NEWARK, NJ -- Three school records fell and two Highlanders earned their first school records of their careers, adding their names to the record board are freshmen Shawn Bryan and Kayla Howell.
In the dual meet against Manhattan, Bryan surpassed the school record in the 500 yard freestyle. His time of 5:09.95, a lifetime best performance, shaved more than three seconds off the existing record. The record was held by Marc Ubaldi who swam a 5:13.67 on February 3rd, 2006.
In the same meet, Howell joined with teammates Rachael Abadie, Sadie Mele and Teresa Higgins to take down the oldest mark on the NJIT Swimming record board. Swimming the final leg of the 800 yards freestyle relay, Howell anchored her squad's effort and crushed the existing record by nearly 30 seconds. Their time of 9:18.72 far outdistanced the 2002 effort of 9:48.53.
In the final dual meet of the season, a men's meet against Queens College, Bryan again left his mark. Swimming in the 200 yard freestyle for only the third time of his young college career, Bryan slipped past the school record by the slimmest of margins. With a very strong performance over the last 50 yards of the race, he captured the victory and stopped the clock at 1:51.08
His effort, once again, eclipsed a record set by Marc Ubaldi, who on February 17 2007 covered the same distance in 1:51.16.
With one final competition of season still to come, expect more records to fall. The Highlanders will compete in the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Championship on February 19, 20 and 21 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
