By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribunbe sports reporter
Walton resident Mariah Denigan competed in four events at the U.S. Olympic Trials for swimming last week in Omaha, Neb.
Denigan, 18, did not make the finals in any of the Wave II long course events during her Trials debut. She placed 12th in the 1500 freestyle, 15th in both the 800 and 400 freestyle and 19th in the 400 individual medley.
There were between 30 and 46 swimmers in those events. The ones who recorded the top eight times in preliminary heats advanced to the finals.
Mariah Denigan
The Trials were split into Wave I and Wave II this year for health and safety reasons amid the coronavirus pandemic. Qualifying standards for Wave II were tougher and the top two finishers in each event qualified for the U.S. Olympic team.
Denigan, who took all of her high school classes online, accepted a scholarship from Indiana University to study business and continue her swimming career.
She was listed among the nation’s top 10 female college prospects in the class of 2021 on the swimcloud.com website.
As a member of the USA Swimming national team, Denigan has competed in national and international meets for the last three years. Two years ago, she took a bronze medal in the 800 freestyle at the Pan-Am Games in Peru.
In early April, Denigan won the women’s 7K race at the Open Water National Championships in Florida. That puts her among the leading candidates for the U.S. team that will compete in the world championships to be held in August at Victoria, a coastal city in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Three years ago, Denigan won a bronze medal in the girls 14-15 age group 5K event at the open water world championships that took place on the north coast of the Red Sea in Israel.
Denigan was once a member of the Northern Kentucky Clippers club team. She now swims for Lakeside Seahawks, a club based in Louisville.
Another former Clipper who competed in Wave II of the Trails last week was Blake Hanna, who placed 25th in a field of 45 swimmers in the men’s 200 backstroke.
