BALTIMORE - Towson University men's swimming junior Jack Saunderson posted the fifth-fastest time by an American this year in the 100 Long Course Meter (LCM) butterfly at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) Long Course Championships on Saturday, June 9.

Saunderson broke his own school record with a time a time of 52.66 seconds which is currently ranked 53rd in the world. His previous record was set a year ago at 53.34 seconds. He placed first in his heat in the prelims with a time of 54.21 seconds before finishing first in the finals with an improvement of 0.68 seconds.

"Jack has been balancing a full-time internship at Enterprise this Summer in addition to his training," said head coach Jake Shrum. "For him to have swum this fast with only one long course meter practice beforehand is remarkable. Obviously, anytime you are ranked in the top 5 in the United States, that's a tremendous accomplishment. This great of a result will allow us to really focus on training for 4-5 weeks before beginning to rest for the Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California July 25-29."

Saunderson also finished first in the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.61 and first in the 100 free with a time of 52.57 seconds.

The reigning, two-time Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Swimmer of the Year, Saunderson made his second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming Championship this year and earned a pair of Honorable Mention All-America honors after setting new, all-time CAA records in both the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly. He placed 13th in the 100 fly, posting a program and conference record time of 45.51 seconds. One day later, he collected his second Honorable Mention honor after finishing 10th in the 200 fly with another program and league record of 1:40.87.

At the 2018 CAA Championship, Saunderson secured the most individual points of any male swimmer with 60 points, sweeping both the 100 (45.75 seconds) and 200 fly (1:41.69) events while also earning gold in the 200 IM (1:45.76). He set the program, conference meet and conference all-time marks for each event.

Saunderson is a three-time Honorable Mention All-America selection and has won 15 medals at the CAA championship, including six gold, five silver and four bronze.