Kingsport, TN - On Saturday night the Southern Virginia University swim team added to what's been a decorated last few seasons in the Independent South Conference. While the men weren't able to capture their third title since 2022, finishing just a few points outside of second this time around, the women's team overthrew the reigning conference champions, Piedmont, en route to their second title in the last four seasons. Jamie Horne was recognized as women's swimmer of the year and Head Coach Jennifer Jensen won women's coach of the year.

Men's Results

The men's team had three event victories and several personal best swims. Despite significantly fewer swimmers, making it difficult to maximize points in all events, the Knights hung tough and nearly locked up second place by the end of the three-day meet. Roman Nowell stood out and was part of all three victories, including the 4x200 freestyle relay in which he served as the leadoff leg. Individually, he captured wins in the 100 and 200 fly events.

After finishing second in the prelims of the 100, Nowell did one better in the final to win in a time of 52.00. In the 200, an event in which he owns the meet record from last year, he won dominantly with another sub-two-minute performance, finishing with a time of 1:59.53. Enoch Zimmerman, Grayson Garcia, and McCormick Johnson were also a part of the Knights' winning relay team and secured many points in their individual events.

McCormick Johnson combined with Roman Nowell to earn 23 points in the 50y freestyle, courtesy of their second and fifth-place finishes. Enoch Zimmerman had the next-best finish on the day after garnering third in the 400 IM with a time of 4:34.87 to crush his seed time for the event. There were a plethora of top-four finishes for the Knights, helping them pile up 295 points, just four shy of William Peace in second.

Women's Results

After two years of second-place finishes to Piedmont, the women's team played spoiler in their opponents' attempt to three-peat. The score remained tight between the two sides during the first two days, but the Knights pulled away on the final day for a commanding victory of over 80 points. The quartet of Rylee Nugent, Mia Fuhriman, Jamie Horne, and Jesi Fuhriman got the ball rolling with their thrilling win in the 200y medley relay, just half a second in front of Piedmont and setting the stage for a wildly successful meet.

Nugent was back in the pool for the 500y freestyle and made a tremendous comeback in the final four laps to steal first. The Knights knew the importance of each point and built off the momentum of each swim which helped them come out on top in several close swims. Amelia Beckstead was also on the winning side of another nail-biter of an event in the 400y IM. After trailing by nearly ten seconds at one point, her time of 5:09 edged her closest competitor by nearly two seconds.

Beckstead added another to her list of wins after leading wire to wire in the 200y breaststroke, finishing in a time of 2:39.30. She was joined by four other teammates in the top five, Arianna Burgan, Mia Fuhriman, and Whitney Whiting as the event nearly turned into a Southern Virginia sweep. Jesi Fuhriman and Jamie Horne, consistently the Knights' two best performers during the season, flexed their muscles in the 50y freestyle with their one-two finish. Fuhriman's time of 24.55 tied the meet record held by Jamie Horne which she set in 2023.

Jamie Horne ultimately had the last say at the championships as she was part of five event wins. In addition to being part of three of her teams winning relay quartets, she won the 100y butterfly and 100y freestyle. For her efforts, she was awarded Women's Swimmer of the Year and helped her team win its second team title in four seasons.

Head Coach Jennifer Jensen's recognition as Women's Coach of the Year put the icing on the cake of another banner season for Southern Virginia swimming. Jensen has led her teams to four conference championships in the Independent South since 2022 amongst numerous individual accolades, making them one of the most winning programs in Southern Virginia athletics.

Event Winners

• Men's 200 Free (Nowell, Zimmerman, Garica, Johnson) - 1:31.57

• Women's 200 Free (J. Fuhriman, M. Fuhriman, Fenwick, Horne) - 1:41.14

• Women's 200 Medley (Nugent, M. Fuhriman, Horne, J. Fuhriman) - 1:54.06

• Women's 400 Free (M. Fuhriman, Fenwick, Nugent, J. Fuhriman) - 3:46.02

• Women's 400 Medley (Nugent, M. Fuhriman, Horne, J. Fuhriman) - 4:10.96

• Rylee Nugent, 500 Free - 5:31.86 | 1650 Free - 19:28.49

• Jesi Fuhriman, 50 Free - 24.55 | 100 Breast - 1:10.46

• Jamie Horne, 100 Fly - 59.53 | 100 Free - 53.59

• Roman Nowell, 100 Fly - 52.00 | 200 Fly - 1:59.53

• Amelia Beckstead, 400 IM - 5:09.00 | 200 Breast - 2:39.30

Women's Swimmer of the Year - Jamie Horne

Women's Coach of the Year - Jennifer Jensen

For the most up-to-date information and details on the team visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_swimming on Instagram.