ELKHART, Indiana – In their inaugural year, and just two days into their first ever NAIA National Championship, the William Carey Crusaders already have the schools first individual National Champion, courtesy of Mate Miszlai.
 
Miszlai, a freshman from of Budapest, Hungary, went into the meet with the top seeded time in the 500-yard freestyle. However, Miszlai finished 2^nd in the heats to SCAD's Kevin Keil which put him swimming in lane 5 in the final.
 
Miszlai and Keil went back & forth throughout the race, exchanging the lead. It wasn't until the 350-yard mark that Miszlai would make his move. Miszlai outsplit Keil on the 8^th 50 and then took the lead at the 450 mark with 50 yards left. Miszlai strode out in the last 50 and finished two body lengths and nearly 3 seconds ahead of 2^nd-placed Keil. Mislai finished with a time of 4:23.81, just over 3 seconds ahead of the meet record, but 1.51 seconds ahead of last year's national champion.
 
Braedan Jacobs also put his name on the podium as he competed in the final of the men's 500-yard freestyle. Jacobs, a freshman out of Pensacola, Florida, came in 4^th in the event. Jacobs narrowly missed out on the top 3 by just under 2 seconds but ensured he pipped out St. Ambrose's Jonas Freiss by 0.19 seconds to secure 4^th place.
 
After the conclusion of day 2, the Crusaders currently sit in 5^th place overall. The Crusaders secured their spot in the top-5 after podium finishes in the 200-yard Medley relay, 800-yard Freestyle Relay, & the 500-yard Freestyle.
 
The Crusaders continue their run for a National Championship over the next couple of days. The competition will conclude Saturday afternoon with the team looking to improve on their already impressive 5^th place standing.