JEFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman swimming was finally back in action from their home pool for the first time since October 8 as they hosted the Lees-McRae Bobcats on Saturday.
Saturday was all about the Eagles as the program splashed past the Bobcats 312-169 overall with victories on both men's and women's side of competition. For the women's side of the pool, it was Carson-Newman winning 144-96 while the men took home a 168-73 victory.
This is the second straight victory for the Eagles over the Bobcats after defeating them 390-116 last spring. Overall, this is Carson-Newman's second straight dual meet win in 2021 after they defeated Milligan 328-193 earlier this season.
The Eagles were dominant once the whistle finally blew to start action as they won 20 out of the 26 total events from the MSAC pool on the campus of Carson-Newman Saturday.
The Eagles saw victories in every relay on Saturday as well as a pair of individual victories from freshman Hobson Stelling (Memphis, Tenn.) and Felix Lund (Herlev, Denmark). As the Eagles continued to prepare for the conclusion of their fall season next week, no female athlete won more than one event on Saturday.
Hobson Stelling got his day started as the winner of the men's 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.79 seconds. The Memphis, Tenn. native then gathered his second win of the day with a time of 46.49 in the men's 100-yard freestyle. Stelling was ecstatic to get back into the pool as he and his teammates prepare for the UT Invitational next week.
Felix Lund would first get the victory in the men's 50-yard freestyle with a final time of 21.27. This was huge for C-N as the second-place finisher, Caleb Eidson of the Bobcats, was closely behind as he finished second with a time of 21.29.
To start the day, Carson-Newman took home victories in the men's and women's 400-yard medley relay. In the women's competition, the quartet of Kyla Blakemore (Durban, South Africa), Mandi Chadwell (Knoxville, Tenn.), Natalia Amano (Brazil), and Kennadi King (Marietta, Ga.) took the win in a time of 4:02.13 as the 'C' team for C-N relays.
Then, the men's 400-yard medley relay was property of C-N after a winning time of 3:32.10. The time was turned in by the quartet of Kodee Eads (Johnson City, Tenn.), Kevin Meuwissen (Limburg, The Netherlands), Zach Telep (Knoxville, Tenn.), and Aaron Bauer (Stapleton, Ala).
A major standout for the C-N women's team on Saturday was junior Kailee Morgan (Greenville, S.C.). Morgan once again was the star of the show in the women's 100-yard breaststroke. With her final time of 1:03.54, Morgan not only took home the event win on Saturday but secured her three straight meet win in the event this season.
Then, the afternoon concluded with a sweep in the men's and women's 400-yard freestyle relay by the Eagles. First, the women's quartet of Rachel Peden (Boiling Springs, S.C.), Anna Tudor (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Katelyn Toussaint (Knoxville, Tenn.), and Meredith Ginn (Ocala, Fla.) swam past their opponents to a time of 3:45.48 and the event win. This is the second straight time the Eagles have won the women's 400-yard freestyle relay this season.
Finally, the men's 400-yard freestyle relay team for C-N would be a full-on freshman effort. The team of Eli Poole (Spanish Fort, Ala.), Tyler Schehr (West Chester, Ohio), Colin Tindall (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), and Felix Lund turned in a time of 3:13.33. This would win the event as the men's team copied their female counterparts as they have now won two straight 400-yard freestyle relays this season.
The Carson-Newman swim team next competes in their biggest event of the fall, the UT Invitational, from November 18-20. The three-day event will pit C-N against some formidable Division I opponents as well as allow for them to benchmark themselves in all of college swimming.
The action takes place from the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Be sure to keep up with the team across C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
