800 Free Relay finishes fifth to become All-Americans at Swimming and Diving Championships
INDIANAPOLIS – The Carson-Newman 800 Free Relay reset its school record and became the first C-N relay team to finish in the top-five at a NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships Friday night at the IUPUI Natatorium.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Carson-Newman 800 Free Relay reset its school record and became the first C-N relay team to finish in the top-five at a NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships Friday night at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Sophomore Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.), junior Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.), sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) and sophomore Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) finished fifth in the event to become All-Americans with a time of 7:25.92. The relay obliterated its previous school record by over two seconds.
Stansberry becomes just the second Eagle to earn two All-American honors at one Swimming and Diving Championships, while Melhorn, Smith and Raybon each took home their first accolades. Earlier this week, Smith became Carson-Newman's first-ever Elite 90 Award winner.
"What an amazing night," coach Paige McCord said. "These young ladies put together a perfect race as part of a fabulous season. We want to give God the glory."
Raybon picked up her second-career Honorable Mention All-American honor and her first individual Honorable Mention All-American accolade with a 12th-place finish in the 200 Fly. The sophomore tied her school record time with a swim of 2:03.68.
Raybon finished in 17th-place in the 500 Free with a time of 4:58.64, which is her best finish in the event at the Swimming and Diving Championships; last season, the Floridian finished in 22nd and three seconds off her sophomore year swim. Smith swam a 5:09.64 to finish 35th.
Melhorn reset her school record during her preliminary swim in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:02.98. During her consolation swim during the night portion, Melhorn finished 16th in the event with a time of 1:03.36.
Carson-Newman is in 15th-place after three days of competition at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships after climbing five spots. The Queens (N.C.) Royals have a commanding 124-point lead over Wingate; California – San Diego, Drury and Grand Valley State round out the top-five.
The final day of competition for the Eagles includes the 100 Free, 200 Breast and the 400 Free Relay. The prelims are set to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
