BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On the final day of the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships, the Carson-Newman swim team made the most of their opportunities during the preliminary races on Saturday morning, earning spots in three of the evening's "B" finals.
The first spot C-N grabbeb in one of Saturday night's races came in the women's 100 free courtesy of Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.). By tying for 13th with a mark of 50.80, the junior, who has already picked up All-American nods in the 200 free relay, the 200 free and the 800 free relay, gained an opportunity to add one more honor to her growing list of accomplishments.
Four races later, in the women's 200 breaststroke, it was Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) making her presence in Birmingham known again. Melhorn, who set a new school record in the event at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships, again rewrote the program record book by clocking in at 2:15.28, nearly two full seconds ahead of her previous best. The Knoxville native missed out on a top eight finish by two one-hundredths of a second and will be a participant the "B" final. She will also be attempting to garner All-American recognition for the fourth time at the NCAA Championships.
Coach Jordan Taylor saw his team pick up one more spot in Saturday night's events when Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland), Mary Northcutt (Huntsville, Ala.), Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and Stansberry came in 16th in the 400 free relay. They combined to complete the race in 3:27.46 and will be in the pool again for the "B" final.
Andrei Roman (Medias, Romania) came in 25th in the men's 200 breaststroke with a mark of 2:03.53. In the men's 400 free relay, Jon Lancaster (Ringgold, Ga.), Seth Hughes (Kingston, Tenn.), Samuel Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) Jonny Goss (Heiskell, Tenn.) placed 19th, hitting the wall in 3:02.87.
For live video and updates on the swimming and diving championships visit ncaa.com. At the completion of the evening, cneagles.com is where you can go for the full wrap-up.
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