BUFFALO, NY - The Jamestown Community College (JCC) women's swimming and diving team continues to pace the competition in the NJCAA national championships, growing their lead on first in the non-scholarship division. JCC's men's team remains in second, just 35 points away from trying to claim their own national title.

"After three days, the women are performing at an extremely high level. They have lots of confidence and focus on finishing as a top three team in the nation. That will help us get through the final day with that focus," said head coach Todd Conklin on his ladies. "With the men coming in, we thought we had a chance to fight for the national championship, and they are doing an incredible job. They aren't just focused, but also rewriting the record book. That has been a motivating factor on why we are where we are," added Conklin.

Jamestown's ladies started the day with Emily Swan earning another All-American honor as she finished 9th in the 100 Individual Medley, continuing a strong week by the freshman. A trio of Jayhawks found themselves in the final for the 500 free. Anna Jones claimed another All-American spot with her 12th place finish. Her teammates Sophia Gervasio and Addison Lawson came home 15th and 16th, respectively. Flipping to the 100 back, Desiree Putt saw herself back on the podium with a sixth place race. Jalyn Linton also made the finals with her 16th place swim. Sophomore Haleigha Hardy claimed another All-American with a ninth place showing in the 100 breast. Finally, the relay team of Emily Swan, Haleigha Hardy, Desiree Putt, and Anna Jones flew by the division three competition with a fourth place swim.

"Desiree (Putt) had a bit of a slow start, but the last day or so has come into her own. She is excited about tomorrow, as are the rest of the girls. We have a lot of big swims tomorrow being the longest day of events," mentioned Conklin.

On the men's side, Zach Johnson continued his torrid pace, finishing ninth in the 100 individual medley, then breaking his own record in the 100 breast, with a 58:79. Both of those swims earned him All-American honors. In the 100 back, Kyle Dean picked up ninth place points in the 100 back; teammate Christian Merrill clocked a 16th place swim. The most dramatic swim of the night came in the men's 200 medley relay, where the JCC men's team of Merrill, Cameron Milewski, Dean, and Johnson came home in sixth. Milewski anchored the race and tracked down the best finish of non-scholarship teams in the process. That was just part of the day for Milewski, who set the 3-meter dive record earlier this week and followed it up with a fifth-place finish in the 1-meter. 

"Zach (Johnson) had two phenomenal breaststroke swims, then the relay broke their record by three seconds. That really shows the focus they have as they see what they are striving for. It was nice to see our first-year diver (Milewski) not just dive well but also break the records as he increased his degree of difficulty," finished Conklin.

In total, JCC earned 16 more All-American statuses as a team on Friday for their top 12 showings.

"I think after three long days, these teams, basically being brand new, have really stepped up. The coaches are proud of what we have accomplished through three days. We hope to have another strong day and bring home another national championship or two," said Conklin.

The national championships finish up on Saturday with the prelims starting at 9:30 AM and the finals at 5:30 PM.