CANTON, Ohio – Sophomore Mariel Mencia Martinez broke her own school record in the 50-yard Freestyle on the way to successfully defending her conference title in the event, while senior Gillian Manning set a new meet record on the way to taking top honors in the 500-yard Freestyle, as the UNC Pembroke swimming team excelled again on Day 2 of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference/Mountain East Conference Championships.
 
Mencia Martinez touched the wall in the 50-yard Freestyle just .01 seconds ahead of Hillsdale's Marie Taylor, and broke her own 5-month-old record in the process. It was the second time in 12 hours that the Dominican Republic had registered the school record-breaking time. Fellow sophomore Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos earned all-league honors in the event as well with an eighth-place tally.
 
Manning was equally as impressive in taking top honors in the 500-yard Freestyle, eclipsing a year-old meet record in the event with a time of 5:00.27. Nathalia Silva, who edged Manning by .31 seconds in the preliminary round of the event on Wednesday morning, finished fourth on the way to picking up All-MEC laurels as well.
 
Wednesday evening's action was culminated with another school record performance as Mencia Martinez teamed up with fellow sophomore Sarah Morden, as well as newcomers Paige Seplak and Caterina Coughlin, to register a mark of 3:59.82 in the 400-yard Medley Relay. That mark was nearly 13 seconds faster than the previous school record that was set at last season's GMAC/MEC Championships.
 
The Braves will continue action inside the C.T. Branin Natatorium on Thursday with the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, as well as five individual events – the 100-yard Butterfly, the 400-yard Individual Medley, the 200-yard Freestyle, the 100-yard Breaststroke and the 100-yard Backstroke. The 4-day event is slated to conclude on Friday evening.
 

Team Standings (After Day 2)
Place		Team	Points		Place		Team	Points
1		Hillsdale	633		6		Notre Dame (Ohio)	220
2		Findlay	510.5		7		Davis & Elkins	211
3		UNC Pembroke	374		8		Fairmont State	197
4		Malone	289.5		9		Frostburg State	167
5		West Virginia Wesleyan	229		10		Ursuline	102
Mountain East Conference (MEC) Team I Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Team

 

GMAC/MEC CHAMPIONSHIPS (DAY 2 - MARCH 31, 2021)
400 Yard Medley Relay
3	UNC Pembroke - Paige Seplak, Sarah Morden, Caterina Coughlin, Mariel Mencia Martinez	$ 3:59.82
500 Yard Freestyle (Prelims)
1	Nathalia Silva	5:05.61
2	Gillian Manning	5:05.92
26	Natalia Sarmiento	5:37.94
32	Sierra Wright	5:59.58
37	Sara Ormsby	6:24.64
500 Yard Freestyle (A Final)
1	Gillian Manning	+ 5:00.27
4	Nathalia Silva	5:08.88
200 Yard Individual Medley (Prelims)
9	Caterina Coughlin	2:16.87
10	Anna Miller	2:17.88
18	Paige Seplak	2:20.13
20	Sarah Morden	2:22.44
29	Jaycie Knight	2:28.25
200 Yard Individual Medley (B Final)
10	Anna Miller	2:16.43
-	Caterina Coughlin	DQ
200 Yard Individual Medley (C Final)
17	Paige Seplak	2:17.58
20	Sarah Morden	2:20.62
50 Yard Freestyle (Prelims)
1	Mariel Mencia Martinez	23.80
7	Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos	24.97
14	Bianca Bateman	25.58
21	Sarah Morden	26.24
23	Madeline Everhart	26.56
50 Yard Freestyle (A Final)
1	Mariel Mencia Martinez	$ 23.80
8	Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos	24.93
50 Yard Freestyle (B Final)
15	Bianca Bateman	25.72
50 Yard Freestyle (C Final)
22	Sarah Morden	26.32
23	Madeline Everhart	26.48
$ - School Record + - Meet Record