INDIANAPOLIS – Sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) received her first career All-American honor and reset her school record in the 200 Free during the second day of competition at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championship at IUPUI Natatorium on Thursday.
Stansberry finished fifth in the event with a time of 1:48.66, which was fifth-tenths of a second quicker than her time at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships last month. The sophomore qualified eighth during the prelims.
Sophomore Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) finished in 19th in the 200 Free and swam a career-best time of 1:51.66. Fellow sophomore Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) placed 23rd with a swim of 1:51.91. Stansberry, Raybon and Melhorn became the first trio of Eagles to all finish in the top-25 of an event at the Swimming and Diving Championships.
"I'm very proud of Margaret. This young lady perserved to be a champion tonight," coach Paige McCord said.
Freshman Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland), freshman Elly Culp (West End, N.C.), junior Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) finished 15th in the 200 Free Relay with a swim of 1:35.73. The relay finished two seconds off the school record.
Culp finished 26th in the 100 Fly with a time of 56.74 seconds, which was over a second off her season-best time.
The 400 Medley Relay consisting of Postma, junior Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.), Culp and Starnes placed 18th in the event with a time of 3:54.92, which is eight seconds off the school record.
Carson-Newman is in 20th-place with 28 points. The Queens (N.C.) Royals lead with 266 points, while Wingate has 209 points and sits in second. California - San Diego, Drury and Wayne State (Mich.) round out the top-five.
The 500 Free, 100 Breast, 200 Fly and 800 Free Relay highlight the third day of competition for the Eagles from the Hoosier State. The preliminary heats are slated to get started at 10 a.m. from the IUPUI Natatorium.
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