Thornton, Pickrem earn SEC Freshman of the Year honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Texas A&M's Sydney Pickrem and Sam Thornton earned their respective Freshman of the Year honors as the Southeastern Conference announced its 2016 Swimming & Diving Awards.

Both 2016 SEC Champions, Pickrem was named Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year, while Thornton received the Male Freshman Diver of the Year.

Pickrem, from Dunedin, Fla., won the SEC 400-yard IM Championship, finished second in the 200 breaststroke and was fifth in the 200 IM. At the NCAA Championships, Pickrem earned first-team All-America honors in the 200 and 400 IM and with the Aggies' 800 free relay.

Thornton, from Baildon, United Kingdom, won the SEC 1-meter dive title and took third on the 3-meter board. At the NCAA Championships, Thornton earned honorable mention All-America honors with a 16^th place finish in the 1-meter dive.

Seven Aggies were named to the first-team All-SEC team (1^st-place finishers at SEC meet): junior Sarah Gibson, sophomores Lisa Bratton, Jorie Caneta, Bethany Galat and Béryl Gastaldello and Pickrem from the women's team and Thornton from the men's squad.

Eight Aggies were named to the second-team All-SEC team (2^nd/3^rd-place finishers): seniors Claire Brandt and Meredith Oliver, junior Sycerika McMahon, sophomore Kristin Malone and freshmen Alais Kalonji, Lexie Lupton and Claire Rasmus from the women's team and sophomore Mauro Castillo from the men's squad.

Being named to the SEC Freshman Teams were Kalonji, Pickrem, Rasmus and Thornton.

Complete SEC Swimming & Diving Awards
Male Swimmer of the Year: Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Male Freshman of the Year: Laurent Bams, Alabama
Men's Swimming Coach of the Year: Gregg Troy, Florida
Male Diver of the Year: Mauricio Robles, Tennessee
Male Freshman Diver of the Year: Sam Thornton, Texas A&M
Men's Diving Coach of the Year: Dave Parrington, Tennessee
Co-Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Connor Oslin, Alabama and Ty Stewart, Georgia
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Female Swimmer of the Year: Brittany MacLean, Georgia
Female Freshman Swimmer of the Year: Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
Women's Swimming Coach of the Year: Jack Bauerle, Georgia
Female Diver of the Year: Kahlia Warner, Florida
Female Freshman Diver of the Year: Rachel Rubadue, Tennessee
Women's Diving Coach of the Year: Dale Schultz, Florida
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Danielle Galyer, Kentucky

Commissioner's Trophy
Men
Caeleb Dressel (96 points)

Women
Brittany MacLean (96 points)

All-SEC First Team
Men
Connor Oslin, Alabama
Kyle Darmody, Auburn
Michael Duderstadt, Auburn
Peter Holoda, Auburn
Arthur Mendes, Auburn
Hugo Morris, Auburn
Joe Patching, Auburn
Jack Blyzinskyj, Florida
Mitch D'Arrigo, Florida
Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Corey Main, Florida
Jan Switzkowski, Florida
Mark Szaranek, Florida
Pawel Werner, Florida
Matias Koski, Georgia
Jay Litherland, Georgia
Akaram Mahmoud, South Carolina
Mauricio Robles, Tennessee
Sam Thornton, Texas A&M

Women
Natalie Hinds, Florida
Kahlia Warner, Florida
Emily Cameron, Georgia
Hali Flickinger, Georgia
Shauna Lee, Georgia
Brittany MacLean, Georgia
Meaghan Raab, Georgia
Olivia Smoliga, Georgia
Kylie Stewart, Georgia
Katharine Ross, Missouri
Madeline Banic, Tennessee
Harper Bruens, Tennessee
Faith Johnson, Tennessee
Rachel Rubadue, Tennessee
Kira Toussaint, Tennessee
Lisa Bratton, Texas A&M
Jorie Caneta, Texas A&M
Bethany Galat, Texas A&M
Béryl Gastaldello, Texas A&M
Sarah Gibson, Texas A&M
Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M

All-SEC Second Team
Men
Laurent Bams, Alabama
Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama
Robert Howard, Alabama
Luke Kaliszak, Alabama
Anton McKee, Alabama
Christopher Reid, Alabama
Pavel Romanov, Alabama
Brett Walsh, Alabama
Scott Lazeroff, Auburn
Jacob Molacek, Auburn
Arthur Frayler, Florida
Gunnar Bentz, Georgia
Pace Clark, Georgia
Taylor Dale, Georgia
Sebastian Masterson, Kentucky
Logan Rysemus, LSU
Michael Chadwick, Missouri
Fabian Schwingenschlogl, Missouri
Clark Thomas, Missouri
Tom Peribonio, South Carolina
Nils Wich-Glasen, South Carolina
Mauro Castillo Luna, Texas A&M

Women
Bridget Blood, Alabama
Annie Lazor, Auburn
Ashlee Linn, Florida
Amelia Maughan, Florida
Mollie Pulte, Florida
Jessica Thielmann, Florida
Olivia Ball, Georgia
Megan Kingsley, Georgia
Annie Zhu, Georgia
Geena Freriks, Kentucky
Danielle Galyer, Kentucky
Rebecca Hamperian, Kentucky
Cassie Weil, LSU
Abby Duncan, Missouri
Nadine Laemmler, Missouri
Anna Patterson, Missouri
Hannah Stevens, Missouri
Allyson Nied, South Carolina
Madeline Tegner, Tennessee
Claire Brandt, Texas A&M
Alais Kalonji, Texas A&M
Lexie Lupton, Texas A&M
Kristin Malone, Texas A&M
Sycerika McMahon, Texas A&M
Meredith Oliver, Texas A&M
Claire Rasmus, Texas A&M

All-Freshman Team
Men
Laurent Bams, Alabama
Scott Lazeroff, Auburn
Samuel Stewart, Auburn
Alex Lebed, Florida
Aidan Burns, Georgia
Sebastian Masterson, Kentucky
Matthew Phillip, LSU
Thomas Smith, LSU
Kyle Goodwin, Missouri
Mikel Schreuders, Missouri
Ethan Browne, Tennessee
Kyle DeCoursey, Tennessee
Sam Thornton, Texas A&M

Women
Alyssa Tetzloff, Auburn
Courtney Clark, Kentucky
Geena Freriks, Kentucky
Allyson Nied, South Carolina
Madeline Banic, Tennessee
Rachel Rubadue, Tennessee
Alais Kalonji, Texas A&M
Sydney Pickrem, Texas A&M
Claire Rasmus, Texas A&M

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Mauro Castillo

Sam Thornton

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