Howell places in top-10, Eagles finish 2nd in National Championships

Posted: Sep 16, 2017

Lawrence, Kan. – Sophomore Caleb Howell led all Carson-Newman swimmers after placing 10th in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Collegiate Open Water Championship.

As a team, Carson-Newman placed five swimmers in the top-25 to finish 2nd in the nation with 35 points, only trailing first-place finisher Missouri, with tallied 8 points. The Eagles beat out George Washington who came in at No. 3 with 41 points.

The race at Lone Star Lake consists of a two-loop swim that covers 3.1 milers (5K). The championship field for the men's side consists of 42 males coming from a diverse group of colleges and universities spanning across the entire United States, including some of the top Division 1 schools.

"The start of the race was very aggressive and violent," said Coach Jordan Taylor. "All the guys are pumped for this race. National Championships don't come along often so they wanted to make the most of it today."

Time for @cnswim to make its mark in the men's race! pic.twitter.com/EfexwZGF4z
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) September 16, 2017

After one-loop at the Lake, the Eagles found themselves with four swimmers in the top-20. Two of those swimmers would find themselves in the top-10 with just 400m left in the race.

Carson-Newman would finish the race with three inside the top-20, with Casey Charles and Marcelo Figueiredo coming in behind Howell at 12th and 15th respectively. The Eagles held a total of 5 swimmers in the top-25 en route to finishing as the No. 1 D2 team in the country.

"Our guys were outstanding," exclaimed Taylor. "Overall the race was just awesome, and we worked hard and had fun with it. The guys are over the moon with being the second team and National Champs for D2. Really pleased for them and its well desrrved."

Howell, a native of Easley, S.C., completed the 5K race in 1:04:16.66 finishing ahead of swimmers from top schools Texas A&M and George Washington. The freshman Charles clocked in to the 12 position at 1:04:18.35 and junior Figueiredo finished at 1:04:23.06.

"Our team as a whole was extremely prepared, tough practices, lake swims, pace work, and having a positive mindset helped put us above the rest of the competition," said Howell. "I am super proud of how our team held their own especially with the tough competition that where here at national championships. Everyone showed up to do great things and the results reflect the hard work and determination that each one of us showed in our races.

"Swimming in a lake is a completely different game than swimming in a pool. In a pool you have your own lane, space and race plan. When you are thrown into a lake with 48 other people with no room to yourself swimming then becomes a contact sport. Having to swim past, around, behind and in front of a pack of swimmers is a lot more difficult than people may realize."

Two other junior swimmers cracked in the top-25 including Josh Winn who completed the race in 1:08:17.71, and Carson Knox in 1:08:40.37. Josh Terrell came in at #29 with a final time of 1:10:10.01. Sophomore Paden Duke finished right outside the top-30 with a time of 1:10:17.45.

"It really showed the depth of our team beating George Washington and finishing just behind Missouri. Being the first Division-II team in the nation is something special," added Taylor.

You can view the full results here.