KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Both Carson-Newman swim teams made history Friday night at the Kingsport Aquatic Center against the King Tornado and Emory & Henry Wasps as both teams set the school-record for wins in a season.
The women's team knocked off the Tornado 155.5-29.5 and Emory & Henry 120-85 while the men knocked off King 131-19. The women won eight of the 11 events and the men picked up nine victories. Those were wins number four and five for the women and win number four for the men.
Freshman Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) set her third school record of her inaugural campaign with the Eagles as she won the 1000 Free with a time of 10:56.93.
"I love to see how the team came together and raced well," coach Paige McCord said. "We have some preparation we now need to do."
Raybon and fellow freshman Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the way for the women's side with two individual wins apiece. Raybon's wins came in distance events as she won the 1000 Free and the 500 Free with a time of 5:16.12. Stansberry won the 200 Free in 1:55.78 and freshman Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) followed up closely in second in 1:58.46. Stansberry also won the 200 Back in 2:09.39 and sophomore Amanda Henderson (Bartlett, Tenn.) placed second.
Henderson picked a win of her own in the 400 IM, winning the event in 4:40.42. Sophomore Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) placed second. Sophomore Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) won the 50 Free in 24.95.
Reigning Female Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Week Courtlyn Fields (Anderson, S.C.) won her third event in the last two meets with a time of 2:16.81 in the 200 Fly.
Sophomore Natalie Burnett's (Sevierville, Tenn.) 54.43 picked up the win in the 100 Free.
"The Emory & Henry women's team is well coached and did a fantastic job. I'm the glad the women had the opportunity to race them," McCord said.
For the men's side, sophomore Tommy Bourgeois's (Kingsport, Tenn.) return to his home pool resulted in an Eagle season-best and two individual wins.
The Kingsport-native won the 1000 Free with the season's quickest time of 10:10.59. He also picked up a win in the 500 Free with a time of 5:03.47. Freshmen Andrew Wheeler (Newnan, Ga.) and Patrick McCarty (Bluff City, Tenn.) finished second and third respectfully to sweep the podium.
Wheeler picked up win number three as he won the 200 Fly with a time of 2:08.16. Freshman Joshua Graves (Hendersonville, Tenn.) placed second.
Sophomore Drew Rutledge (Lexington, S.C.) picked up his second win of the season by winning the 200 Free in 1:48.74. Sophomores Connor Graham (Irmo, S.C.) and Landis Cranford (Greensboro, N.C.) combined with Rutledge to make it a sophomore sweep for the Eagles.
Reigning Male BMC Swimmer of the Week Paul Ungur (Baia Mare, Romania) led the Eagles' sweep of the 50 Free. Ungur won the event in 21.42, while sophomore Samuel Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) placed second and Rutledge picked up third.
Stephen Parsons (Auburn, Ala.) continued his dominant senior campaign winning the 400 IM in 4:24.70. Freshman Davis Vincent (Loganville, Ga.) placed second. Parsons also led the team's sweep in the 100 Free. Parsons swam a 47.09, while senior Ben Young (Morristown, Tenn.) and Graham completed the sweep.
Vincent got a win of his own as the Georgia-native won the 200 Back in 2:09.97. Graves placed on the podium for the second time with the second-place finish.
"The men today had an opportunity to practice a few things with reduced competition," McCord said.
The Eagles return to Maddox Pool for the last time during the 2014-15 season as they host the Catawba Indians on Senior Day next Saturday at 1 p.m.
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