Strong showing from Schechter, relay teams start nationals for Eagles

Sam Schechter
Sam Schechter

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships got underway on Wednesday morning and the Carson-Newman swim team competed in six of the day's eight events, putting forth their best showings in the final three events, the men's 50 free and the men's and women's 200 medley relays.

"A lot of this morning was getting the nerves out," said swim coach Jordan Taylor. "Both of our relays were really close to breaking the school records. We're hoping for records in all three of our events tonight, from our relay teams and from Sam [Schechter]."

In the sixth race of the competition, the men's 50 free, Sam Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted the 16th best time, hitting the wall in 20.31, which was good enough to earn him a spot in the finals.

In the men's 200 relay, Seth Hughes (Kingston, Tenn.), Andrei Roman (Medias, Romania), Pijus MacKevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Schechter teamed up for a time of 1:29.02, the day's tenth best. For the women, Mary Northcutt (Huntsville, Ala.), Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.), Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland) clocked in at 1:44.37, which put them 16th.

Both relay teams, as well as Schechter, qualified for the "B" final on Wednesday night, which, barring a disqualification, will earn them recognition as Honorable Mention All-Americans.

The day began with the women's 1000 free and junior Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) came in 17th with a mark of 10.14.96. Two events later, Melhorn was joined by Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn) in the women's 200 IM. Melhorn finished with a final time of 2:05.85 that put her 25th, while Stansberry placed 33rd after she came in at 2:06.76. Stansberry also participated in the women's 50 free, swimming that race in 23.94 and finishing 36th.

The finals are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with live coverage available at ncaa.com/sports/swimming-men/d2. For results and a recap of Wednesday night's action, visit cneagles.com.

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