< PreviousKENTUCKY BASKETBALL 70 @KentuckyMBB T he Kentucky swimming & diving teams put themselves to the test against their Southeastern Conference peers at the 2024 SEC Championships, hosted by Auburn Uni- versity at the James E. Martin Aquatics Cen- ter, Feb. 19-24. The Wildcats, in their first season under head coach Bret Lundgaard, finished the meet with one medal, four “A-finalists”, 17 new program top-10 times and 47 personal bests. The UK women collected a total of 446 points to place ninth, while the men finished in tenth with a score of 433. Flori- da was crowned Champions of the meet on both the men’s and women’s sides. The top individual point scorers for Ken- tucky were Ryan Merani (47 points) and Bridget Engel (40 points), each of whom reached the finals in all three individual events they entered. Merani’s week was highlighted by reaching his first career SEC “A-final” in the 200 butterfly, eventually placing fifth with a personal best mark of 1:42.10. The sophomore was also a “B-fi- nalist” in both the 200 and 400 IM. Engel, a senior breaststroke specialist, also enjoyed an outstanding week on the Plains, winning the “B-final” of the 100 breaststroke, while also placing 10th in the 200 breaststroke and 22nd in the 400 IM. Levi Sandidge, who won gold for the Cats at the 2023 SEC Championships, returned to the podium once again in the men’s 1650 freestyle, this time earning a bronze medal after a swim of 14:44.24. The sophomore was, for the second-straight year, the high- est-placing Wildcat at the Championships in any event. Joining Merani and Sandidge as A-finalists were sophomore Grace Frericks and senior Anna Havens Rice. Frericks achieved the feat in the 200 backstroke, an event in which she placed seventh, while Rice qualified for the championship final in the 400 IM. Freshman Carson Hick was another one of the stories of the week for the Wildcats. Hick enjoyed an outstanding SEC Cham- pionships debut, posting the second-fast- est times in program history in both the 500 freestyle (4:15.18) and 1650 freestyle (14:47.84). The New Mexico native collect- ed top-ten finishes in both events, placing fifth in the mile and tenth overall in the 500 freestyle. In diving, Kentucky got its best results from senior Sam Duncan, who took ninth in the men’s 1-meter and 10th in the men’s 3-meter. On the women’s side, freshman Kristy Pfaff was 10th in the 3-meter, while Abby Dever- aux and Claire McDaniels finished 13th and 15th, respectively, on platform. For the week overall, UK had 14 different point scorers on the women’s team and 12 on the men’s. Kentucky now looks ahead to more post- season competition. NCAA Diving Zones are scheduled to take place in Louisville, March 14-16, while the CSCAA National Invite is held simultaneously in Ocala, Flor- ida. Rounding out the season are the 2024 Women’s NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Georgia, March 20-23, and the Men’s NCAA Championships in In- dianapolis, March 27-30. 2024 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Wrap-Up By Greg Welsh UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations Ryan Meranikentuckylegend.com For the finest, most flavorful meats, crafted and smoked with a patience unique to life in the South, there’s only one Kentucky original.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 72 @KentuckyMBB D r. Eli Capilouto became the 12th Pres- ident of the University of Kentucky on July 1, 2011. Under his leadership, the Commonwealth’s flagship and land grant research university has grown from $2.7 bil- lion to more than $6.8 billion in total opera- tions and has gained significant momentum in advancing Kentucky – the institution’s sin- gular yet multifaceted mission. President Capilouto has led a more than $4 billion transformation of the campus, aimed at enriching the living-learning ex- perience of UK’s students, ensuring their success; strengthening the university’s re- search infrastructure dedicated to solving Kentucky’s most intractable health and economic challenges; and expanding UK HealthCare’s capacity to teach, heal and serve. Through partnerships with the private sector, increased philanthropy and effective financial management, UK is self-financing much of this aggressive infrastructure devel- opment with the purpose of equipping the next generation of leaders who will impact our world for the better. Under his leadership, the priorities out- lined in the strategic plan and the innova- tion of the campus has resulted in historic student success; improved care of our peo- ple; unrivaled ingenuity; greater trust, trans- parency and accountability; and a more inclusive community. The progress on cam- pus is resulting in a high-quality workforce, greater diversity and improved well-being for the Commonwealth UK has served for nearly 160 years — all essential to advanc- ing Kentucky. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Capilouto previously served as provost of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and dean of the UAB School of Pub- lic Health – a period of remarkable growth and transformation at one of the leading academic and health sciences institutions in the South. Dr. Capilouto holds several undergraduate and graduate degrees from schools within the University of Alabama system, a Doctorate of Dental Medicine from UAB and a Doctorate in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University. He and his wife, Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto (D.M.D.) a former Dean of the UAB School of Dentistry, have one daughter. Eli Capilouto n President of the University of Kentuckyuky.edu | An Equal Opportunity University A WILDLY POWERFUL COMMUNITY Our people … the faculty and staff of the Univer- sity of Kentucky … they are what make this place special. It’s their capacity and commitment to come together for Kentucky. Together, they form a wildly powerful community. A community of thinkers and doers. A community committed to educating – and grad- uating – the best and brightest students. A Big Blue Nation committed to tackling today’s toughest battles. An end to the opioid