WATERVILLE, Maine -- The Bates men's swimming and diving team got the NESCAC Championships off to a record-breaking start Thursday at Colby College.

Junior John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa) opened the 800-yard freestyle relay with the fastest 200-yard freestyle swim in Bates history, recording a split of 1:38.03. Weigel's time broke his own school record and set the Bobcats up for success. The Bates 'A' team of Weigel, sophomore Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.), junior Liam Friedlander (Pittsburgh, Pa.), and junior Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.) took fourth place out of 22 teams in the event with their NCAA 'B' Cut time of 6:38.32, nearly 15 seconds faster than their seed time.

Meanwhile, the 'B' team of first-year Will Trotman (Ridgefield, Conn.), sophomore Alex Brann (Atlanta, Ga.), sophomore Anton Kondratyev (Belle Mead, N.J.), and senior Kyle Beebe (Chatham, N.J.) raced to the finish in 6:48.64, good for fifth-fastest among the 'B' teams and faster than two of the 'A' teams. 

The two Bates 800-yard freestyle relay teams combined for 68 points -- good for a tie for fourth out of 11 schools -- and only eight points out of second place with three days remaining.

The first full day of competition at the NESCAC Championships is Friday, with prelims at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.