PENSACOLA, Fla. – University of West Florida swimming and diving head coach Andrew Hancock announced four early signees for the class of 2017 on Wednesday, in Morgan Ayers, Cora Delgado, Christina Kilpatrick and diver Jesstina Farrell.
"We are delighted that these outstanding student athletes have chosen to make UWF their home next fall,” Hancock said. “From the minute all four student athletes stepped on campus, it was clear that they were a wonderful fit for our program both in and out of the water. Athletically, we expect them to be contributors at the conference and national levels, as Morgan, Christina and Cora have already obtained times faster than the NCAA B cuts in their best events. We have a huge task ahead of us to replace our outstanding senior class, but we have made a great start.”
Morgan Ayers is a two-time FHSAA 3A State Champion in the 100 Breaststroke from Chiles HS in Tallahassee. Her personal best time in the 100 Breast of 1:04.56 would rank fourth in UWF history and would also qualify her for an NCAA B-cut this year. She has also posted strong times in the 200 Breast (2:22.06) and 200 IM (2:06.89), which would place her fourth and third, respectively, in the UWF record books. Her 100 Breast and 200 IM times would rank in the top 20 in Division II this year.
“I chose UWF because I feel like I will be able to become a better athlete, and help learn valuable skills to help accomplish my future career goals,” Ayers said.
A native of Slidell, Louisiana, Cora Delgado brings in two state championships of her own, in the 200 Free and as a member of Northshore High School’s 200 Medley Relay team. Delgado has clocked a 1:53.40 in the 200 Free and a 4:59.62 in the 500 Free, both of which would be B-cut swims in Division II this year. She has also posted a 52.86 in the 100 Free. Her 500 Free time would be the second-fastest in program history, and her 200 Free time would be fourth.
“As soon as I stepped foot onto the UWF campus during a club swim meet, I fell in love,” Delgado said. “Coach Andrew was so welcoming from our first meeting and I meshed well with the UWF swim team at my official visit. The academics have all of my interests and the class sizes are perfect for me. The campus is gorgeous and it is always so beautiful while I am there.”
Christina Kilpatrick is a distance swimmer from Ocala, Florida, with strong times in the 500 Free, 1,000 Free and the mile. Her times in the 1,000 Free (10:24.75) 1,650 Free (17:41.03) would each rank in the top 3 in UWF history. Her times in the 500 Free and 1,000 Free would earn her B-cut times in Division II this year. She has been a FHSAA 3A State finalist in the 200 Free and 500 Free.
“I chose UWF because both academically and athletically it fit me well,” Kilpatrick said. “I really liked that everyone wants to help you succeed and get you where you want to go.”
The program also adds Jesstina Farrell, from Orange Park, Florida. Farrell was a fifth-place finisher at the 2016 FHSAA 3A State meet and is the lone diver in the early signing class. The Orange Park, Florida, native has posted scores of 416 in the 1-meter, with a 37-point average in those dives, and a 349.1 in the 9-dive 3-meter event, averaging 38 points per dive.
"We are really excited about having Jess come to West Florida,” UWF diving coach Barbara Parker said. She comes from a great program in Jacksonville and has not been diving very long, so we are eager to see how she develops with West Florida in the coming years."
