BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Five Midway swimmers hit a combined 12 NAIA national qualifying standards and
Kaelynn Martin scored the best individual finish in program history as the Eagles placed fourth at the Mid-South Conference Women's Championships, which concluded on Saturday.
The Eagles finished with 371 points in the six-team field. The University of the Cumberlands dominated to the tune of 969 points while Indiana Wesleyan was a distant second with 649.
Kaelynn Martin,
Josie Briner and
Sydney Eastman all hit three qualifying cuts, with Martin finishing in second in the 100-yard backstroke, the highest individual performance ever recorded by an Eagle at the MSC Championships.
Martin finished in 58.98 seconds in the event, trailing only Natalia Gorska of Lindsey Wilson, who swam a 56.60.
Martin also hit the qualifying mark in the 200 back, where she was third in 2:10.27, and the 100 butterfly, where she was 11th in 1:00.02.
Briner, who has competed at the National Championships each of the last two seasons, hit marks in 100 and 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley.
She finished fourth in each fly, swimming a 58.11 in the 100 and a 2:09.46 in the 200. In the 200 IM, she was sixth in 2:13.42.
Eastman joined Briner in the 100 and 200 fly while also hitting in the 500 freestyle. She was sixth in the 200 fly in 2:11.97, seventh in the 100 fly in 58.67 and 10th in the 500 free in 5:25.40.
Elsewhere,
Pamela Ramires made the cut in two events, with
Elizabeth Dolberry hitting in one.
Ramires placed sixth in the 200 free in 2:00.94 and ninth in the 500 free in 5:24.84. Dolberry earned her mark as part of the 200 free relay team, hitting the 50 free mark with a time of 25.47.
Midway was able to get a top-three relay showing as well, with Eastman, Briner, Ramires and Martin finishing third in the 800 free in 8:05.45.
All five swimmers will now wait to see if they will be selected to compete at the NAIA National Championships, which will be held in Elhart, Ind. on March 4-7.