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At some point, every college swimmer touches the wall for the last time.
That's where Bloomington South grad Kristina Paegle finds herself after four years at Indiana that seemed to last about as long as one of her 50-yard freestyle races. All the same, she's made the most of it, heading to her last NCAA Nationals this week in Atlanta set to become the Hoosiers' most decorated women's swimmer.
"It definitely flew by really, really fast," Paegle said. "It's so sad. I wish I could stay in college forever. It's really, really special. Being a part of a big team feels like second family all the time. We're all so close. It's just special.
"I've learned lot outside swimming, how to be a leader and also teaching the freshmen new things. You're not always going to be the new kid all the time, so mentoring them. And the coaches also set you up for life experiences. They're not just teaching you swimming things. They also want you to grow as a person, and I've grown a lot here as a person."
Which meant she was ready to take over one of the leadership spots when the time came. She looks at the culture set by the upperclassmen who took her in and wanted to pass that on. But again, it all came around so quickly — too quickly.
"It's really weird," Paegle said. "Sometimes, Anna (Peplowski) and I still feel like freshmen and sophomores. The older girls when we came in were fun to hang out with. They brought a lot to the culture.
"They took me in and Ashley Turak and Ella Ristic. They wanted the freshmen to feel like it was home and wanted us to have fun with their experiences. It was a lot of bonding and feeling like sisters."
The latest freshman class has also grown the number of sprinters IU has at its disposal, including Liberty Clark from California and Iowan Grace Hoeper (qualifier in the 50, 100 and 200 frees) and butterflier Alex Shackell from Carmel. Those three joined Paegle in breaking the Big Ten record in the 400 free relay, and they'll be a No. 3 seed at nationals.
Not surprisingly, everyone, including Paegle, has picked up their game in practice with a larger, more competitive group with which to work in her final year. Not surprisingly, all three free relays and both medley relays are at nationals.
"I love it," Paegle said. "The biggest thing is making sure everyone feels at home and welcome, having fun and doing well and pushing each other.
"We always emphasize relay culture. That's a huge part of the women's team. In practices, we always motivate each other, and we think about the relays at NCAAs."
Paegle said she's lined up to swim with the 200 and 400 free groups and the 200 medley. She has qualified individually in the 50 and 100 frees. Her best times are 21.56 in the 50 and 47.5 in the 100 (last year).
IU finished second at the Big Ten's, the freshmen contributing 281 of the team’s 1,084 points. Paegle was third in the 50 free, seventh in the 100 free and helped the 200 free relay break the IU record while taking second.
It's getting to be a full trophy case. Paegle has piled up 20 All-American honors, leaving only Peplowski (21) ahead of her in school history.
But getting there wasn't always smooth sailing.
Start with balancing school work at a Big Ten institution with all the training and work necessary to compete for one of the top programs in the country.
"There are a lot of high expectations," Paegle said, "at practice and at meets. And those high expectations go into academics and social life as well."
There is also adversity. Last summer, she had mononucleosis.
"I didn't know I had it," Paegle said.
Which explained why she had seemingly plateaued. Not seeing herself getting faster was mentally draining.
"I wasn't motivated," she said. "I had to get myself out of that hole. It was definitely challenging. But I was able to do it and find my love for the sport again."
Yet another life lesson swimming at IU doled out that helped her make the improvements she was after heading into her senior year.
"I learned a lot about how to be resilient," Paegle said. "To get through the lowest lows. I also learned how to really to not think as much and just race. Especially with the girls I train with, we're just always racing, no matter what.
"I learned how to do that better. And paying attention to detail with my stroke and my technique. Always working with (IU assistant coach John Long) to do better and analyzing my races."
The McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Tech is where Paegle will swim her last races.
But she's conflicted, unwilling to just let her sport go the second the nationals are over. The marketing major has yet to sell herself on her future plans.
"I might swim a bit longer, over the summer," Paegle said. "After that, we'll see what happens."
It's not hard to see why she feels that way. Swimming has been such a big part of her life. It's led her to amazing places: state titles in high school, junior world records, Big Ten titles, four national meets, a degree at IU and two Olympic qualifiers.
Over the last year, she's gotten to watch her younger brother, Lukas, get his first taste of competing in college along with another former Panther, David Kovacs, who is headed to the men's nationals in the 100 and 200 backstrokes and 400 individual medley.
More: South's Eakin, Edgewood's Vagedes top All-Area girls swim teams
More: South's 'game changer' Lashley tops All-Area girls basketball team again
"It's so much fun," Paegle said. "I enjoyed it a lot. It felt like club again. Just having him on deck, and the same with David; he's like a second brother to me.
"It was special sharing memories with them and having them training with me again and watching their success and being around the team. It doesn't happen all the time."
Back in 2023, Paegle's freshman year, she helped IU to a seventh-place finish, its best since 2016. She had the first six of her All-America honors. It's only gotten better from there as she makes the turn and heads for home.
"My goal is just to have fun, as much fun as possible," Paegle said. "To take it all in. It is my last college meet, so I'm going to soak it up with the girls all around me and make it as special as possible, fully believing in myself that I'm capable of doing the things want to do."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana swimmer Paegle set for last run at NCAA Championships
Continue reading...
