EWING, N.J. – James McChesney and Andrew Thompson each picked up two NCAA B-cut times on a scintillating first day of the TCNJ Invitational for the TCNJ men's swimming and diving team.

Both Lions stars won an individual event and took part in two first-place relays, both of which cracked te top-10 on the national performance list.

McChesney and Thompson bookended a spectacular opening salvo in the night session, teaming with Matt Watts and Dixon Kahler to win the 200 free relay in 1:21.78. The time is tied for sixth in the nation and was more than four seconds faster than the runners-up from Merchant Marine.

Blach captured the 500 free title in 4:36.45, a mere .06 seconds off his prelim time which ranked 18^th in Division III. The Lions nearly swept the A final, claiming six of the top-eight spots in the championship final. Conrad Hoody was second with a season-best 4:38.62, and Ethan Laible placed third with a 10-second PR of 4:43.98. Brett Clauhs (4:49.20) secured a college best to finish fourth, Ryan Heerema took fifth with a lifetime benchmark (4:50.20), and DJ DeSomma landed in sixth (4:52.24).

McChesney and Blach put on a show in the 500 free prelims, where McChesney narrowly outpaced his rookie counterpart with a career-best 4:35.63, good for 16^th in Division III this season.

Thompson placed himself directly into the national spotlight with a sizzling 1:50.45 in the 200 IM prelims, four full seconds clear of teammate Shawn Kushner and good for the third-fastest mark in Division III this season. He wasn't quite as fast in the night session, but his 1:50.99 was still more than enough to claim top prize.

Ryan Higgins was runner-up with a lifetime-best 1:53.66, and Kushner easily outperformed his former personal best with a 1:54.43 to place third. Ryan VanDeVeen (1:55.02), Andrew Walter (1:55.22), Jonah Herring (1:57.19), Ethan Dong (2:01.10), and Evan Eckels (2:02.42) also contributed to an all-Lions final; VanDeVeen recorded a new PR in the finals, while Herring's 1:57.05 from prelims was a personal best.

McChesney wowed the crowd with a stirring 50 free victory, touching the wall in a B-cut time of 20.49 seconds, good for ninth in Division III.

Dixon Kahler was second in the 50, notching a 21.13 to land just off his personal-best 21.05 from the prelims session. Matt Watts (21.70) finished fourth, Kai Zola (21.88) notched a PR to take fifth, and Jack Marble produced a college-best 21.91 to place sixth. Peyton Broderick rounded out the top-eight with a 22.18; his mark of 22.01 in prelims was a PR by nearly a full second.

Herring, VanDeVeen, Thompson, and McChesney just missed a B-cut in the 400 medley relay, instead settling for an impressive 3:21.79 that ranks them 10^th in the country.

The TCNJ Invitational continues Saturday with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.