Ungur, Burnett lead way for Eagles on third day of BMC Championships
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For sophomore Natalie Burnett (Sevierville, Tenn.), it was like the plot from the movie “Groundhog Day”; for freshman Paul Ungur (Baia Mare, Romania), winning a conference championship was something new.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For sophomore Natalie Burnett (Sevierville, Tenn.), it was like the plot from the movie "Groundhog Day"; for freshman Paul Ungur (Baia Mare, Romania), winning a conference championship was something new.
Burnett won two races at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships for the second consecutive day and Ungur took the men's team first-ever gold on third day of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships at Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Burnett won the 100 Fly by setting a school and meet record with a time of 53.62. She beat her previous Carson-Newman record by over four seconds. Burnett also took gold in the 100 Back by swimming the event in 54.34, besting the school record by three seconds.
Ungur won the 100 Back with a time of 47.54 and set a new Carson-Newman record. Ungur's time was just four-tenths off the Division-II record.
After the third day of the BMC Championships, the women's team is in fourth-place and the men are in fifth.
"Carson-Newman swimming exceeded my expectations tonight by a huge margain," coach Paige McCord said. "I was very impressed with the 100 Back sweep."
For the women's team, the night was started with a new school record in the 400 Individual Medley by sophomore Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.). Smith swam the event in 4:31.90 and finished the finals in fifth.
Freshman Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished fifth in the 200 Free and she set a new school record. The Knoxville-product set the new school record by three seconds with a time of 1:50.12.
Freshman Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new school record by over a second in the 100 Breast. Melhorn finished the event in fourth-place with a time of 1:05.14.
For the men's team, two Eagles finished in the top-eight in the 200 Free. Seniors Stephen Parsons (Auburn, Ala.) and Ben Young (Morristown, Tenn.) finished sixth and eighth, respectively. Parsons swam the event in 1:39.47 and besting his previous school records by two-tenths of a second.
In total, seven school records fell Friday evening.
The BMC Championship winds down on Saturday with swims in the Mile Freestyle, 200 Backstroke and the 400 Free Relay.
