JEFFERSON CITY, TN – Senior Caleb Howell (Easley, S.C.) of the Carson-Newman swim team was honored as the male swimmer of the week by the Bluegrass Mountain Conference for the week of Sept. 30th to Oct. 6th, 2019.
The award was bestowed upon Howell after he led the men's side of the swim team to a dominant win at the King Invitational in Bristol, Tennessee over the weekend. The men piled up 1,085 points while the second-place King University Tornado scored 471.5 points.
It was the first time Howell has received the honor.
"It feels good to have this kind of recognition this early in the season," Howell said "This being my first time, especially being my senior year it's nice to have finally been recognized like that in this conference."
As a whole, the Eagles won 32 out of 36 events including every relay event on their way to putting up 2,254 points, twice as many as any of the other nine programs that competed.
"I think it's just icing on the cake," Howell said. "We knew that we were going to be more than likely the people that showed up and won most of the events and so to say that we won 32 of 36 events was already amazing. To say that I got first in all of my events was amazing and so this kind of to top it all off is something that helped me put into perspective how well we're doing early on."
Howell won five individual events, including two first-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley. He also won the 400-yard IM and the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke races.
"I think it's to show that no matter how old you are, no matter what grade you're in, this is an achievement that you can get based off your own performance," Howell said. "Whether it be a win in a dual-meet or a swimmer of the week award, there's something you can aim for each week."
Howell and the rest of the Eagles will next suit up in a dual-meet against Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina on Oct. 18th and 19th.