FORT MILL, S.C. – Senior CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) and sophomore Raphael Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) continued to cement themselves in the Carson-Newman swimming record books Friday night. Jensen, for the second time today, won and broke the school record in the women's 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:20.03. She now holds three of the top five program times in the event.
Lima was the lone Eagle competing in the men's 200-yard freestyle 'A' final and proved his place. He not only came in with the new record time of 1:35.71, but now holds three of the top five event times in program history as a sophomore.
With competition halfway thru after Friday's events, the Eagles steadily sit at third place overall for both men and women. The men have gained a total of 605.5 points while the women have mustered up 680 points in all competition.
Jensen was joined in the program record books by sophomore teammate Rachel Peden (Boiling Springs, S.C.) with her time of 4:23.26. This is now the fourth fastest time for C-N in the women's 400-yard individual medley with all current time holders (Jensen, Peden and junior Meredith Ginn) actively swimming. Other finishes for the event include junior Meredith Ginn (Ocala, Fla.) securing herself another top-five placement for the event while Rachel's sister, Rebecca Peden (Boiling Spring, S.C.) gained a top-15 finish to end start her night.
"Another amazing day for the team filled with great swims," head coach Jordan Taylor said. "The girls 400 IM as a whole was great. Fantastic to see not only CJ make a mark but have Meredith and Rachel get into the top-5 as well. Raphael on the 200 freestyle was incredible."
To assist Lima's new record in the 200-yard freestyle, junior Matthew George (Manchester, England), freshman Denilson Cyprianos (Bulawayo, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe), junior Brandon Meier (Greenville, S.C.), and freshman Carson Jones (Southaven, Miss.) all came in the top-15 which amassed some valuable points toward the overall men's score.
Freshman Nicolas Lenuza (Spain) came in the top-10 for the men's 100-yard butterfly at a time of 48.59. This is now tied for the third-fastest event time for Eagles history. Lenuza was able to see teammates sophomore Nikita Puzevich (Belarus) garner a top-10 finish as well while fellow freshman Pep Castells (Spain) made an impact in his BMC debut, gaining a valuable top-15 finish.
Sophomore Manon Compagner (Balkburg, The Netherlands) has been a force to be reckoned with in the women's 100-yard butterfly all season. Friday night was no different as the Dutch claimed the fourth-fastest Eagles time of 54.88 which gave her a very competitive and close second place. Compagner alongside freshman Chrisman Rand (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), senior Laurel Sankowski (Indian Trail, N.C.) and freshman Kennadi King (Marietta, Ga.) all came in the top-15 for the event.
Making his BMC debut in his home state, freshman Benaiah McDowell (Simponsville, S.C.) splashed and paddled his way to a 4:02.58 time in the 400-yard IM. He now holds the fourth-fastest time in Eagles history for this event and saw himself place 11th among competitors. McDowell was supported by juniors Joey Clemmer (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Kodee Eades (Johnson City, Tenn.) who continued their season success with top-15 finishes as well.
The women of Carson-Newman swimming kept up their consistency as they battled to a duo of top-10 and a top-20 finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Summer Osborne (Clearwater, Fla.) led the way with her top-10 time of 1:52.97 with King joining her in the top-10 with a time of 1:54.88. Sophomore Linda Ungerboeck (Vienna, Austria) and freshman Makayla Young (Lexington, Ky.) cleared the top-20 with their performers to give the Eagles valuable event points.
The final event of the night ended in a couple of hard-fought battles for the Eagles squads. The women's 400-yard medley team of Jensen, sophomore Kailee Morgan (Greenville, S.C.), Compagner, and Osborne battled their way to a third-place finish with a time of 3:48.07 behind the Queens and Wingate teams. On the men's side, freshman Chase Rayment (South Africa), Clemmer, Puzevich, and senior Chad Andoljsek (Slovenia) battled their way to a 3:20.10 fourth place finish behind Queens, Wingate, and Lenoir Rhyne.
"Swimmers were stepping up in finals with their best times, top 5 program times, school records, and even some high national rankings," Taylor said. "These next few days should be exciting as a whole."
The Eagles return for day 3 of BMC competition tomorrow starting with prelims at 10 a.m.
The event is being livestreamed by Queens University and the streaming link can be found at cneagles.com. Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman swim team on C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
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