PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Back-to-back school-record swims from James McChesney, a photo finish for gold between Andrew Walter and Andrew Thompson, and a thrilling relay finale highlighted a banner effort for the TCNJ men's swimming team on Day 2 of the Metropolitan Conference championship.

TCNJ secured three gold medals to go with two silvers and two bronzes on the day, after which they had accumulated 496 points to trail first-place Rowan by just 12 heading into the weekend.

McChesney broke the program record in the 50 free prelims and shaved another .15 seconds off it in the finals, placing second with an incredible mark of 20.06 seconds. McChesney's time ranks sixth in all of Division III and played second fiddle only to Rowan's Kevin Gilooly, who clocked a nation-best 19.55.

Dixon Kahler was sixth in the 50 free at 20.75, and his prelim time of 20.66 was a new personal best and only .05 seconds off the B-cut standard.

Walter and Thompson sent the pool deck into a frenzy with a scintillating race in the 200 IM. Walter put up a huge PR of 1:51.52 in the morning session, where Thompson led the way at 1:50.25. Walter proceeded to take 1.38 seconds off his prelim time, touching the wall a fingertip and .02 seconds ahead of Thompson in 1:50.14, a B-cut mark that ranks 22^nd in Division III. Shawn Kushner (1:52.56) and Ryan Higgins (1:53.65) helped the Lions pile up the points in a 1-2-4-5 finish, with Kushner logging a big PR.

The Lions wrapped up the night in exhilarating fashion, edging Rowan by less than a tenth of a second in the 200 medley relay. Sean Rave, Patrick Sullivan, Thompson, and McChesney did the honors for TCNJ, posting a time of 1:29.42 to vault themselves into 11^th on the NCAA performance list. The time was a mere .05 seconds off the program record, which Rave and Thompson were part of at the METs in 2020.

Ethan Weiss added another accolade to his remarkable rookie campaign, posting an 11-dive tally of 446.90 to narrowly edge Merchant Marine's Ben Griffiths (443.25) for the 1-meter gold medal. Michael Wu obliterated his former personal best with a 399.60 to take bronze.

Lukas Blach claimed bronze in the 500 free in 4:35.27. It was about a half-second slower than his prelim clocking of 4:34.72, which was a personal best and good for seventh in program history. Conrad Hoody logged a career-best 4:37.30 to place fifth, and Ethan Laible was sixth in 4:41.13. Laible's time of 4:40.53 in prelims was a PR by more than three seconds.

Senior DJ DeSomma placed 13^th in the 500 free with a time of 4:47.38, and Ryan VanDeVeen was 13^th in the 200 IM (1:55.85).

METs continues Saturday morning with prelims in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, and 100 back.