crisis. It’s possible. Healthier lives for all Kentuckians. It’s possible. A brighter future for every Wildcat, our state and our world. It’s possible. Our boundless compassion and limitless resolve mean we never stop asking what’s possible. We never stop building it, either. Perhaps that’s why, for the sixth consecutive year, the University of Kentucky was named a Great College to Work For.KENTUCKY BASKETBALL N ow in his 22nd year as Director of Ath- letics at the University of Kentucky, Mitch Barnhart continues to expand his impact on national and regional levels, all while leading his Wildcats to consistent achievement in the arenas of competition, the classroom and in the community. Having the second-longest term of ser- vice among current ADs at schools in the Power 5 conferences, Barnhart’s experi- ence, knowledge and synthesis of athletic and academic success have made him a highly respected and sought-after presence across the scope of collegiate sports. Currently on the Selection Committee for the College Football Playoff, Barnhart has a long history of national service, highlight- ed by a five-year stint of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Committee that in- cluded a historic year as Chair of the first Covid-era event. He is one of only four peo- ple who have served on the football playoff committee and as chair of the men’s basket- ball tournament. Dedicated to the advancement of those whom he guides, Barnhart’s national influ- ence has grown through his “AD tree” – sev- en administrators and coaches who have worked for him and become Division I ath- letics directors. At Kentucky, the Wildcat athletic pro- gram has placed in the top 20 of the NACDA Directors’ Cup national all-sports standings for the last six years, one of only 10 schools that have earned that distinction. The best nine finishes in school history have been under Barnhart, all of which have come in the last 10 years. UK Athletics hit a peak in the Directors’ Cup in the 2021-22 school year, ascending to a school-record ninth place among the 363 Division I schools. Barnhart’s legacy at Kentucky includes success in a wide array of sports. All count- ed, UK has earned six NCAA champion- ship rings during Barnhart's term, includ- ing men's basketball in 2012, volleyball in ’20 and rifle in 2011, ’18, ’21 and ‘22. UK also has totaled 54 regular-season and tournament conference championships un- der his leadership, including first-time titles in baseball, women’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s swimming and diving. Over the last three years alone, five Wildcats have been named National Athlete of the Year in their sport. In addition, Asia Seidt of swimming and diving was chosen for the highly prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award, covering all female ath- letes in all divisions, for her combination of athletic success, academic excellence and dedication to community service. Numerous additional Wildcats have won national awards for their performances on the field, in the classroom and in the community. On the conference level, during Barn- hart’s term, Wildcats have been named the SEC Male and Female Athlete of the Year, the SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and the SEC Male and Female Community Service Leader of the Year. A school-record total of 20 Wildcat ath- letes and coaches participated in the Tokyo Olympics, bringing home a school-record 10 medals, including seven gold. The competitive success has been fol- lowed by personal recognition. In 2022, he was inducted into the (state of) Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and he received the John L. Toner Award for excellence in ath- letics administration from the National Foot- ball Foundation and College Hall of Fame. Those honors added to a growing list of accolades for Barnhart, who was selected the 2019 AD of the Year by the Sports Busi- ness Journal. The accomplishments are a result of Barnhart’s work since his arrival in the sum- mer of 2002. He has steadily invested in the growth of all UK teams while maintaining a singular commitment to the holistic devel- opment of Wildcat student-athletes. At the heart of everything are the core values Barnhart has instilled in the depart- ment he leads: character, integrity, knowl- edge, stewardship and competitiveness. A department-wide 3.0 grade-point av- erage among student-athletes and increased community service have been long-standing goals for Barnhart. The GPA benchmark was first met in the spring semester of 2010 and has now reached a streak of 22 consecutive semesters. In spring 2020, UK achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.534, the best in school history. UK athletes have set records for graduation rates. Community service has risen to more than 4,000 hours annually and includes out- reach to the Lexington area, the Common- wealth of Kentucky and as far away as Ethi- opia, the Dominican Republic and Panama. In 2021 and 2022, when natural disasters devastated western and eastern Kentucky, a pair of telethons sponsored by UK Athletics raised more than $8 million and numerous student-athletes and staff took part in oth- er fundraising projects, supply assistance, cleanup and the rebuilding process. In addition to the extraordinary achieve- ments of his work world, reaching new heights is also a theme of his personal life. An avid mountain climber, Barnhart has scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, the high- est mountain in Africa, along with two of the most challenging peaks in the United States, Mount Rainier in Washington and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. Impactful in community service, Barnhart has taken part in mission trips and is on the national advi- sory board of K-Love Radio. Barnhart is a native of Kansas City, Kan- sas. He and his wife, Connie, have three children and six grandchildren. Mitch Barnhart n Director of Athletics | University of Kentucky 74 @KentuckyMBBSUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK The John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky BasketballNext >