2022 Conference USA Championships: Arielle Hayon Shatters 100 Fly Meet Record

2022 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIPS (WOMEN)

• Wednesday, February 23-Saturday, February 26, 2022
• Liberty Natatorium, Lynchburg, VA
• Start Times: 10:30 am prelims / 6:00 pm finals (ET) – Wednesday finals at 5:00 pm
• Defending Champions: FIU (7x)
• 2021 Championship Results
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Another strong day of swimming from FIU saw the team extend their lead over the field at the 2022 Conference USA Championships, now sitting with a total of 733 points. Rice still remains in second place with 650 points. However, it looks like FIU’s gap may be getting too large to close with only one day of competition left. 

Team Scores Through Day 3: 

1. FIU – 733 
2. Rice – 650 
3. Marshall – 389 
4. FAU – 380 
5. North Texas – 372
6. Old Dominion – 252

The FIU women kicked-off the night by going 1-3 in the 400 IM, with junior Mia Zahab taking the top spot in the final. Zahab finished in a time of 4:14.65 to beat the field by over 2 seconds, dropping 4 seconds off of her entry time. Her teammate Stephanie Hussey managed to finish 3rd overall with a time of 4:19.64, just off her season-best from the prelims. Rice’s Amelia Kane, who won the 500 freestyle earlier in the meet, saw another big drop of 3.5 seconds to earn second with a time of 3:17.13. 

In the 100 butterfly, Rice freshman Arielle Hayon posted a dominant performance, winning the race by over a second with a time of 51.82. With her time, Hayon set a new meet record, taking down Casey Clark’s record of 51.98 from 2015. Behind Hayon, there was a tight battle for the remaining podium spots. Ultimately, FIU teammates Kelsie Campbell and Julia Miranda made it to the wall in second and third, with times of 52.84 and 52.87, respectively. 

Rice also saw a victory in the 200 freestyle, where senior Marta Cano Minarro touched the wall first in a time of 1:46.90, knocking a second off of her entry time. Her teammate Lauren McDougall, the top swimmer from prelims, settled for second place with her time of 1:48.19. FIU’s Lamija Medosevic rounded-out the podium, coming in 5 seconds under her seed time to touch with a time of 1:49.26. 

After winning the 200 IM last night, FIU’s Christie Chue picked up her second individual victory in the 100 breaststroke, touching ahead of the field in a time of 1:00.28. Her time was just a tenth of a second shy of the meet record, which stands at 1:00.13. The only other swimmer to go under 1:01 was Chue’s teammate Sara Gyertyanffy, who posted a time of 1:00.98. Delanie Goll managed to snag third place with her time of 1:01.64, securing a podium sweep for FIU. 

In the 100 backstroke, Zoe Spitz gave Rice’s women another win, touching in 53.79 to hold off Michaela Trnkova from FIU, who was just behind in 53.97. Julia Miranda managed to secure her second podium finish of the night, touching third with a time of 54.28. 

On the diving boards, FIU got another 1-2 finish via Mandy Song and Maha Gouda. Song topped the podium in the 1 meter diving event with a score of 338.65, coming in almost 10 points ahead of runner-up Gouda. FAU’s Alicia Mora Herencia, the 3 meter champion, scored 317.55 points to round out the top 3. 

To close the night, FIU dominated the 400 medley relay, winning the race by almost 4 seconds. The team of Kelsie Campbell, Christie Chue, Julia Miranda, and Stephanie Hussey combined for a time of 3:36.15, beating runner-up Rice (3:40.12). Marshall touched in 3:43.68 to pick up a bronze medal in the event.