Head coach Bret Lundgaard has had the SEC Championship on his mind since his first meet in September.

The Wildcats have been through a season of more struggles than success, only securing one dual meet win of the year. 

However, they started to reach their potential at the back end of the season, which arguably is the best time to be peaking as Kentucky enters the Championship season. 

“I think we’re progressing nicely, and I feel pretty good about where they’re at,” Lundgaard said, following their dominant win over Cincinnati earlier this month. “It’s time to start resting and see what we can do.”

The first-year head coach will be taking his Wildcats to the Plains of Auburn, Alabama, to race alongside some of the fastest swimmers worldwide and potentially one of the most talented groups of athletes to ever compete at the SEC Championships.

Whether it’s because of the depth of talent, the Olympic implications or simply an offering of school spirit, the stands are expected to be filled at the seams.

The five-day conference championship (Feb. 19-Feb. 25) has turned out to be one of the most anticipated meets of the season in the swimming world. 

The SEC has fallen nothing short of exceptional this season.

Twelve teams will be competing, six of which are ranked inside the top twenty-five on the men’s side and eight on the women’s side.

The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 9 in the SEC on both the men’s and women’s sides. 

Last season, Kentucky finished the conference championships third on the women’s side and eighth on the men’s side, highlighted by Levi Sandidge and his historical time in the mile-long race. 

During last year’s SEC Championship, Sandidge claimed first place in the 1650m free as a freshman and became the fastest 18 & under American ever in the 1650 free. 

This made him the first Wildcat to win that event. His time of 14:31.47 was more than 11.5 seconds faster than the top seed.

It also marked Kentucky’s first SEC men’s swimming title in 17 years and just the seventh to place first in any event at the conference championships.

Sandidge ended up taking fourth place in the NCAA Championships a month later – the highest finish at NCAAs by a Kentucky men’s swimmer since 2012.

This year, not only will athletes be swimming for their conference championship and to make an NCAA time cut, but they also will be swimming for a chance to represent Team USA.

Due to the upcoming 2024 Olympic Trials in June, there is an added layer of competitiveness amongst these athletes to make trial time cuts.

Dozens of swimmers in the SEC have already qualified for Olympic trials.

Florida currently has the most, with ten qualifiers on the men’s side. Auburn has the most on the women’s side, with seven qualifiers.

There are currently six qualifiers for the women across seven events for the Wildcats.

Seniors Torie Buerger and Bridget Engel lead the way with two events each. Buerger qualified in the 100m and 200m backstroke, and Engel will compete in the 100m and 200m backstroke.

Junior Caroline Benda will also compete in the 1500m freestyle and 400m individual medley (IM). 

Megan Drumm will compete in the 800m freestyle, Sophomore Grace Frericks in the 200 backstroke, and Denise Phelan will compete alongside Engel in the 100m breaststroke. 

There are currently four qualifiers on the men’s side across eight events. 

Sophomores Ryan Merani and Levi Sandidge have both qualified for three events. Merani will compete in the 200m butterfly, 200m IM, and 400m IM. Sandidge will compete alongside him in the 400m IM and will also be racing in the 800m and 1650m free. 

Fellow Sophomore Drew Johnson will race in the 50m free, and Junior Nick Caruso will swim in the 200m and 400m free. 

Senior Max Berg has also qualified; however, he will compete in the  Olympic Trials for Team France.

These are just a few Kentucky athletes to look out for at SECs. 

Freshmen Lance Johnson and Carson Hick have already put their names in the record book for the Wildcats and could continue record-breaking runs in Auburn. 

The Championship consists of two rounds: the preliminaries and the finals. Athletes must make the top 24 times during the preliminary round to make the finals. Finals consist of three groups and eight athletes per race.

The “A” final is reserved for the eight fastest prelim times, followed by the “B” and “C” finals.

Some competitors will be seen again a year from now as they compete for the United States on the biggest stage in the world.

On Monday, Feb. 19, the competition begins at 11 a.m. EST for preliminaries. Tuesday’s festivities will begin at 10 a.m., while finals are set to start that night at 5 p.m. 

During the following three days, all preliminary rounds will begin at 9:30 a.m., and finals will occur at 5:30 p.m.

The entire event schedule is available on the SEC Sports website and the Championship will be streamed live on SEC Network+ all five days.