Courtesy: Liberty Athletics
LYNCHBURG, Va. – After a standout weekend in Florida, Liberty junior Payton Keiner has been named the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Women’s Swimmer of the Week.
Keiner receives her first career CCSA Swimmer of the Week honor. She is the first Lady Flame since Gianni PItto on Jan. 22, 2019 to be named CCSA Swimmer of the Week. Liberty has now received 22 total Swimmer of the Week honors in program history.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Keiner helped Liberty post a 5-1 overall record in a pair of quad meets in Florida last weekend.
Last Friday, Keiner earned two second-place finishes in a quad meet hosted by No. 7 Florida. She opened the meet by swimming a then season-best leadoff of 26.01 in the 200 medley relay, helping Liberty to a third-place finish. The junior placed second in the 100 backstroke (54.94) and 200 backstroke (1:59.63). Keiner finished the meet by leading off Liberty’s second-place 400 free relay in 52.77.
On Saturday at FGCU, Keiner helped Liberty sweep FGCU, Tulane and Illinois State. She swam a season-best 25.81 to lead off the 200 medley relay, which Liberty won in 1:44.71. Her lead leg gave Liberty a 1.19 second lead. Keiner won the 100 backstroke by 2.89 seconds over the nearest competitor (55.13 to 58.01). She led off the 400 free relay in 51.97, the fastest leadoff leg in the field, as Liberty won in 3:30.98.
For the season, Keiner is the CCSA leader in both the 100 backstroke (54.71) and 200 backstroke (1:53.75). The NCAA B cut 1:53.75 she swam for 200 back at the TYR ’85 Invite is ranked 23rd in the nation.
Liberty (11-3, 4-0 CCSA) will send its divers to the Navy Diving Invite, held Jan. 17-19 in Annapolis, Md. The Lady Flames’ final regular-season meet will be the TYR Senior Celebration, as Liberty will host Campbell and James Madison on Jan. 25.