JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head swim coach Paige McCord announced the signings of six men's swimmers to balloon the Eagles' second men's signing class to seven.
Davis Vincent (Loganville, Ga., Loganville High School), Justin McCarty (Bluff City, Tenn. Tennessee High School), Joshua Graves (Hendersonville, Tenn., Beech High School), Ben Marshall (Evans, Ga., South Georgia State College), Andrew Wheeler (Newnan, Ga., Northgate High School) and Manny Mendoza (Round Rock, Texas, University of Tennessee).
"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to coach these young men," Carson-Newman head swim coach Paige McCord said. "They are top level guys who should push us further as a program."
Davis Vincent, 6-1, 165 pounds, Loganville, Ga., backstroke/IM:
Twitter: @Davis_Vincent96
Vincent is a NCSA Junior Nationals qualifier in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke, as well as the 2000 individual medley. His top time in the 100 is 53.49 seconds and 1:56.35 in the 200 back.
In his senior year, he helped the Red Devils to a top-10 finish in the 400 freestyle relay at the Georgia high school state championship meet for class A-AAAAA.
"He adds a lot of depth for us in the backstroke," McCord said. "I can't wait to work with him on some of his technical points to add a lot of speed to his stroke."
He was Loganville High School's team captain from his sophomore to senior seasons and is the school record holder for the 100-yard backstroke. He was also on school record-setting teams for the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay.
The son of Mike and Vicky Vincent, Davis was a member of Beta Club in high school and plans to major in pre-med at C-N with an eye on becoming a dentist.
Justin McCarty, 6-1, 165 pounds, Bluff City, Tenn.:
Voted Most dedicated swimmer by his high school teammates following his sophomore season. He had qualifying times for the Tennessee state meet in the 500, 200, 100 and 50 free in his sophomore season and those events and the 100 butterfly following his junior campaign.
"He's a new swimmer to the sport, but he's progressed very quickly over the last two years," McCord said. "His work ethic has already been demonstrated immensely."
Joshua Graves, 6-1, 175 pounds, Hendersonville, Tenn., butterfly/backstroke/freestyle:
Graves garnered a trio of top 16 finishes at the regional meet in his senior season, hitting the 54-second mark in the 100 butterfly and the 55-second mark in the 100 back.
He was Beech's team MVP his junior year and the captain of the team in his senior year. He was the first male swimmer for the Buccaneers to qualify for the state meet, doing so three years running.
"Joshua has huge upside," McCord said. "He's a talented sprinter in the butterfly and the backstroke."
A highly decorated academician, Graves is a member of the National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, BETA Club and FBLA. He is a high school academic All-American and will graduate from Beech summa cum laude.
He is the son of Blake Graves and plans to study finance at Carson-Newman.
Ben Marshall, 6-2, 170 pounds, Evans, Ga., butterfly/IM:
Twitter: @TheBenMarshall
Marshall was a national qualifier for South Georgia College in the 100 and 200 butterfly. He finished seventh in the 200 and ninth in the 100 at the NJCAA national championship.
"He has a ton of ability in the 200 IM and the butterfly," McCord said. "He's a junior, so it'll be a benefit there because we are still so young as a team."
Marshall earned All-American honors in the 200 fly his second year with the Hawks. The program won a regional championship in 2014.
He is the son of David and Ginny Marshall. His father played baseball at Augusta State (now GRU Augusta). He plans to major in communications at Carson-Newman.
Andrew Wheeler, 5-11, 143 pounds, Newnan, Ga. :
A GHSA state finalist, throughout his senior season, Wheeler notched first place finishes in the 100 fly, 200 IM, 500 free and 200 free.
"When I think of him, I think of versatility," McCord said. "He's really quick in the 500 and 1,000, as well as the butterfly. He'll be crucial for us to have 18 scorers at conference."
He had the highest GPA among any males on his high school team from his sophomore year to his senior season. He was also the high point male during his junior campaign.
Wheeler is the son of Pattie and Fred Wheeler, Andrew was a member of the National Honor Society and the BETA Club. He was also an AP Scholar in high school. He plans to study exercise science at C-N.
Manny Mendoza, 5-11, 155 pounds, Round Rock, Texas, IM/backstroke/distance freestyle:
While swimming at the University of Tennessee, he competed exclusively during the fall semester in four meets: UNC Wilmington, Louisville, Ohio State, and Tennessee Invitational
He swam eight events for the Vols in that span, primarily the 100 breaststroke and the individual medleys.
"He also provides some age for us coming to us from campus. He'll jump in and be a top scorer for us and an immediate contributor."
He recorded three top-8 finishes in the 100 breaststroke, with his top time coming at the Tennessee Invitational (1:01.63)
Prior to UT, Mendoza clocked a qualifying time for the 2012 US Olympic Trials in the 400 IM. He was a member of the Nitro Swimming club, where he primarily competed in the individual medleys and distance freestyle events. He was a three-time junior national medalist and a member of USA Swimming's Top 10 list.
He is the son of Herbert and Penni Mendoza and will study business at C-N.
