Opponents:
Fast Chance Meet (Warren Wilson / Greensboro) | Winston-Salem, N.C. | Salem Aquatics Ctr. | January 27 | 1 p.m.

SALEM MAKES FINAL HOME APPEARANCE OF 2023-24 SEASON
The Salem swim team makes its final home appearance of the 2023-24 campaign when it hosts a Fast Chance Meet that will pit the Spirits against both Warren Wilson and Greensboro. The Spirits have competed against both the Owls and The Pride on two other occasions.

KEY NOTE ABOUT THIS WEEKEND'S MEET
This weekend's Fast Chance Meet will not result in team scores, but rather just individual times as they make a push to reach the Top-20 times for the NCAA National Championships. The NCAA Division III National Championships will take place at the Greensboro Aquatic Center between March 20-23.

HUFFMAN CLAIMS THREE FIRST-PLACE FINISHES IN SALEM CLASH WITH HOLLINS
Marabeth Huffman streaked down the lanes to claim three first-place finishes for the Salem swim team on Saturday, January 20th, giving her four this season and six Top-3 performances on the campaign.

Huffman became just the fourth different Salem swimmer in program history to claim three first-place finishes in the same meet. The others include Kylie Clark (Salem Last Chance Meet), Olivia Nivens (Mount Vernon Nazarene Dual) and Omega Pinnix (Columbia/Warren Wilson | Greensboro/Guilford/Randolph).

Huffman's performance highlighted a Salem unit that suffered a 121-48 setback to Hollins in the dual between the two programs. In total, the Spirits finished with eight Top-3 finishes, including four second-place outings.

Huffman went to starting block for the first time in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 1:18.01, which bested Jada Deane's time of 1:18.90 and also topped her personal mark of 1:18.06. Three events later, in the 50 freestyle, Huffman picked up her second first-place finish of the day with a time of 29.50, which topped Mia Bollerer (32.50).

Adalyn Raney also competed in the 50 freestyle for Salem, finishing fourth, just 0.13 seconds from third-place finisher Nora Sorensen, who collected points for Hollins in the process.

Huffman closed out her afternoon in the 100 freestyle, tapping the wall in 1:07.24, which edged out the Hollins tandem of Bollerer (1:11.68) and Sorensen (1:17.03).

Raney grabbed the second Top-3 finish of the day, and season, in the 200 backstroke with a time of 4:09.90. It marked the first time that she has competed in the event at a collegiate level.

Fullerton was the first to compete for Salem, touching the wall second in the 200 freestyle in a time of 3:04.00, shaving 12 seconds off her personal best in the process. Fullerton bookended the meet by competing in the 500 freestyle, where she placed second with a time of 8:50.12. It is just the second time this season she has taken part in the 500 freestyle.

Salem Finishes / Times (vs. Hollins)

RECORD BOOK GOING THROUGH MAJOR OVERHAULS THIS SEASON
Salem has broken seven records and competed in three events for the first time through the first seven meets of the 2023-24 season.

Junior Omega Pinnix has broken seven program individual records for the Spirits this season. The Greensboro, N.C., native set new program records in the 50 freestyle (25.38), 100 backstroke (1:05.91), 100 freestyle (56.37), 200 backstroke (2:19.50) as well as the 200 freestyle (2:03.79).

Pinnix has managed to reset her own personal record in two of the aforementioned events—the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle.

When the Spirits took part in the William Peace Invitational, which took place on November 18th, Pinnix bettered her previous mark in both events. Her new time of 25.38 in the 50 freestyle was 1.92 seconds faster than her previous time of 27.30, which she had raced at a dual which featured both Greensboro and Guilford on October 24th.

Pinnix also improved on her time in the 100 freestyle by almost four seconds at the William Peace Invitational. After posting a time of 1:00.30 in the 100 freestyle at the Greensboro and Guilford dual on October 23rd, Pinnix touched the wall in 56.37 in Raleigh, N.C.

Pinnix's time in the 100 backstroke topped the previous mark, held by Rachel Fichthorn, which was 1:08.68. Pinnix also topped Fichthorn's record in the 200 backstroke, which had stood since February 13, 2009, where she finished the event in a time of 2:29.25.

