Day Four Results | Full Meet Results

SHENANDOAH, Texas – The Gettysburg College men's swimming team tied the program record for the best team finish at the NCAA Division III Championship, providing a fitting end to an outstanding season and a spectacular career for the Bullets' three seniors.
 
Following the fourth and final day of competition Saturday evening at the Conroe ISD Natatorium, Gettysburg finished with 123 team points to come in 12th among 54 teams that scored a point at the meet. Competing with just five swimmers, the Bullets equaled the 1998 team's 12th-place finish at nationals and finished just two points behind DePauw University for 11th.
 
Earlier this season, Gettysburg went undefeated (9-0) before winning the program's fifth-straight Centennial Conference title.
 
The Bullets have now placed among the top-16 at the NCAA Championship in each of the past four years after taking 14th in 2012, 15th in 2013, and 16th last season.
 
In the final race of the championship, Gettysburg's 400-freestyle relay team provided another thrilling performance. Senior Jason Potter (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan), senior Mike Harmon (Shippensburg, Pa./home-schooled), freshman Tyler Dougherty (West Chester, Pa./Salesianum School [Del.]), and senior Ashton Leyens (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) swam near the front of the pack the entire way in an extremely tight race that came down to the final yards. The Bullets would finish third with a blistering time of 2:57.93, which would have won last year's race. With their time, the Bullets also lowered their own school and Centennial Conference records for the second time in one day.
 
Potter led off the relay with an electric split of 44.03 seconds, giving the Bullets the lead and shattering his own school and Centennial Conference record in the 100-freestyle for the second time on Saturday. Earlier in the day, he dropped his school record and broke the conference record with his split of 44.23 in prelims.
 
Harmon swam second and was clocked at 45.13 as The College of New Jersey took the lead. Dougherty followed up with his second sub-45 split of the day, cranking out a 44.69 as the University of Chicago made a move to the front. He gave way to Leyens, who like Potter, flirted with sub-44 territory. Leyens kept the Bullets within striking distance before finishing in 44.08 as Gettysburg duplicated its third-place finish in the event from last season. TCNJ and Chicago would finish in a dead heat for first in 2:57.85.
 
It was the fourth year in a row that the 400-freestyle relay team earned First-Team All-America honors by virtue of its top-eight finish. Harmon, Leyens, and Potter swam on the relay all four years, finishing seventh in 2012 and sixth in 2013.
 
Earlier in the evening, Potter placed seventh in the 100-freestyle (44.64), marking the second year in a row that he earned First Team All-America honors in the event.
 
Leyens also competed in an individual event in prelims on Saturday morning, placing 22nd in the 100-freestyle with a career-best time of 45.23.
 
For the meet, the Bullets earned All-America honors in six of their nine events, collecting First Team All-America recognition in five events. Gettysburg also broke or reset seven school records, including five that were also Centennial Conference standards.
 
Gettysburg's three seniors finish out their tremendous careers with a combined 39 All-America awards – 18 for Potter, 11 for Harmon, and 10 for Leyens. All three finished their careers as four-year All-Americans.
 
NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championship – Day 4 Gettysburg Results
3. 400-freestyle relay (Jason Potter, Mike Harmon, Tyler Dougherty, Ashton Leyens), 2:57.93
7. Jason Potter, 100-freestyle, 44.64 (44.47 in prelims)
22. Ashton Leyens, 100-freestyle, 45.23