Swimming and Diving

Katt Sickle

Event(s)FREE
ClassSenior
HometownGrain Valley, Mo.

Honors & Awards

  • U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier (2016)
  • Five Letters (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
  • CSCAA Scholar All-American (HM, 2016)
  • Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
  • Academic All-Big Ten (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
  • Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll
    (Fall 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017; Spring 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
  • Herman Team GPA Award (2015, 2016, 2017)
  • Nebraska Heart & Soul Award (2018)
  • Nebraska Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award (2017)
  • Nebraska Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2014, 2015)
  • Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

2017-18 (Senior)
Katt Sickle competed in her sixth year as a Husker with a total of three top-five finishes after coming off of a medical-redshirt year. The five-time letter winner contributed to five relays including a runner-up finish at Rutgers in the 3:30.36 (Tori Beeler, Carla Gonzalez-Garcia, Sickle, Kaylyn Flatt). At the 2018 Big Ten Championships, Sickle placed 50th in the 200 freestyle, 70th in the 100 freestyle and 72nd in the 50 freestyle. A 12-time selection to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll, Sickle claimed academic All-Big Ten honors for the fourth straight season. Sickle also made the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for her fifth consecutive year. 

2016-17 (Senior - Medical) 
Sickle sat out her fifth season at Nebraska after undergoing offseason surgery. She applied for a medical hardship with hopes of being granted a sixth season to compete in 2017-18. A graduate student in teaching, learning and teacher education at Nebraska, Sickle continued her academic excellence by earning her third straight appearance on the academic All-Big Ten award by posting a perfect 4.0 GPA. Sickle made the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for the fourth year. 

2015-16 (Junior)
Sickle racked up 22 top-five finishes, including seven victories and eight runner-up performances as a junior in 2015-16. Sickle swam to a pair of wins against Iowa State, touching the wall first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.79) and 500 freestyle (5:05.12) against the Cyclones. She raced to a career-best 16:47.23 to finish third in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the Big Challenge, helping the Huskers to the team title. At the Big Ten Championships, Sickle finished 15th in the 500 free at the Big Ten Championships after posting a career-best time of 4:46.52 in the prelims. She added a career-best 1:48.78 to finish 26th in the 200 free at the conference championships. She also took 30th in the 1,650 freestyle at the conference meet with a time of 17:02.07. She helped the Huskers' 800-yard freestyle relay to a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten meet. A Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in 2016, Sickle earned academic All-Big Ten accolades for the second straight season. She has claimed eight spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She was also a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for the third time.

2014-15 (Sophomore)
After sitting out a year with an injury, Sickle returned as one of Nebraska's top performers in 2014-15. She racked up 21 top-five finishes, including five victories. Sickle had one of her strongest meets against South Dakota State, capturing wins in both the 1,000-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM. Sickle also performed well at the Big Ten Championships, setting then-career bests in the 500-yard freestyle with a 21st-place time of 4:48.79 and the 1,650-yard freestyle with a 30th-place time of 16:51.41. Sickle also worked at a high level in the classroom, earning academic All-Big Ten honors in 2015.

2013-14 (Redshirt)
Sickle redshirted in 2013-14 with an injury.

2012-13 (Freshman)
Sickle had an impressive first season in 2012-13, recording 13 top-five finishes and claiming three victories across eight events. She won both the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley at South Dakota State to go with her victory in the 200-yard freestyle against Nebraska-Omaha. Sickle set then-personal-best times in the 200 free (1:50.51), 500 free (4:54.03), 1,650 free (17:05.86) and 400 IM (4:31.20) at the Iowa Invitational in December. Sickle found success in the classroom as well, earning spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both the fall and spring semesters of 2012-13.

Previous
Sickle graduated from Grain Valley High School in 2012. She swam for the Kansas City Blazers and was coached by two-time head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team, Gardner Howland. Sickle was named Swimmer of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2012 and was a member of a Blazers' record relay team. Sickle also was selected to her high school honor roll all four years.

Personal
The daughter of Mike and Kelly Sickle, Katt was born June 28, 1994, in Davenport, Iowa. She has two sisters, Mikki and Danika, and one brother, Koleton. An elementary education and mild/moderate disabilities education major at Nebraska, Katt earned her bachelor's degree in May of 2016. She hopes to complete her master's degree in teaching, learning and teacher education by the end of her competitive career. A four-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), she is also a four-time academic All-Big Ten selection and a 12-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. A strong performer in the community as well, she earned a prestigious Sam Foltz Hero 27 Leadership Award in 2017. She also has claimed five spots on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. In the spring of 2018, she participated in the Nebraska Life Skills Service Trip Abroad to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

She chose Nebraska over Kansas, Northern Arizona, Colorado and Missouri.

Career-Best Times                                           

Event

Time

Meet (Date)

200 Free

1:48.78

Big Ten Championships (2016)

500 Free

4:46.52

Big Ten Championships (2016)

1,650 Free

16:47.23

Big Challenge (2015)