Lancaster sets school record on first day of Georgia Tech Fall Invitational

Lancaster sets school record on first day of Georgia Tech Fall Invitational

Thursday's Result Sheets

ATLANTA – A Carson-Newman school record fell during the first day of the Georgia Tech Fall Invitational at McAuley Aquatic Center as the Eagles' swim team competed against 14 Division I programs and the teams registered five provisional B-cut times.

Freshman Jon Lancaster (Ringgold, Ga.) set his second school record of his short career in the 500 Free to lead the Eagles.

"We had a wonderful swim today. It was a great day one. There were a lot of best times, which is a good preview of things to come. Hats off to the team for competing so well on the first day of the meet," coach Paige McCord said.

The women's 200 Free Relay team consisting of freshman Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland), sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.), freshman Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and junior Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished eighth with a time of 1:34.75, which was three-tenths of a second off the school record set last season.

Sophomore Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) finished 23rd in the 500 Free with a B-cut time swim of 5:02.14. The sophomore's swim is the quickest by an Eagle this season and was just four seconds off her school record.

Starnes swam her career fast time of 23.78 seconds in the 50 Free and achieved a B-cut time in the prelims. In the finals, the junior swam a 24.05 second race and placed 30th.

In Thursday morning's prelims, Stansberry set a B-cut time in the 200 Individual Medley with a swim of 2:06.70, which was eight-hundredths of a second off her school record. Culp swam a career fast time in the 50 Free with a time of 24.14 seconds and missed on a B-cut time by one-tenth of a second.

The women's team capped the night in the 400 Medley Relay with a ninth-place finish with a time of 3:49.43; the team consisted of Stansberry, sophomore Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.), Culp and Postma.

Lancaster set a school record in the 500 Free with a swim of 4:36.28 and beat the previous record by junior Tommy Bourgeois (Kingsport, Tenn.) by nearly two seconds. The freshman's swim was quick enough for a B-cut and he is now in contention for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. Lancaster finished 23rd in the event. Bourgeois finished 30th with a time of 4:45.77.

The men's 200 Free Relay team finished sixth with a swim of 1:22.41 and consisted of freshman Jonny Goss (Heiskell, Tenn.), Pijus Mackevicius (Kaunsa, Lithuania), freshman Garrett Stelling (Eads, Tenn.) and junior Sam Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.).

Schechter set a B-cut time in the 50 Free of 20.64 seconds in the prelims and finished in 14th in the finals with a time of 20.71; Goss finished 27th in the event with a swim of 21.22 while Mackevicius placed 30th after a time of 21.26 seconds. Garrett finished just outside of Thursday night's finals with a time of 21.32 seconds.

Sophomore Davis Vincent (Loganville, Ga.) placed 28th in the 200 Individual Medley with a swim of 1:54.60, which is the team's quickest time in the event this season. Junior Josh Grover (Villa Rica, Ga.) placed 31st with a swim of 1:55.86 while sophomore Ryan Burcham (Lenoir City, Tenn.) finished in 33rd with time of 1:56.37.

The men's 400 Medley Relay team of freshman Seth Hughes (Kingston, Tenn.), junior Landis Cranford (Greensboro, N.C.), Burcham and Schechter finished in 3:24.87 and placed sixth; the relay's time was the quickest of the year.

The Georgia Tech Mid-Season Invitational continues Friday at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. 

-CN-