The Duke women have been on a tear with their recruiting since their program was upgraded to full scholarship status in the winter of 2013. They looked incredibly sharp in their dual meet victory over Pitt, and now they have landed a commitment from top notch YMCA of Western CT (RYWC) sprinter Kira Page.
Page is a Winter Nationals qualifier in the 100 free (and 200 free in LCM), and adds to that Winter Juniors cuts in the 200 free, 100 and 200 back, and 100 fly.
Page’s Top Times (LCM in parentheses)
- 50 free – 23.59 (27.09)
- 100 free – 49.72 (56.79)
- 200 free – 1:48.95 (2:04.17)
- 100 back – 55.44 (1:05.50)
- 200 back – 1:59.78
- 100 fly – 54.67 (1:02.90)
*bold times indicate Winter National cuts
Page finished 4th in the 100y free and 5th in the 200y free (along with 12th in the 200y back) at the YMCA Nationals (short course) this spring. She went on to grab 4th again at the long course Y Nats, and added to that a 7th place finish in the 200 free.
Last year, only Leah Goldman was sub-50 in the 100 free for the Blue Devils. Similarly, Brittany Friese was the only Duke swimmer to post a time faster than 1:49.00 in the 200 free. Page would’ve been #2 on the Blue Devils’ top times list from last year, and she will get a year of overlap with Friese and two with Goldman. Page’s speed should get her onto at least the longer free relays for Duke, though she could feasibly work into any of the five relays save for the 200 medley, as she isn’t quite fast enough in the 50 range. She would’ve been on the B/C final bubble in the 200 free and in the B final of the 100 free at last year’s ACC Champs with her current bests.
All of a sudden, Duke is looking at a seriously loaded group of incoming sprinters. Joining Page will be Suzanne Dolan and Alyssa Marsh, both of which are sub-23 in the 50 free, while Dolan has been under 50 before in the 100 (Marsh is just off of that at 50.15). Meanwhile, Kylie Jordan is a 1:48.44 in the 200 free, and her and Marsh are both 53s in the 100 fly. The Blue Devils have a ton of big talent coming in all at the right time, as program leaders like sophomores Goldman and Isa Paez and freshmen Maddie Hess, Mickayla Hinkle, and Alyssa Arwood are part of a young core setting down a very strong foundation for the future.
“I choose Duke because of the long history of academic excellence along with the great athletic tradition. I’m so excited to be part of the rising of Duke Swimming. I fell in love with the campus, the team and the coaches on my visit and I can’t wait to be a Blue Devil!”
Page will follow in her father’s footsteps, who actually played football at Duke.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email to [email protected]
I LOVE YOU KIRA ????????????
Kira, you’re an animal.