INDIANAPOLIS – The Carson-Newman swim team's 200 Medley Relay took home Honorable Mention All-American accolades on Wednesday night during the first day of competition in IUPUI Natatoirum at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.
The relay consisting of sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.), sophomore Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.), freshman Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and junior Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) placed 12th in the 200 Medley Relay to receive their plaudits in a time of 1:44.11.
Stansberry, Melhorn and Starnes repeated as Honorable Mention All-Americans after receiving the honors in 2015, while Culp garnered the award for the first time.
"It was a great start to the week and I am looking forward to the Eagles having a good week," coach Paige McCord said.
Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) finished 19th in the 1000 Free with a time of 10:17.05; the sophomore swam two seconds faster during her final swim compared to Raybon's swim in the prelims.
Melhorn finished 28th in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:07.76, while fellow sophomore Stansberry was disqualified. Melhorn's finish is the program's best-ever finish in the event.
In the 50 Free, Stansberry led the Eagles with a 25th-place showing and a time of 23.67 seconds; the sophomore's finish is the Eagles' top finish in the event. Culp's first swim at the National Championships resulted in a 37th-place finish with a swim of 23.84 seconds. Starnes finished with a time of 24.02 seconds to finish 44th, while freshman Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland) placed 48th.
Carson-Newman sits 22nd on the leaderboard with 10 points. Reigning national champions Queens (N.C.) leads with 127 points; Drury, Wingate, Wayne State and California - San Diego round out the top-five.
The second day of the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships begin on Thursday morning with C-N swimmers set to compete in the 200 Free Relay, 100 Fly, 200 Free and 400 Medley Relay.
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