CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Carson-Newman swim team saw two school records broken and multiple athletes qualify for 'A' and 'B' finals in the preliminary races on the first day of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships in the Tar Heel state.
Sophomore Roberts Zemturis (Ventspils, Kurzeme) broke a school record in the 50-yard freestyle by finishing his prelim race in 19.96. The time easily landed the underclassmen into the number one overall spot in the final race during the evening.
"Swimming that fast in the 50-yard freestyle, 19 seconds is like a Division I time," Carson-Newman coach Jordan Taylor said. "That's a big boundary to try to break that 20-second barrier for sprint freestylers. That kind of makes that record more special, he's the first person in Carson-Newman history to go 19."
Zemturis was one of six Eagles to finish in the top-16, all of whom automatically qualified for the 50-yard freestyle finals later this evening.
Sophomore Nikita Puzevich (Belarus), junior Chad Andoljsek (Slovenia) and freshman Raphael de Paiva (Sao Paula, Brazil) all placed within the top-eight to make it to the 'A' final along with Zemturis.
Sophomore Andrei Ungur (Romania) and freshman Brandon Meier (Greeneville, S.C.) clocked in at ninth and eleventh, respectively, breaking into the 'B' final.
"To have four out of the top eight in the conference when you've got competition like the national champion Queens and nationally-ranked programs like Wingate, that's special," Taylor said. "That just shows our depth. In the past, we've had one person in the 'A' final and maybe one person in the 'B' final."
C-N also flexed the strength of its lineup in the men's 200-yard individual medley which saw two Eagles close inside the top-eight.
Senior Caleb Howell (Easley, S.C.) smashed a school record by tapping the wall at 1:47.42.
"It was big to have a senior like Caleb step up with a performance like that for us on day one," Taylor said. "For him, that's a big season's best, a school record and he'll go into the final ranked number one."
Sophomore Matthew George (Manchester, England) took sixth overall with a time of 1:50.55.
On the women's side, senior Mary Northcutt (Huntsville, Ala.) made it into the 'A' final in the 50-yard freestyle at 23.55, good enough for a seventh-place finish.
"Her performance today was great, she was extremely close to her best time," Taylor said. "She just had a bad finish which we talked about after the race. In an event that only takes 23 seconds, all the little details make a difference."
Right behind Northcutt was freshman Manon Compagner (Balkbrug, Netherlands) who placed eighth at 23.68 in her BMC Championships debut.
Junior Laurel Sankowski (Indian Trail, N.C.) splashed her way into the top-16 of the same race at 24.26.
Two Eagles showed up in the top-16 in the women's 200-yard individual medley when sophomore Meredith Ginn (Ocala, Fla.) and junior CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) finished tenth and 12th, respectively. The two will swim in the 'B' final this evening.
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman swim team on C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
