Swimming is a tough sport. It challenges you in every way shape and form, and rising to the challenge is something that can separate the good from the great.
Junior Evan Rhinesmith has made a huge leap from his freshman year till now, rising to
the challenge and breaking the school’s breaststroke record twice.
“It just came down to the realization that I wasn’t a big fish in a small pond any more,” Rhinesmith said.
From that moment on Rhinesmith has been putting in all the required work and more. It takes a lot of sacrifice to get to the level he is at. And as the swim team heads competes at the conference meet today, Rhinesmith will look to come one step closer to making it to the National meet.
“It takes lots of sacrifice, I feel like I have sacrificed the normal high school and college experience, but it is just something you adjust to,” Rhinesmith said.
Being an athlete means that the “normal” life is something that seems distant and foreign, but this lack of normalcy is amplified when you are an elite athlete. It means changes in diet, sleeping patterns and partying on the weekends goes out the window when you remember about your morning workouts. But like Rhinesmith said, “It’s just something you get used to.
“I want to make it to the National Meet and place in the top eight so I can become an All-American,” Rhinesmith added.
Even though the swim team has a very tough conference, Rhinesmith has a very good shot at
moving on to Nationals. The whole swim team has put in all the hard work with their training camp
in Florida to their morning workouts.
“I’d really like to see my teammates get the pay off for all their hard work, because we really have a chance to do something special,” Rhinesmith said.
From the Phys. Ed classes in middle school to the conference meet this weekend, Rhinesmith has always pushed himself. And this weekend when it is time for the
first heat of the breaststroke, Rhinesmith will be ready.
“As cliché as it sounds I’m just going to go out there and take it one race at a time.”