Chasing The Next

When I was younger, I participated in all the sports and activities that my hometown community of Omaha, Nebraska, had to offer. 

From softball to taekwondo, you name it, and I was involved. 

I never really had a strong love for one sport over the other, but rather always enjoyed the opportunity to compete.

One day in grade school, a friend convinced me to join a recreational swimming league. Just as I had always done with any sport, I willingly accepted the challenge. 

I expected to show up, spend some time hanging out with my friends, and enjoy a little extra competition. 

What happened instead was that I experienced a moment that would, undoubtedly, change the course of my life forever. 

I discovered a passion for the sport of swimming. 

Record-breaking success

 

From that moment forward, I returned to the pool almost daily. Other sports and activities with which I had been enthralled just days before no longer seemed to matter. 

I was in complete awe of this newfound sport and experienced a level of joy and exuberance each and every time I entered the water. I was determined to be the best.

Around the age of ten, I joined a club swim team. 

I began traveling around the region and competing against some of the top swimmers in the area. I knew that if I wanted to be the best, I needed to race against the best. 

As I entered high school, I felt as though I was really hitting my stride as a swimmer. All of the hard work in those club years was beginning to pay off. 

I was a nine-time state swimming champion, broke the state record for the 100-meter breaststroke in my junior year of high school, and helped power my team to back-to-back state championships in both my junior and senior seasons. 

I was incredibly proud of those individual and team accomplishments but immediately began chasing the next milestone. 

In those years, I had emerged as one of the fastest swimmers in the state of Nebraska and wanted nothing more than to continue my swimming career at the collegiate level.   

I was invited to an official visit to the UNL. It was both close to home and rich in tradition and would allow me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of competing in the Big Ten Conference.

Upon arriving on campus, I felt an immediate connection to the school. 

My coaches and teammates instantly felt like family and I sensed support from everyone I encountered. 

I truly began to understand that there is no place quite like Nebraska. 

I was committed. 

A transition

 

I would love to say that my transition to college swimming was smooth and seamless, but in fact, it was quite the opposite. 

I was pushing my body harder than it had ever been pushed before and adjusting it to a completely new set of training regimens and nutritional factors. 

I remember thinking, what if this level of competition just isn’t for me?

In those trying days, I relied heavily on the unwavering support that the Huskers so flawlessly provide to all its student-athletes. 

This program is truly special and places great emphasis on taking care of the athlete as a whole. 

I finished my freshman season with multiple top-five individual finishes and became a contributing member of champion and runner-up relay teams at various meets. I even had the opportunity to compete at the U.S. Open Championships and secured three top-forty finishes at the event. 

I was incredibly proud of those accomplishments in my first season as a Husker, but more than anything, I was proud of the perseverance, hard work, and overall determination it took to find success in the Big Ten. 

I was hungry for more. 

Another one down

 

And today, as a sophomore, I continue to strive for greatness. So far this season, I have earned six top-two finishes in the 100-meter breaststroke and secured additional top-ten placements in the 100-meter freestyle and 200-meter breaststroke. 

Recently, at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, I took down a twenty-seven-year-old school record in the 100-meter breaststroke not once but twice. 

At that very moment, life came full circle. 

My mind wandered back to those years of club swimming, where I would stand in awe of the records that hung in the rafters of the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

I had always been chasing those times and dreaming of the days that my name, too, would be displayed alongside Husker greats and Olympians such as Penny Heyns and Therese Alshammar. 

I was overwhelmed with feelings of joy, excitement, and an immense sense of pride for the years of hard work and sacrifices that it took to reach this record-breaking moment.

I was honored to reach such a milestone on national television, with my family and friends all watching, and doing so representing the scarlet and cream.   

In the days that have passed, I have taken some time to enjoy the moment and appreciate the incredible accomplishment. 

But I also know that the job is not finished. 

There is much work yet to be done in the time that I have left here at the University of Nebraska. 

While I long to one day have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Trials, for now, I have my sights set on competing in the NCAAs.

So, let's do this.