FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The trio of Kylie Clark, Abigail Hawkins and Olivia Nivens put the finishing touches on the first day of Sun Coast Conference Championship in Fort Pierce, Fla., with a series of Top-10 finishes in the finals on Thursday, February 10th.
Nivens capped off her first year for the Spirits with her team-best 18th Top-10 individual finish by touching the wall eighth in the B Relay by posting a time of 7:48.42. That was almost four seconds faster than her preliminary qualifying time (7:52.39), which was also a season-best.
Hawkins was also eighth in her event, the 200 individual medley B Relay, posting a time of 3:27.27. Like her teammate Nivens, Hawkins improved on her preliminary time at the Anne Wilder Aquatic Complex, which was 3:31.53. The eighth-place finish marked her 14th Top-10 of the 2021-22 campaign.
Clark placed seventh in the 50 freestyle B Relay, posting a time of 35.82. She reached the final round after posting a time of 35.57 in the preliminaries, a personal-best.
PRELIMINARY RECAP
The Salem swim program will be represented in three finals events at the 2022 Sun Coast Conference Championships, set to take place on Thursday evening at the Anne Wilder Aquatic Complex on the campus of Indian River State in Fort Pierce, Fla.
Olivia Nivens reached the finals of the 500 freestyle event, swimming from lane two, after posting a qualifying time of 7:52.39 in the preliminaries. Nivens took an impressive 13.19 seconds off her previous season-best time to earn her spot in the finals. The Burleson, Texas, native's previous best was 8:05.58, which came in a clash with Warren Wilson, William Peace and Piedmont in Swannanoa, N.C., on February 4th. The Salem program record for best time in the 500 freestyle belongs to Rachel Fichthorn, who posted a 6:16.86 in the Mars Hill/Emory & Henry Dual on November 17, 2007.
Abigail Hawkins will swim from lane seven in the 200 individual medley on Thursday evening following a mark of 3:31.53 in the preliminaries. Hawkins has now recorded three sub-3:40 times in the 200 individual medley this season, including her personal-best 3:30.70 at the William Peace Pacer Invitational on November 19-20.
Kylie Clark earned her spot in the final round of the 50 freestyle, drawing the lane one assignment, with a time of 35.57 in the preliminaries. Clark established a new personal-best in reaching the finals, topping her previous mark of 36.71, which came six days ago in a meet that featured Warren Wilson, William Peace and Piedmont in Swannanoa, N.C. Paige Martin owns the program record for fastest 50 freestyle, set January 22, 2010 in a dual with Greensboro College.
