Opponent:
Independent South Swim Championships | Kingsport, Tenn. | Kingsport Aquatics Ctr. | February 14-17

SPIRITS TRAVEL TO VOLUNTEER STATE FOR FOUR-DAY EVENT
The Salem swim team makes its trek to Kingsport, Tennessee, for a four-day event that will feature members of the Independent South Swim Conference. The league is comprised of Piedmont, Salem, Southern Virginia, Warren Wilson and William Peace.

Warren Wilson will serve as host of the event, which is taking place at the Kingsport Aquatic Center.

SALEM FAST CHANCE MEET HIGHLIGHTED BY PINNIX, HUFFMAN
The Salem swim team capped off its final home meet of the 2023-24 season on January 27th by breaking two records and establishing a best time in the 1650 freestyle in a meet that featured not only the host Spirits, but Greensboro and Warren Wilson.

While no team scores were recorded in the meet, the Spirits claimed five first-place finishes.

The top two performers of the meet for Salem were Omega Pinnix and Marabeth Huffman, who accounted for the first-place finishes. In the case of Pinnix, she placed first in the 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle and 500 freestyle events. Meanwhile, Huffman tapped the wall first in both the 100 backstroke and the aforementioned 1650 freestyle.

Pinnix broke two records in the Fast Chance Meet, giving her nine individual records in her first year with the program. The Greensboro, N.C., native established a new record in the 100 breaststroke, tapping the wall in 1:12.75, which broke the previous mark of 1:16.31 held by Olivia Kleven.

Pinnix also established a new program record in the 500 freestyle (6:00.13), edging Rachel Fichthorn's previous mark of 6:16.86, which came at a dual with Mars Hill and Emory & Henry on November 17, 2007.

Huffman also laid claim to a program record for the Spirits, marking the first of her career. Taking part in the 1650 freestyle, Huffman edged out Sara Vargas' mark (29:44.53) with a time of 24:55.43. The 1650 freestyle is a new event for the Spirits, who had not competed in it in previous seasons.

Huffman picked up a third-place finish for Salem in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 29:53.

Madison Fullerton, who competed in three events throughout the course of the afternoon, was third in the 500 freestyle with a mark of 8:53.42. She was also sixth in the 100 backstroke (1:36.45) and the 100 freestyle (1:24.42) for the Spirits.

Adalyn Raney was also entered in three events for Salem, where she notched two fifth-place finishes. Raney took part in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 33.63, while grabbing fifth in the 100 backstroke (1:36.45) as well. She was also sixth in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 1:22.60.

Salem Finishes / Fast Chance Meet (vs. Greensboro / Warren Wilson)

SPIRITS ENDURE BUSY JANUARY IN PREPARATION FOR INDEPENDENT SOUTH SWIM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two Salem swimmers have capitalized on three meets during January to improve their overall performances heading into the Independent South Swim Conference Championships.

Both Marabeth Huffman and Omega Pinnix have notched six Top-3 finishes apiece between the events that took place on January 13th, 20th and 27th.

Huffman has snagged five first-place finishes, including three in the Hollins Dual on January 20th, which came in the 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle. One week later, the Salem first-year was first at the Fast Chance Meet in both the 100 backstroke and 1650 freestyle.

As for Pinnix, she posted six first-place finishes in meets on January 13th and 27th. In the meet on January 13th, which featured Greensboro, Guilford, Randolph and Salem, Pinnix was first in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley. Two weeks later, in the Salem Fast Chance Meet, Pinnix claimed the top spot in the 100 breaststroke, 100 freestyle and 500 freestyle events.

SALEM NAMED AS SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICA TEAM BY CSCAA
The Salem College swim program earned its first-ever distinction from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) on Thursday morning when it was named as a Scholar All-America Team for the Fall 2023 semester.

