Warriors to Make a Splash at SAA Championship

Courtesy Hendrix College Athletics Department

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Hendrix College men’s and women’s swim teams will look to make an impact at the inaugural Southern Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships at the Birmingham Crossplex Aquatic Center Thursday through Saturday.

The Warriors hope to make a big splash at the championships as they have several contenders who could make the podium.

On Thursday, junior Jo Claire Robertson and sophomore Sydney Haldeman are threats in the women’s 200 yard individual medley, as they had the 10th and 13th best marks in the league this season. Junior John Byford has the fifth best time of the year (2:04.56) in the men’s 200 IM. Freshman Caroline Forbes has challenged for the school record in the 50 yard freestyle, and has the seventh best time (25.44 sec.) in the SAA.

The women’s 400 yard medley relay team of Robertson, Forbes, Haldeman and freshman Bayley Krell shattered the 21-year old school record by more than seven seconds back in October. They trail only Sewanee with a 4:07.21 time. 

On Friday, Haldeman will compete in the 400 yard IM as the ninth seed and Byford, who broke the school record in the event at last year’s Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, has the fourth-best 400 IM time on the men’s side. Krell’s school record time of 1:08.88 in the 100 breaststroke is the second-best in the league this year. 

Robertson is also second in the 100 yard backstroke at 1:01.03. In 2011, she recorded an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 58.00 seconds, breaking the school record.

On Saturday, sophomore Laura Price comes in as the 10th seed in the women’s 1650 yard freestyle. Freshman James Gill is the 13th seed in the men’s 1650. Robertson has the sixth best time in 200 yard backstroke, and Haldeman is 14th. Haldeman earned All-SCAC honors last year in the event by place third. 

Forbes, who broke the program record in the 100 yard freestyle in 55.79 in October, has the eighth-best time in the SAA entering the Championships. Krell is fifth in the 200 breaststroke.

The championships will be wrapped up with the men’s 400 freestyle relay, where Byford, sophomore Samuel Maynard and freshmen Eric Mullins and Dylan Rogers come in with the fifth-best time at 3:20.12.