Melhorn, Burcham shine on second day of Georgia Tech Invitational
ATLANTA – Carson-Newman sophomore swimmer Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new school record in the 100 Breast and sophomore Ryan Burcham recorded the Eagles’ best individual finish in the 100 Fly during the second day of the Georgia Tech Invitational in McCauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
ATLANTA – Carson-Newman sophomore swimmer Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new school record in the 100 Breast and sophomore Ryan Burcham recorded the Eagles' best individual finish in the 100 Fly during the second day of the Georgia Tech Invitational in McCauley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.
Melhorn set a new school record and placed 22nd in the 100 Breast with a swim of 1:04.12. The sophomore's swim bested her previous record by three-tenths of a season. Melhorn also registered her first B-cut time of the season. Burcham finished seventh, the best individual finish by an Eagle thus far at the meet, in the 100 Fly with a time of 48.92 seconds. Burcham's swim was just four-tenths of a second slower than the school record set by All-American Paul Ungur last season. Burcham also recorded a B-cut time.
The men's team started with a sixth-place finish in the 200 Medley. Sophomore Davis Vincent (Loganville, Ga.), freshman Ryland Darling (Arlington, Tenn.), Burcham and junior Sam Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) swam the event in 1:32.82.
Junior Josh Grover (Villa Rica, Ga.) placed 18th in the 400 Individual Medley with a swim of 4:05.35. Grover's swim was just three seconds shy of his school record.
Freshman Pijus Mackevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) finished in 19th in the in the 100 Fly with the quickest swim in his career of 50.96 seconds.
Freshman Jon Lancaster (Ringgold, Ga.) led the team in the 200 Free with a time of 1:41.23 and a 24th-place finish. The swim was the freshman's career best and the program's quickest this year; it also was quick enough to be considered a B-cut. Freshman Garrett Stelling (Eads, Tenn.) and junior Tommy Bourgeois (Kingsport, Tenn.) finished 29th and 30th, respectively.
Darling and junior Landis Cranford (Greensboro, N.C.) placed in 28th and 29th-places in the 100 Breast. Darling's swim of 58.46 seconds is the best time this season.
Vincent placed 17th in the 100 Back with a swim of 51.35 in the finals of the 100 Back; the sophomore swam a 51.06, his career best, in Friday's prelims.
The men's team ended the night with a sixth-place finish in the 800 Free Relay with a swim of 6:56.31. The relay consisted of Lancaster, Stelling, Grover and Bourgeois.
The women's team opened the night with an eighth-place finish in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:44.53 as the combination of sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.), Melhorn, freshman Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and junior Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished one second of the school record. The relay's time was a B-cut time.
Junior Amanda Henderson (Bartlett, Tenn.) placed 25th in the 400 Individual Medley with a swim of 4:33.59, which was her career fastest swim and the second-quickest in school history.
Stansberry finished in 14th in the 200 Free with a time of 1:50.51 seconds, which was three-tenths of a second shy of her school record. Sophomore Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) recorded her career best swim in the event with a swim of 1:53.95. Stansberry's time was a B-cut while Raybon missed the cut by two-tenths of a second.
Melhorn, Stansberry, Raybon and junior Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) placed eighth in the 800 Free Relay with a time of 7:38.77.
The final day of the Georgia Tech Invitational takes place Saturday in McCauley Aquatic Center.
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