INDIANAPOLIS – Sophomore Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) became the first Carson-Newman swimmer to record three All-American accolades by taking home the honor Saturday night at the IUPUI Natatorium during the final day of competition at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.
Stansberry finished third in the 100 Free and reset the school record in the event with a time of 49.92 seconds to register the All-American award; the sophomore becomes the first Eagle to swim the event in less than 50 seconds. Stansberry passed former teammate Natalie Burnett to achieve the honor three times during one Swimming and Diving Championships. The Knoxville-native was also an All-American in the 200 Free and 800 Free Relay.
Freshman Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland) swam a 52.66 to finish in 50th-place in the event, while junior Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) placed 53rd with a time of 53.02.
"What a way to wrap the meet. We had several swimmers record lifetime bests and memories for a lifetime," coach Paige McCord said.\
In the 200 Breast, sophomore Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) placed 19th with a time of 2:18.60, which was three-tenths of a second off her school record. Melhorn tied her performance at last season's Swimming and Diving Championships when she placed 19th. Junior Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) swam a 2:25.04 to finish in 26th.
The 400 Free Relay consisting of Postma, Melhorn, freshman Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) and sophomore Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) capped C-N's week with a 13th-place finish in the event with a time of 3:28.77.
Carson-Newman finishes the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships in 16th-place, which is the best finish in program history. Queens (N.C.) repeated as National Champions by over 200 points over the Wingate Bulldogs; the Bluegrass Mountain Conference recorded three teams finish in the top-16 with the performances by the Eagles, Royals and Bulldogs. California – San Diego, Drury and Grand Valley State rounded out the top-five.
To stay up to date with the Carson-Newman swim program, follow @CNSwim or @CNathletics on Twitter and periodically check cneagles.com.
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