Porter also stood out, as she posted yet another career best in the week with a time of 2:02.54.
A duo of ‘Dores recorded career lows in the 100 backstroke prelims, with Ciezczak and Solimine finishing the event in 55.10 and 57.34, respectively. Three more swimmers — Carey, Gooding and Amelia Harper — recorded career bests of their own in the 100 breaststroke shortly after.
The night ended with the 400 medley relay, where the team of Hull, Constable, Utley and Mathieson posted a season-best 3:37.32 — good enough for 11th — beating out Arkansas’ time of 3:38.03. Florida won the race, posting a new SEC record of 3:24.78.
Feb. 22
On the final day of the SEC Championships, Vanderbilt’s 400 freestyle relay team of Ciezczak, Mathieson, Weissman and Ryen Bosuro recorded a time of 3:21.17, the second-fastest in program history.
The records didn’t stop at the relay, either. The 200 backstroke prelims saw three Commodores set top-10 times, with Hull’s 1:57.26 ranking second, Hinerfeld’s 1:58.34 ranking fourth and Gilbert’s 1:59.41 ranking seventh.
Seven Commodores competed in the 100 freestyle preliminary rounds, with Ciezczak leading the bunch. Cook, Ravarino and Solimine all swam career-bests in the event.
Constable led Vanderbilt in the 200 breaststroke prelims, while Ratzburg’s 2:18.12 marked a new career best.
Vanderbilt ended the week with 165 points, which ranked 13th for the week, 79 points behind next-best Arkansas.
The Commodores have one last team swim this season at the Last Chance meet from Feb. 28 to March 1 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
