Five Warriors record lifetime bests in season opener

The Warrior swim team opened their season at the Sam Freas Invite on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Edmond, Okla. As a team, the Warriors had three swimmers record lifetime bests and three top 10 times in school history. As a team, the men finished in 9th with 13 points while the women finished in 8th with 13 points.

On the men's side, Parker Rea and Ian Esquivel competed in the 50Y freestyle where they placed 24th and 30th with times of 24.56 and 25.77 (a lifetime best for Esquivel), respectively. The duo also competed in the 100Y freestyle where Rea finished 25th with a time of 55.39 and Esquivel was right behind him with a time of 58.68 to place 26th.

Juwayne "JJ" Silmon and Rea also competed in the 100Y individual medley they swam a times of 1:06.75 and 1:07.25 to place 21st and 22nd, respectively.

On the women's side, the Lady Warriors started with a 15th-place finish in the 200Y medley relay. The team of Bree Pickerell, Lydia Nelson, Abby Cagle and Campbell Elliott swam a time of 2:03.6.

The team of Elliott, Allison Reed, Cagle and Pickerell also competed in the 400Y freestyle relay, finishing 4:15.11 to place 22nd.

Pickerell also had a top 16 finish in the 500Y freestyle, swimming a time of 5:47.91 to finish 11th. She also competed in the 100Y individual medley with fellow Lady Warrior, Nelson and both athletes swam lifetime bests in the race. Nelson finished 22nd with a time of 1:09.93 while Pickerell placed 24th with a time of 1:10.66.

Nelson also finished in the top 16 of the 100Y breaststroke, finishing 14th with a time of 1:15.52.

Cagle competed in the 50Y freestyle with teammate Hilde Heskett. Cagle finished in 26th with a time of 27.38 while Heskett finished in 35th with a lifetime best time of 28.57. Cagle also swam in the 100Y butterfly swimming a time of 1:12.38 and placing 20th.

Elliott swam in the 200Y placing 25th with a time of 2:23.18. In the 100Y freestyle, Elliott, Reed and Heskett finished with times of 1:03.82, 1:03.92 and 1:06.35 (a lifetime best for Heskett) to place 33rd, 34th and 37th, respectively. Reed also competed in the 100Y backstroke where she finished 20th with a lifetime best time of 13.25.

Sterling will be back in action at the Sunflower Showdown in Topeka, Kan. on Friday, Oct. 3.

Be sure to check for news and updates on Sterling Warrior Athletics on Facebook (/SCWarriors), Twitter (@SterlingCSports), and Instagram (sterlingcsports), as well as the hashtag #SwordsUp. Watch the Warriors' live home events on the Sterling College Sports Network.