Her hands scooping through the water, pulling at it as she turns her head up for her final breath before she hits the wall timer. Her Royals swim cap splitting the splashes of wild water, her team cheering louder than ever. Her hand hits the wall, as her head shoots out of the water searching for the scoreboard as the seconds seem like minutes. The board updates, Kendall Dieckman has broken the 500-freestyle record. 

Over break the HSE Girls Swim and Dive team had two meets, the first being on December 21, the Splash-n-Clash. During the Splash-n-Clash a record had been broken by freshman Kendall Dieckman. Swimming since she was 7, Dieckman has been swimming half her lifetime already. A shock to most this early in the season, even Dieckman herself.

“It was a goal of mine for this season, but I thought it would happen at the State Meet or Sectionals.” Dieckman said, “So I was surprised when it happened at the Splash-n-Clash meet in December.”

Getting nervous is something that many face, Dieckman is no exception. However, Dieckman knows she has put in the work to be there which helps her shut down the nerves. She also says that her team plays a huge part in the comfort she feels in and out of the water. 

“You can feel the team’s support from the water.” Dieckman said, “Seeing the team lined up on the side of the pool during your swim really motivates you to remember your doing this for your team and to keep going.”

Dieckman has high plans and goals for the future revolving around swimming including continuing to swim here at HSE. Also, she plans to one day go D1 and compete. 

“I will continue to progress in swimming.” Dieckman said, “However, breaking this record so early has been so amazing and I can’t wait to Accomplish more!”