INDIANAPOLIS — Celeste Hollis decided to conserve fuel on Friday morning, while Kat Lundy threw caution to the wind. Both approaches worked.

On day three of the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the IU Natatorium, Hollis finished out her meet with a strong performance in the 200-yard butterfly and Lundy made her national debut in the 100 backstroke.

Hollis, a junior from Granger, Indiana, swam the 200 fly in 2:06.43, less than a second off of her school-record best time. That was good for 32nd place in the field, up three spots from where she was seeded.

She said she approached the race differently than she had in previous meets. 

"I wanted to make sure I didn't die in the last 50, so I took the first 100 slower so I could have more energy for the back half," Hollis said. "It ended up working, since I went a second, second and a half faster in that second 100 then I did typically. ... It's definitely something I can learn from in the future in learning how to pace myself and make sure that I can keep that strong consistency while not over-exerting myself."

Lundy, meanwhile, came out of the HCAC Championships thinking her swim career was over, so she came in feeling like she was playing with house money and didn't put any pressure on herself. Her 100 back time of 56.54 seconds was just a shade off of her school standard of 56.19; she finished 29th, right at her seed.

"I figured I would go around that time," said the Winchester, Indiana product, who is graduating a year early this spring. "That's what I went at the last chance meet."

Franklin coach Zach Rayce has been thrilled with how his two stars have performed thus far on the biggest of stages.

"We did great," he said. "Everybody at this meet is just hoping to drop time, and most people don't ... I'm very pleased with where we were."

Lundy will be back on Saturday to compete in the 200 backstroke.