That's where Bloomington South grad Kristina Paegle finds herself after four years at Indiana that seemed to last about as long as one of her 50-yard freestyle races. All the same, she's made the most of it, heading to her last NCAA Nationals this week in Atlanta set to become the Hoosiers' most decorated women's swimmer.
"It definitely flew by really, really fast," Paegle said. "It's so sad. I wish I could stay in college forever. It's really, really special. Being a part of a big team feels like second family all the time. We're all so close. It's just special.
"I've learned lot outside swimming, how to be a leader and also teaching the freshmen new things. You're not always going to be the new kid all the time, so mentoring them. And the coaches also set you up for life experiences. They're not just teaching you swimming things. They also want you to grow as a person, and I've grown a lot here as a person."
Which meant she was ready to take over one of the leadership spots when the time came. She looks at the culture set by the upperclassmen who took her in and wanted to pass that on. But again, it all came around so quickly — too quickly.
"It's really weird," Paegle said. "Sometimes, Anna (Peplowski) and I still feel like freshmen and sophomores. The older girls when we came in were fun to hang out with. They brought a lot to the culture.
"They took me in and Ashley Turak and Ella Ristic. They wanted the freshmen to feel like it was home and wanted us to have fun with their experiences. It was a lot of bonding and feeling like sisters."
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The latest freshman class has also grown the number of sprinters IU has at its disposal, including Liberty Clark from California and Iowan Grace Hoeper (qualifier in the 50, 100 and 200 frees) and butterflier Alex Shackell from Carmel. Those three joined Paegle in breaking the Big Ten record in the 400 free relay, and they'll be a No. 3 seed at nationals.
Not surprisingly, everyone, including Paegle, has picked up their game in practice with a larger, more competitive group with which to work in her final year. Not surprisingly, all three free relays and both medley relays are at nationals.
"I love it," Paegle said. "The biggest thing is making sure everyone feels at home and welcome, having fun and doing well and pushing each other.
"We always emphasize relay culture. That's a huge part of the women's team. In practices, we always motivate each other, and we think about the relays at NCAAs."
Paegle said she's lined up to swim with the 200 and 400 free groups and the 200 medley. She has qualified individually in the 50 and 100 frees. Her best times are 21.56 in the 50 and 47.5 in the 100 (last year).
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Big finish for Paegle
IU finished second at the Big Ten's, the freshmen contributing 281 of the team’s 1,084 points. Paegle was third in the 50 free, seventh in the 100 free and helped the 200 free relay break the IU record while taking second.
It's getting to be a full trophy case. Paegle has piled up 20 All-American honors, leaving only Peplowski (21) ahead of her in school history.
But getting there wasn't always smooth sailing.
Start with balancing school work at a Big Ten institution with all the training and work necessary to compete for one of the top programs in the country.
"There are a lot of high expectations," Paegle said, "at practice and at meets. And those high expectations go into academics and social life as well."
There is also adversity. Last summer, she had mononucleosis.
"I didn't know I had it," Paegle said.
Which explained why she had seemingly plateaued. Not seeing herself getting faster was mentally draining.
"I wasn't motivated," she said. "I had to get myself out of that hole. It was definitely challenging. But I was able to do it and find my love for the sport again."
Yet another life lesson swimming at IU doled out that helped her make the improvements she was after heading into her senior year.
"I learned a lot about how to be resilient," Paegle said. "To get through the lowest lows. I also learned how to really to not think as much and just race. Especially with the girls I train with, we're just always racing, no matter what.
"I learned how to do that better. And paying attention to detail with my stroke and my technique. Always working with (IU assistant coach John Long) to do better and analyzing my races."
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Atlanta, here she comes
The McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of Georgia Tech is where Paegle will swim her last races.
But she's conflicted, unwilling to just let her sport go the second the nationals are over. The marketing major has yet to sell herself on her future plans.
"I might swim a bit longer, over the summer," Paegle said. "After that, we'll see what happens."
It's not hard to see why she feels that way. Swimming has been such a big part of her life. It's led her to amazing places: state titles in high school, junior world records, Big Ten titles, four national meets, a degree at IU and two Olympic qualifiers.
Over the last year, she's gotten to watch her younger brother, Lukas, get his first taste of competing in college along with another former Panther, David Kovacs, who is headed to the men's nationals in the 100 and 200 backstrokes and 400 individual medley.
More: South's Eakin, Edgewood's Vagedes top All-Area girls swim teams
More: South's 'game changer' Lashley tops All-Area girls basketball team again
"It's so much fun," Paegle said. "I enjoyed it a lot. It felt like club again. Just having him on deck, and the same with David; he's like a second brother to me.
"It was special sharing memories with them and having them training with me again and watching their success and being around the team. It doesn't happen all the time."
Back in 2023, Paegle's freshman year, she helped IU to a seventh-place finish, its best since 2016. She had the first six of her All-America honors. It's only gotten better from there as she makes the turn and heads for home.
"My goal is just to have fun, as much fun as possible," Paegle said. "To take it all in. It is my last college meet, so I'm going to soak it up with the girls all around me and make it as special as possible, fully believing in myself that I'm capable of doing the things want to do."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana swimmer Paegle set for last run at NCAA Championships
Continue reading...