Salem was one of 783 teams and 461 institutions—which represent a combined 18,716 student-athletes—to be selected for its academic prowess during the Fall 2023 semester. The Spirits were one of four teams from the Independent South Swim Conference, along with Piedmont, Southern Virginia and William Peace, to be represented among the 182 NCAA Division III programs as a Scholar All-America Team. In order to qualify for this recognition from the CSCAA, teams had to exhibit exceptional grade point averages during the Fall 2023 semester.

At the conclusion of the Fall 2023 semester there were eight members of the Spirits swimming unit who had their grades submitted for this distinction from the CSCAA, including Rama Alsakhita, Madison Fullerton, Marabeth Huffman, Daja Jones, Julie McGhee, Omega Pinnix, Adalyn Raney and Sara Vargas. Those eight combined for a 3.2 GPA for the Fall 2023 semester under head coach Vavina Lapham.

Three of the aforementioned Salem student-athletes—Alsakhita, Fullerton and Huffman—also represented the Spirits on the Dean's List by maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA in a minimum of 12 courses. Alsakhita, Fullerton and Huffman capped off a semester in which they recorded straight A's.

RECORD BOOK GOING THROUGH MAJOR OVERHAULS THIS SEASON
Salem has broken nine records and competed in three events for the first time in the eight meets which it has competed in during the 2023-24 campaign.

Junior Omega Pinnix has broken nine 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), 200 breaststroke (2:50.00) as well as the 200 freestyle (2:03.79).

Pinnix established her most recent individual records— in both the 100 breaststroke (1:12.75) and the 500 freestyle (6:00.13)—on January 27th in the Salem Fast Chance Meet. The Greensboro, N.C., native established a new record in the 100 breaststroke, tapping the wall in 1:12.75, which broke the previous mark of 1:16.31 held by Olivia Kleven. In the same meet, Pinnix also established a new program record in the 500 freestyle (6:00.13), edging Rachel Fichthorn's previous mark of 6:16.86, which came at a dual with Mars Hill and Emory & Henry on November 17, 2007.

Pinnix has managed to reset her own personal record in two of the aforementioned events—the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. She did this when Spirits took part in the William Peace Invitational, which took place on November 18th. 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.

First year Marabeth Huffman put her name into the Salem swimming record books at the Fast Chance Meet on January 27th. Huffman, who posted a time of 24:55.43 in the 1650 freestyle, topped the previous mark held by teammate Sara Vargas, who had posted a time of 29:45.53 in the event, which came at the Greensboro/Guilford Dual on October 24th.

Vargas still owns the program record in the 200 butterfly, which bested 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 2022-23 INDEPENDENT SOUTH SWIM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
February 17, 2023: Salem senior swimmer Kylie Clark claimed the team's first finish in the 2023 Independent South Championships on Friday, February 17th at the Triangle Aquatic Center.

Clark, who reached the finals of the 100-yard backstroke, placed 11th overall in the event with a time of 1:36.00. Clark established her personal best in the event, shaving over five seconds off her previous best, which came on January 28th against the combination of Chowan, Greensboro and Piedmont. The Annandale, Va., native was fifth in the Consolation Final of the event and 11th among all swimmers in the event.

February 18, 2023: The Salem swim team concluded its three-day stint at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, N.C., on Saturday, February 18th with a pair of solid performances from Eleanore Regenthal and Kylie Clark. The pair also earned Academic All-Conference recognition from the Independent South Championships, which included teams from Pfeiffer, Piedmont, Southern Virginia, Warren Wilson and William Peace.

Clark, who finished 11th in the 100 backstroke on Friday evening with a time of 1:36.00, capped off Saturday by touching the wall 13th in the 100 freestyle (1:25.97) and 17th in the 50 freestyle (35.40).

Regenthal's best performance of the meet came in the 200 backstroke, where she touched the wall 12th in a time of 3:36.51. She also placed 14th overall in the 200 freestyle, with a mark of 3:25.09, and 16th in the 500 freestyle with a time of 9:20.23.