Pinnix broke Fichthorn's mark in the 200 backstroke by nearly five seconds with a time of 2:24.71 at the William Peace Invitational. The Greensboro, N.C., native shaved another five seconds off her time in Salem's dual with Columbia and Warren Wilson on December 2nd, touching the wall in 2:19.50, as she broke her own personal best in the event.

Returning to her hometown for the third time this season, Pinnix established two more program records when Salem faced the trio of Guilford, Greensboro and Randolph on January 13th. The Gate City native set new marks in the 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley. Pinnix established the new record in the 200 breaststroke by touching the wall in 2:50.00, which topped the mark held by Olivia Kleven of 2:51.76. Pinnix also came through with a mark of 2:28.45 in the 200 medley relay, bettering the mark previously held by Rachel Fichthorn, which stood at 2:35.02. Pinnix placed first in both events for the Spirits.

Sara Vargas, who took part in the 1650 freestyle at the Greensboro/Guilford Dual for the first time in program history, finished the event in a time of 31:38.84. Since that point, she has race the event twice and owns the best time (29:45.53), which came in the most recent outing against Columbia and Warren Wilson. Vargas also owns the program record in the 200 butterfly, which topped Daja Jones' mark established earlier in the season with a time of 3:51.34 at the William Peace Invitational in November. 

TOP MARKS ESTABLISHED 2023-24 (by event)

LOOKING BACK ON WARREN WILSON, GREENSBORO
Greensboro: The Pride are 4-3 on the season and most recently faced Guilford on January 13th. Two of the dual victories came on October 24th when Greensboro faced off against the Quakers and Spirits at Royce Reynolds Family Student Life Center Pool.

The Pride picked up a pair of victories against Salem in their last outing at the Salem Aquatic Center, which took place on January 13th. In that meet, Greensboro posted a 100-80 victory in the head-to-head meeting with Salem. The Pride also collected a 105-87 win over Guilford, but suffered a 149-49 setback to Randolph, who also took part in the meet.

This weekend marks the final regular season meet for The Pride.

Warren Wilson: The Owls made a trip to Salem on December 2nd, suffering a 94-92 setback at the hands of Salem in that meet. Shortly thereafter they made the trek to both Piedmont (Jan. 13) and Converse (Jan. 20) before wrapping up the January portion of the schedule at Salem this weekend.

Recap of December 2, 2023 Meet: The Salem swim team captured its first-ever dual victory on Saturday, December 2nd, as the Spirits posted a 94-92 win over fellow Independent Swim Conference foe Warren Wilson at the Salem Aquatic Center. Salem also fought hard against Columbia College, who was also competing in the event, but the Koalas emerged with a 97-90 victory.

The race was highlighted by a new record established by Omega Pinnix in the 200 backstroke. Pinnix notched a time of 2:19.50 in the event, topping the previous school record held by Rachel Fichthorn, giving her six individual program records at Salem. Fichthorn's mark of 2:29.25 was established on February 19, 2009 at the Old Dominion Athletic Converence / Atlantic States Championships.

Along with placing first in the 200 backstroke, Pinnix also tapped the wall first in the 100 freestyle (58.23) and the 50 freestyle (26.05).

Teammate Marabeth Huffman, making her second appearance since joining the program, brought home first place in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:18.06. Huffman, who took part in three events, was third in both the 100 freestyle (1:09.42) and the 500 freestyle (7:27.75).

Madison Fullerton claimed a second-place finish for the Spirits in the 100 breaststroke (1:49.41). She was also fourth in the 100 backstroke after recording a time of 1:34.62.

Daja Jones put together a solid outing for Salem, earning second in both the 200 breaststroke (3:33.35) and the 200 butterfly (4:19.29). Her time in the butterfly is 40.15 seconds faster than her previous mark (4:59.44). Jones is the one of just two Spirits to ever compete in that event, along with Vargas. Jones was also third in the 200 individual medley, logging a time of 3:34.80.

Sara Vargas capped off the dual with a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 butterfly (1:51.07) and the 1650 freestyle (29:45.53). Vargas, the only competitor in program history to tackle the 1650 freestyle, improved on her previous mark by just over two seconds (2.59) in the event. She was also fourth in the 200 freestyle with a mark of 3:23.48.

Salem competed in the 400 freestyle relay event, represented by Huffman, Vargas, Fullerton and Pinnix, and posted the second-best time of the event (4:58.49) in the process.