VIDEO: Caleb Howell Wins BMC Male Swimmer of the Week Award
JEFFERSON CITY, TN – Senior Caleb Howell (Easley, S.C.) of the Carson-Newman swim team was honored as the male swimmer of the week by the Bluegrass Mountain Conference for the week of Nov.11 to Nov.17, 2019.
The award was bestowed upon Howell after he took first place in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:51.56 on the first day of the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia. The time was the fastest recorded in that event by any swimmer in all of Division II so far this season.
"I think a lot of it is mental," Howell said. "…For me, it was all about tempo, speed and making sure that I was going fast in the places that I needed to go fast and making sure that I kind of, you know, held back so that way I could save up for the rest of the race."
Howell also placed first in the 200-yard breaststroke and second in the 400-yard individual medley, good enough for the fifth and ninth fastest times in the nation this year, respectively.
"I've done it enough to the point where I'm confident in my race strategy," Howell said. "I'm confident knowing what it is that I need to do in those races."
This is the second time Howell has been honored just this season alone as he received the same award for the week of Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.
"It's really satisfying to be able to get it twice," Howell said. "…The coaches from the rest of the conference vote as to what swimmers get it and so to see that the rest of the coaches from all of the teams in our conference kind of voted for me is a big deal because I'm seeing that not only am I known at Carson-Newman, I'm known at the rest of the schools too."
Howell, like every member of the swim team, will continue to try and improve his race times throughout the season. The more the Eagles improve upon their finishes, the better their national ranking will be and the more swimmers will qualify for nationals.
"Just swimming those events now at this point in the season is just basically trying to make sure that I get those top times so that way I can compete for nationals," Howell said. "That's what's the most important to me and a lot of us right now is just making sure that aside of just winning the events or getting, you know, top-two in these events that we're putting in good times so that way we can go to nationals in March."
The men are currently 19th in the nation while the women are ranked 18th overall.
Howell and the rest of the Eagles will next suit up in a dual-meet against Lees-McRae College at home in Jefferson City, Tennessee on Nov.16 at 12 p.m.
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman swim team all season long C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
