BUFFALO — The Jamestown Community College women’s swimming and diving team continued to pace the competition in the NJCAA national championships Friday, growing its first-place lead in the non-scholarship division. Jayhawks’ men’s team remains in second, just 35 points away from trying to claim its own national title.

“After three days, the women are performing at an extremely high level,” Jamestown CC head coach Todd Conklin said. “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.

“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.”

The Jamestown CC women started the day with Emily Swan earning another All-American honor as she finished ninth in the 100-yard individual medley, continuing a strong week by the freshman. A trio of Jayhawks found themselves in the final for the 500-yard freestyle. Anna Jones claimed another All-American spot with her 12th-place finish, while teammates Sophia Gervasio and Addison Lawson came home 15th and 16th respectively.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Desiree Putt saw herself back on the podium with a sixth-place finish. Jayln 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-yard breast stroke. Finally, the relay team of Emily Swan, Haleigha Hardy, Desiree Putt, and Anna Jones flew by the Division III 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,” Conklin said. “She is excited about (Saturday), as are the rest of the girls. We have a lot of big swims tomorrow being the longest day of events.”

On the men’s side, Zach Johnson continued his torrid pace, finishing ninth in the 100-yard individual medley, then breaking his own record in the 100-yard breaststroke, with a 58:79. Both of those swims earned him All-American honors. In the 100-yard backstroke, Kyle Dean picked up ninth-place points; and teammate Christian Merrill clocked a 16th-place swim. The most dramatic swim came in the men’s 200-yard medley relay, where the 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,” Conklin said. “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.”

In total, the Jayhawks earned 16 more All-American statuses as a team 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 today with the prelims starting at 9:30 a.m. and the finals at 5:30 p.m.