Caitlin Waldner '23 Recruiting Profile

Allow me to introduce myself-

My name is Caitlin Waldner, and I'm graduating with the class of 2023. I found my love for swimming when I first started winning heat ribbons during the summer swim league when I was seven. Although it was only a heat ribbon and there were probably other swimmers that were much faster than me, I thought that I had ruled pool. I then found out about club swimming and joined Bearcat Swim Club with my two best friends, and that's how I realized that there is so much more to swimming than heat ribbons. I had discovered that when you join a team, you join a family.

I remember starting out and always trying to beat the person in the lane next to me, even if it was in practice. I wanted to win. This fire inside of me lead me to make every state championship meet, both short course and long course, from the time I started until now. I had also been ranked Top 5 in Oregon for three years in a row. This only made me feel more inspired and ready to swim.

Later on in my swimming career, I worked through and overcame impingements in my rotator cuff and bicep. After swimming at long course state, I went straight into physical therapy and strength training. After a lot of hard work and perseverance, I found the light at the end of the tunnel and came back to swimming again, even more in love and eager to swim. Despite training hard and doing my best, I had fallen into a plateau and hadn't dropped time for a while. I had only become more hungry for a win.

Then came my first season of high school swimming. Even though I was nervous about being in a new setting, I was excited to show that I was ready to swim and that I was here to help the people who have never been involved in competitive swimming. I knew that as an experienced swimmer, I could be a role model and a source of comfort for newer swimmers. That season was one of the best seasons that I've had in a while. Our girls' team was the best high school team in Salem, and I had the best 100 fly and the second-best 100 back in our school district. Our 200 Freestyle relay made the OSAA State Swimming Championships. I also ended up MVP for my high school team as a freshman. I can only thank my coaches and friends for believing in me and pushing me to do my best.

I look forward to swimming in college and finding a new family to be a part of. I plan on pursuing a career in medicine as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. I'm eager to be pushed by my teammates and coaches to be the best version of myself that I can be, in and out of the pool. I can't wait to start this new chapter of my life.