Morales Claims Two Golds, Corcoran Adds Another as Eagles Excel on Day Three
Carson-Newman continued its strong showing Friday on day three of the 2026 South Atlantic Conference Swimming Championships, posting multiple podium finishes and a conference-record performance at the Kingsport Aquatic Center
VIDEO: Megan Corcoran Interview
VIDEO: Gabriel Morales Interview
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Carson-Newman continued its strong showing Friday on day three of the 2026 South Atlantic Conference Swimming Championships, posting multiple podium finishes and a conference-record performance at the Kingsport Aquatic Center.
"It was another solid day," said head coach Ben Young. "Yesterday we talked about building off the momentum and making sure that every race the team brings energy. We're focusing on the task at hand, which is doing better than we did in the morning and moving up finals spots. It was another night of the team doing just that."
The day was highlighted by another dominant performance from Gabriel Morales, who captured gold in the men's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 48.02 seconds, setting a new South Atlantic Conference meet record. Morales added a second victory later in the session, winning the men's 200-yard butterfly in 1:47.58, narrowly missing his own meet record set earlier in the championships.
"I did a lot of mental preparation before the races," said Morales on his two gold medal performances. "Combining the 100 backstroke and the 200 fly in the same night made for some tough races. Both races require a lot of leg drive, and it took a lot of preparation on my turns to figure out how to execute the right way."
Carson-Newman earned a podium finish in the men's 100 backstroke as Will Humphreys touched the wall third overall in 48.77. Arthur Gluzman also scored in the championship final with a time of 49.73.
On the women's side, Megan Corcoran continued her standout meet with a gold medal performance in the 200-yard butterfly, winning the event in 2:01.35. Corcoran controlled the race from the opening length and collected maximum points for the Eagles. Martina Ivanova added to the scoring with a seventh-place finish in 2:08.02.
"I was really proud and happy to win this medal, especially after winning it last year," said Corcoran. "I swam faster than I did this morning, and that's all I can ask for. It made me happy knowing I still had something left in the tank."
In distance events, Fernanda Antunes Paranhos delivered a podium finish in the women's 500-yard freestyle, placing third with a time of 5:00.89. Lillian Hilt followed with a 12th-place finish in 5:16.22, while several Eagles scored in the B Final to add depth points.
The men's 500-yard freestyle featured multiple Carson-Newman scorers, led by Jack Hebert, who placed 11th overall with a 4:36.07 effort. Gabriel Catapano added points with a 4:45.27 swim for 15th, while Cameron Nichols captured the C Final in 4:51.06.
Additional scoring came in the breaststroke events. Ryan Berry placed sixth in the men's 100-yard breaststroke, touching in 55.79, while Paola Gonzalez finished seventh in the women's 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:04.83.
Carson-Newman capped the night in the relays, placing third in the women's 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:37.65, and third in the men's 200-yard freestyle relay, clocking 1:21.85 to close the session.
The Eagles return for day four of the South Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday, beginning with prelims at 10 a.m., followed by finals at 5 p.m.
For updates throughout the week, follow @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or Carson-Newman Athletics on Facebook. Full coverage is also available at cneagles.com.
