Through five events at the 2014 Miami Invitational, Denison sits in fourth place with 385.5 points. The host, Redhawks, lead with 666 points followed by Emory University (462) and Cincinnati (411). Fifth through seventh place belongs to Toledo, Wright State and Urbana.
Campbell Costley got things going early for Denison with a second place finish 500 freestyle. Costley touched in 4:51.84 which was one of three NCAA 'B' cut times in the event for DU. Taylor Johns finished fourth overall in 4:54.06 and Alex Elizeus ended up 23rd after touching in 5:00.22.
Sophomore Carolyn Kane also had a strong opening night. She placed third in the 50 freestyle in 23.25. Ashley Yearwood would place eighth (23.90) and Rima Jurjus touched 15th in 24.03.
Later, Kane would join Yearwood, Molly Willingham and Jurjus for a fourth-place finish and 'B' cut time of 1:33.67 in the 200 freestyle relay.
In the 200 individual medley, Howell paced DU with a seventh place time of 2:04.58. Marissa Bednarek finished fourth in the B-Final and was 13th overall with a time of 2:06.05. In the C-Final, Halli Garza ended up 23rd overall with a time of 2:07.49. All three of Denison's times were 'B' cuts.
The night was capped off by a fifth-place finish in the 400 medley relay as Kane, Bednarek, Michelle Howell and Yearwood combined for an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:47.48.
The Big Red will return to action on Friday with preliminaries beginning at 11 a.m. followed by championship finals at 7 p.m. Friday's events include the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 free relay and the 3-meter dive.
