SHENANDOAH, TX. 3/21/13 – Keene State College's list of men's swimming All-Americans grew by four on Thursday night at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the Conroe Natatorium in Shenandoah Texas.
The foursome of senior Austin Harris (Essex Junction, Vt.) juniors James Black (Lynn, Mass.) and Jared Hyde (Tolland, Conn.) and freshman Greg Youngstrom (West Hartford, Conn.) teamed up to finish eighth in the 200 freestyle relay with a school record time of 1:21.84.
Kenyon (OH) College won the race with a time of 1:18.96.
"I'm very proud of the guys," said KSC Coach Jack Fabian. "They worked very hard all season to get on the podium."
After earning honorable mention honors last year, Harris, Hyde and Black were happy to swim over the hump and officially become All-Americas. "It was a great feeling to stand on the podium and hold an All-American trophy," said Harris.
"It was an amazing feeling to be up on the podium with my teammates," said Black. "It makes all the hard work during the season worthwhile."
"I think my previous experience at the meet help me stayed focused on the race," added Hyde.
Youngstrom, the lone freshman on the relay, called it a "phenomenal experience that he won't forget".
Asked what it's like to be up on the podium with the elite teams in the country, Austin said "I consider Keene State to be one of the top teams in the country and we belong up there."
The group becomes the first men's swim relay to earn All-American in the eight-team format. In 1976, the Owl team of Dave Hague, Carl Arlig, Newell Roberts and Dan Caron finished 11th in the 400 free relay at the NCAA Division II Championships.
Earlier in the day, junior Drew Ledwith (Keene, N.H.) placed 17th in the 400 I.M. (4:02.24) and freshman Cole Hogg (Manchester, N.H.) was third in his heat in the 200 free with a school record time of 1:41.13.
After 20 events Keene State is in 14th place with 43 points. Looking to dethrone two-time championship Denison, Kenyon leads the Big Red 286-228.
