Hannah Durkee '14 Recruiting Profile

I believe my best days of swimming are ahead me!  As a multi sport athlete, my years have been spilt into several different sports seasons.  Although summer swim season in Vermont is short, only 7-8 weeks, I believe, through this sport, I have grown a lot as an athlete, teammate and person.  When asked, I refer to myself first as a swimmer, not a sprinter, soccer or basketball player.

High school swim teams are non-existent in Vermont.  Although some winter swim clubs were available, to get the most out my high school experience, I thought it was important to participate on the teams my high school did offer.  I love being a team player and the school spirit that goes along with being on a school team.  Therefore, it was a difficult decision, but I have elected to forego my senior year of high school basketball to focus on winter swimming.  This was not an easy decision as my high school basketball team has been to the State finals the past three years, and we will be a favorite this year as well.  However, having seen the positive results from summer swimming, I believe I owe it to myself to see how much better a swimmer I can become. If nothing else, this training will help set me up to end my last summer season, in 2014, on a very positive note.

As I look ahead to college, it is difficult to imagine the next four years without sports, competition, or teamwork. I love being a student athlete and all the challenges that come with it. Ideally, the perfect college for me will be one that offers the academic challenges I seek along with the ability to contribute to the school community by being on a swim team. The prospect of being at a college that has an official swim team is very intriguing. Through summer swim team, I have demonstrated the ability to get faster each year, and compete successfully against full year swimmers.  I am not burned out.  In fact, I am very enthusiastic about the prospect of swimming this winter to focus on improvements in technique and times.  For these reasons, I believe my best days of swimming are ahead of me!