INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.- Manon Compagner became the first woman in the history of Carson-Newman's athletic department to lay claim to a national championship while she set the record books ablaze at day two of the NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships Thursday night at the IUPUI Natatorium.
Compagner turned in a gold medal performance in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.45 seconds. With the effort, she becomes the swim program's first national champion for either the men or the women and joins Lazaro Reinoso (Wrestling, 149 pounds, 2000) and Tanner Stepp (Indoor Track and Field, High Jump, 2.17-meters, 2018) as the only individual NCAA national champions for C-N.
"What a night," Carson-Newman head swim coach Ben Young said. "Manon's swim was absolutely fantastic, and I'm still trying to fathom having our first national champion. She has worked so hard to come back this year with a purpose, and all of it most certainly showed tonight".
Compagner's national title was one of two podium finishes for the women's swim program. She also swam in the 400-yard medley relay with Kyla Blakemore, Breanna Belcher, and Kennadi King. The quartet earned a bronze medal with a finals time of 3:41.57.
"The women's 400 medley had an incredible swim as well with the highest relay placement of any C-N relay," Young said. "The men's team went the fastest they had ever gone this season, and a 13th place finish is a move up for us. It was another solid swim from them, and seeing them progress throughout the week gives me a lot of confidence of what is to come".
The men's team placed 13th in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:14.35. Arthur Gluzman, Asger Hartvig, Wander Sousa, and Hobson Stelling contributed to the finish.
In a night of firsts, the Balkbrug, Netherlands-native Compagner, also becomes the first South Atlantic Conference swimming national champion and the seventh in the history of the league overall. She joins Queens' Nikia Squire as the only women in league history to earn individual national championships.
HER! ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 10, 2023
5️⃣2️⃣.4️⃣5️⃣ and a gold medal for @cnswim's first NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
������ Manon Compagner #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/aHSe1rOjuT
Compagner's first-place finish grants the women's swimmer the Carson-Newman swim program record for the event. She now holds the top four times in Carson-Newman women's swim history in the 100-yard butterfly. Three of those times have been recorded times this season. Thursday night's swim marks the second time this season that Compagner has bested herself for a new personal record in the event.
These bring Compagner's total to three All-American swims at the event. She also placed fifth in the women's 50-yard freestyle, earning the title of All-American during the first day of national competition for the Eagles. Compagner swam the preliminary event in 22.87 before besting herself in the finals in 22.81. Her efforts added 14 points to the Eagles' score in the championships.
At the conclusion of day two, Carson-Newman women's swim sits ranked seventh in the nation, while the men take the 17th spot in the national meet.
Compagner's national championship is the eighth overall for individuals in the department when factoring in C-N's days as members of the NAIA and the 14th when including team trophies.
The baseball team won the department's first team title in 1965, while the football team had a run of five national titles in the 1980s (1983, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1989). Larry Cooke (1978) won the department's first individual national championship taking home gold in the long jump.
The Eagles' other four individual national championships from the NAIA days (pre-1993) are all from the wrestling program. Brian Nelson (134 pounds -1985), Jeffrey Wright (118 pounds – 1988), Jeff Bedard (126 pounds – 1992) and Bernard Durham (158 pounds – 1993) all wore gold for the wrestling program before it moved to NCAA Division II.
The third day of NCAA DII Swimming and Diving Championships will begin Friday, Mar. 10 at 10:00 a.m. Rachel Peden will compete in the fifth preliminary heat for the women's 500-yard freestyle, and Kyla Blakemore will take on the second heat of the women's 100-yard backstroke prelims. Asger Hartvig will compete in the second heat of the men's 100-yard breaststroke. Finals will begin at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow evening. Results will be available HERE or on the meet mobile app. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
