NEW COMMIT: Distance ace and high school junior Hayley Pike has announced her verbal commitment to Purdue University. The Bentonville, Arkansas native will make the move to West Lafayette in the fall of 2020.
Pike comes from a long line of talented collegiate swimmers. Her sister, Taylor, is currently a sophomore at Texas A&M; her mom, Kim, swam at UCLA; her aunt, Julie, swam for Stanford; her aunt, Wendy, swam at Cal; and her uncle, Tim, swam for Harvard.
Pike, who owns 17 Arkansas LSC records, swims year-round with Northwest Arkansas Aquatics and is a three-time U.S. Open qualifier. She most recently finished 14th in the mile at Junior Nationals this summer after placing third in that event as well as sixth in the 500 free at Juniors West last winter. Pike was a three-time finalist at NCSAs and finished fourth at the Open Water Junior Nationals this past spring. A member of the USA National Junior Team in 2016-17, she represented Team USA at the 2016 FINA Open Water Junior World Championships in the Netherlands.
Also competing for Haas Hall Academy, Pike is a three-time Arkansas State Championship gold medalist. She won both the 100 free and 500 free as a freshman, setting a new state record in the latter. As a sophomore, she lowered her own 500 free record yet again. Pike has also earned NISCA and USA Swimming Scholastic All-American honors for her efforts.
She told Swimming World:
“I am SUPER excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim for Purdue University! Purdue offers the opportunity for me to study animation and be part of one of the best teams in the nation! I am so pumped to swim for Coach Klinge and with an amazing group of girls! Thank you to my coaches, my teammates, my friends, and especially my parents for all their support and encouragement! I would not be where I am today without them. 2020 cannot come soon enough! Boiler up!”
Her best times include:
- 200 free – 1:50.93
- 500 free – 4:46.29
- 1000 free -9:53.10
- 1650 free – 16:22.31
- 200 fly – 2:03.64
Pike will make an immediate impact as a member of the class of 2024 when she suits up for Purdue, the same program that produced distance standout Kaersten Meitz. Even with just under two years of club swimming still to go before joining the Boilermakers, her best mile time would’ve placed in the top-12 at the 2018 Big Ten Championships.
If you have a commitment to share, please send a photo and quote via email to hs@swimmingworld.com.
hayley will indeed care on a very strong and thriving family tradition of swimming excellence