MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- Bates junior Sophie Cassily was the runner-up in the 50-yard backstroke on Friday, breaking her own school record in the process, as the Bobcats stand in fifth place as a team with two days remaining at the NESCAC Championships, hosted by Middlebury College.

Cassily (Rye, N.H.) raced to the finish in 25.79 seconds in the championship final, breaking her previous Bates record in the 50 back of 25.81 seconds, set at last year's NESCAC Championships. She scored 28 points for her second-place, All-NESCAC performance. 

The Bates 400-yard medley relay team of Cassily, first-year Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine), first-year Emily Kalvaitis (Darien, Conn.), and senior captain Grace Wenger (Hanover, N.H.) also earned All-NESCAC honors on Friday, taking third place with an NCAA "B" Cut time of 3:47.27.

Additional Friday highlights for Bates:

• Wenger, junior Stephanie Tropper (Solon, Ohio), sophomore Lianna Rosman (Bethesda, Md.), and senior Margie McLeod (Durham, Maine) teamed up to finish sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:35.83. 
• Palmer placed sixth in the championship final of the 50-yard breaststroke in 29.52 seconds after swimming a prelims time of 29.43 seconds.
• Wenger finished seventh in the championship final of the 500-yard freestyle with an NCAA "B" Cut time of 4:58.84.
• Senior Natalie Young (Windham, N.H.) took sixth in the championship final of the 200-yard IM in 2:07.52 after recording a prelims time of 2:06.16.
• McLeod won the consolation final of the 50-yard freestyle in 24.28 seconds after swimming a prelims time of 24.19 seconds.
• Kalvaitis won the preconsolation final of the 50-yard butterfly in 25.98 seconds.

The Bobcats have 401 points as a team through 10 events, good for fifth out of 11 schools and just 10 points behind fourth-place Amherst. The NESCAC Championships resume Saturday at 10am, with finals set for 5:45pm.