Audrey Repko '22 Recruiting Profile

 I have only been swimming competitively for three years, but in that time I have made rapid improvements.  I discovered that I have an affinity for distance swimming, so the summer before my Freshman year I swam my first Open Water meet at Central Open Water Zones and qualified to swim the 5K at USA Swimming Open Water Junior Nationals the following Spring.  During my freshman year of high school, I focused on training for distance events and qualified to swim at USA Swimming Futures Championships in the 400, 800, and 1500 Free LCM.  My Sophomore year of high school, I joined the local high school swim team where I qualified to swim at the State championships, finishing 17th in the 200 Free and 8th in the 500 Free. I was also voted MVP by my coaches and teammates. One of my next goals is to drop my 1500 LCM time to below a 17:20 which would qualify me to swim the 10K at USA Swimming’s Open Water Nationals and give me a Winter Junior’s cut. Someday I also hope to swim the English Channel and compete in the Rottnest Channel Swim in Australia.

I have been homeschooled for the past 6 years, which has allowed me to pursue challenging coursework of interest to me.  Homeschooling requires you to be self-driven, motivated, and inquisitive, all of which will benefit me as I pursue my education in the medical field and in the pool.  The flexible schedule has afforded me opportunities to enroll in classes at the local community college where I plan to complete my EMT certificate during my senior year.  This is the first step in my plans to study medicine and work towards becoming an emergency doctor. The life lessons I’ve learned during my years on swim team will help me accomplish my goals. 

Swimming has helped shape who I am.  The different coaching styles of my club and high school coaches has helped me be more open-minded and shown me different perspectives of learning. These coaches have given me the opportunity and encouragement to push my limits.  Swimming with athletes of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities has given me the ability to become a leader and help motivate others to become leaders themselves. Swimming open water has helped me develop mental toughness and grit by challenging myself in adverse conditions and taught me how to quickly adapt to the feedback from the water and the people around me. My interest in swimming has also led me to become involved in our LSC’s governance.  I serve as the athlete representative for both Iowa Swimming’s Official’s Committee and the Open Water Task Force.

Being part of both a club team and a high school team has taught me the importance of teamwork.  Even though swimming is seen mostly as an individual sport, the support and encouragement of teammates plays a huge role.  Being part of a team means more than just swimming together.  It means looking out for each other, working together, welcoming new members and making them part of the swim family. I look forward to continuing this camaraderie as part of a college team.