FIRST YEAR (2021-22-Swimming): Joined the Salem swim team after competing for the soccer team in the fall … a solid competitor throughout the slate, Nivens earned a team-high 18 Top-10 finishes and eight Top-3 individual finishes along the way … claimed five first-place finishes on the season, giving her the second-most first-place finishes in program history to Olivia Kleven’s eight … got the season off to a solid start by finishing third in both the 100 freestyle (1:21.81) and 50 backstroke (41.18), while claiming fourth (50 freestyle/38.69) and fifth (50 breaststroke/53.10) in Greensboro Dual (Oct. 30) … raced in six events at the Guilford Invitational (Nov. 6), earning five Top-75 finishes in 200 individual medley (3:34.21/44th), 100 breaststoke (1:55.07/49th), 100 backstroke (1:37.91/55th), 200 freestyle (3:12.06/61st), 50 freestyle (35.20/73rd) as well as claiming 91st in the 100 freestyle (1:20.50) … helped the Spirits claim 18th in the 200 freestyle relay (2:21.36) alongside teammates Anna Fretwell, Kylie Clark and Abigail Hawkins before she joined Salem teammates Abigail Hawkins, Sophie Lee and Allison Wakefield in the 200 medley relay (2:48.39), leading the Spirits to a 19th-place finish in the Guilford Invitational … was one of the top individual performers for Salem at the William Peace Pacer Invitational (Nov. 19-20), finishing among the Top-55 competitors in all six events, including 200 backstroke (3:50.27/27th), 100 backstroke (1:42.19/28th), 100 breaststroke (1:53.39/38th), 100 freestyle (1:17.63/44th) and 50 freestyle (34.01/55th) … also competed in the 200 freestyle relay at the William Peace Pacer Invitational, alongside Tori Long, Anna Fretwell and Kylie Clark, at the Guilford Invitational, which resulted in a 19th-place finish for the Spirits (2:33.54) … returned to action in January where she claimed fourth-place (200 freestyle/2:52.87) and two fifth-place (50 freestyle/34.01) (100 breaststroke/1:46.98) in a dual with Greensboro, St. Andrews and Piedmont (Jan. 29) … quickly followed that with a pair of seventh-place outings (100 freestyle/1:16.37) (500 freestyle/8:16.11) in the afternoon session that featured Greensboro, St. Andrews, Piedmont and Warren Wilson (Jan. 29) … capped off a trek to Meisenheimer, N.C., by earning her first individual crowns (200 breaststroke/3:59.00) (500 freestyle/8:08.97) along with third-place in 200 freestyle (2:42.00) at Pfeiffer Dual (Feb. 2) … swept her way to three first-place finishes in a virtual dual with Mount Vernon Nazarene (Feb. 3) in the 200 freestyle (2:43.93), 200 breaststroke (3:56.72) and 500 freestyle (8:18.32) … two days later, in a meet at Swannanoa, N.C., featuring Warren Wilson, William Peace and Piedmont (Feb. 5), Nivens claimed sixth-place (200 freestyle/2:44.85) and seventh-place (500 freestyle/8:05.58) … concluded her season at the Sun Coast Conference Championships in Fort Pierce, Fla., by competing in three events … wrapped up the 500 freestyle (7:48.42) in eighth, before placing 14th (200 freestyle/2:43.22) and 11th (200 breaststroke/3:39.12) in Salem’s first-ever postseason conference championship appearance.

FIRST YEAR (2021-Soccer): Saw action in 11 matches, making 10 starts along the way for the Spirits … integral part of a Salem defense that finished the slate with five shutouts, allowing just 30 goals, 276 shots (166 shots on goal) and 20 assists by opponents throughout the course of the 2021 season … made her collegiate debut against Warren Wilson (Sept. 1) … played eight straight matches, all starts, between September 1 and September 18 … returned to the starting lineup against Southern Virginia (Oct. 20) and William Peace (Oct. 23).

PREP: Graduated from Burleson High School in 2021 … a two-sport athlete that competed in both basketball (2017) and soccer (2017-21) … played all four years of soccer under head coach Erin Poyner at Burleson High School … recognized as Junior Varsity Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2018 in soccer … received All-District Honorable Mention as a utility player in 2019, her first year on varsity soccer squad … completed the 2020 soccer campaign with a number of accolades including Tournament Defensive Most Valuable Player, First Team All-District defender and Second Team All-Region defender … claimed four more honors on the pitch in 2021, including Tournament Defensive Most Valuable Player, Second Team All-District defender, Second Team All-Region defender and All-County defender for Johnson County … helped the Elks capture the Area Championship in 2019 … key cog on the 2020 Burleson High School Bi-District Championship team … competed on the Club Soccer circuit from 2014-21, playing under the direction of coaches William Epps and Trey Epps for Sparta FC.

PERSONAL: Olivia Nivens … daughter of Heather and Tommy Nivens … born on January 10, 2003 … has one sibling, T.C. … member of the National Honor Society … named to 2021 President’s Education Awards Program: Outstanding Academic Excellence … distinguished as 2021 Academic All-State by Texas High School Coaches Association … recognized as 2021 Academic All-State by Texas High School Coaches Organization.