The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
SEC Championships
No. 3 Women’s Swimming and Diving in first after day five of SEC Championships
02.20.2026 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Cox breaks her own conference record in the 500-yard freestyle and Texas holds a 186.5-point cushion after Friday's action.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 3 Texas Women's Swimming and Diving completed day five of the SEC Championships with four podium finishes, highlighted by Jillian Cox breaking her own conference record in the 500-yard freestyle. Texas leads the team standings with 1,003.5 points, holding a 186.5-point advantage over No. 9 Tennessee (817), while No. 10 Florida sits third at 804.5. The Longhorns have now earned five gold medals and 15 total podium finishes through Friday evening at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.
Texas opened the evening session with back-to-back podium finishes in championship finals as Angie Coe placed third in 2:08.80 in the 200-yard breaststroke, shaving nearly a second off her prelim time of 2:09.55, and Eva Okaro followed with a podium effort in the 50-yard freestyle, touching in 21.26.
The Longhorns placed five swimmers in the 500-yard freestyle championship, highlighted by Jillian Cox breaking her own Southeastern Conference record with a winning time of 4:30.53, surpassing her previous mark of 4:30.68. Nikolett Padar finished fifth in 4:37.33, Kate Hurst placed sixth in 4:39.33, Lillie Nesty took seventh in 4:40.39 and Erin Gemmell finished eighth in 4:45.50.
In the final event of the night, Texas placed third in the 200-yard freestyle relay championship final with a time of 1:26.62. The relay team consisted of Lucy Mehraban, Erin Gemmell, Alexa Fulton and Eva Okaro.
The 2026 SEC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, Feb. 21. The day begins at 8:30 a.m. CT with prelims in the 200-IM, 100-freestyle and 200-backstroke. Women's platform prelims are scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, followed by the consolation final. The evening session starts at 4:30 p.m. CT with finals in the 200-IM, 100-freestyle and 200-backstroke, along with the championship final in women's platform and the 400-freestyle relay. All sessions will stream live on SEC Network+.
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