At her senior night earlier this year, Katelyn Southard, left, poses with Mars Hill swimming coach Elle Grier.
Submitted Photo
Pushing oneself to the limit can open up a number of different avenues for student-athletes.
Katelyn Southard, a 2016 graduate of Surry Central, used her skills in competitive swimming as a gateway to a college degree. Southard’s love and dedication to the sport helped her secure a spot on the swimming and diving team at Mars Hill University.
Despite facing obstacles at varying points of her academic and athletic journeys, Southard pushed through adversity to receive a degree in nursing while competing as a four-year varsity athlete. There were times in her career she debated stepping away from the sport, but always stuck with it.
Southard’s start in competitive swimming was later than most of her collegiate colleagues. Southard began competing when she was 10 or 11, but said a lot of competitive swimmers start when they’re 5.
This delay didn’t take away from the incredible impact swimming had on Southard.
“I started with the summer league in Dobson, the Dobson Dolphins, which is still going today,” she said. “I fell in love with it. I quit all other sports and joined PAC.”
PAC, short for North Piedmont Aquatic Club, is a swimming organization that hosts competitors of many different age groups.
“It’s such a good family environment,” Southard said. “It’s not one of these big programs like STAR which is all over the country. It says a lot about Jeff and Leah Tunstall that they attract so many people around here. That’s how good they are.”
PAC helped Southard overcome the learning curve of a later start to the sport. She said she owed a lot of her career to positive coaching influences like the Tunstalls.
Southard also cited Dara Kowalcik as a coach that helped her tremendously. Kowalcik coached Southard when she started in Dobson, and then again when Southard got to high school at Surry Central.
“Growing up with Dara in that environment was a good experience for me,” Southard said. “She treated all of us equal and loved us like family.”
Having competed in swimming year-round for nearly six years by the time she was a junior in high school, Southard started feeling a little burnt out. The goal since joining PAC was to continuing swimming as long as possible. This meant competing in college, of which Southard was unsure at the time.
Senior year rolled around and Southard had to sit back and consider her options. After talking with family and coaches, she realized how much she would miss the sport if she didn’t at least try to swim in college.
So then, the search began.
Southard considered a number of different schools in her search for the right destination. Mars Hill was actually the final school she toured.
Tiffany Golding, a graduate of both Surry Central and Mars Hill, convinced Southard to visit the school.
“I met the coach, Teddy Guyer, and he pretty much sold it to me,” Southard said. “I met the team and the atmosphere was something I wanted to be a part of. They had that family feel like I had in high school with Dara. I already knew I wanted to go to a small school.”
Mars Hill allowed Southard to compete in freestyle and butterfly events like she did in high school. As a junior at Surry Central, Southard won the Western Piedmont Conference Championship in the 100 fly. She also had two silver finishes in the 200 freestyle, in which she later finished third in at the 2A regional meet, and 200 medley relays as well as a bronze finish in the 200 freestyle relay.
The next year, Southard won WPAC gold in the 200 individual medley and 100 fly. She also took silver in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. Southard later competed in the 2A state championship meet in both the 200 freestyle and 100 fly.
Even though she was swimming similar events, Southard described the transition to a college sport as “a whole new game.”
“I can’t even explain it,” she said. “In high school, yeah, you’re competing and you have rivalries with other swimmers, but a lot of it is focused on you. Just trying to reach those regional and state qualifying times and rack up college offers.
“It became about ‘I have to back up these times in practices and I have to come out and perform.’”
Southard went from working out five days a week to eight times in a week. It was taxing both physically and mentally.
“Leah really helped prepare me with PAC, but it was still a lot to take on.”
Southard said she had to rebalance things in her life to try to handle all the demands of swimming on top of schoolwork. As a nursing major, a lot of her time was spent outside of the classroom anyway.
“My coaches were very helpful,” Southard said. “They really helped us stay accountable with classes and were understanding with all the work required by our majors.”
Southard nearly got burnt out again by the time her senior year rolled around. Work in her major made life even more difficult and had Southard considering an early end to her college career.
However, similar to her situation in high school, Southard talked it over with family, coaches and athletic trainers and ended up sticking with the sport.
Southard said she truly enjoyed her time at Mars Hill and appreciates the opportunities that swimming provided her.
“I was lucky to meet people from multiple countries on different continents and it was one of the most valuable assets to my education and moving from a small town,” she said.
To those striving to play a college sport, Southard said not to put so much pressure on yourself.
“College is fun and all, but don’t make it all about that. You have to enjoy sport to get through college. Enjoy it while you can.”
Southard isn’t ready to step away from the sport just because her college career has come to a close. Before starting her job with Wake Forest Baptist Health, she has gone full circle and helped coach the Dobson Dolphins.
Coaching gave her a different outlook on the sport. Southard now spends time strategizing, interacting with parents and find out how to get the most out of each swimmer.
She doesn’t know what will happen next summer now that she has a job, but Southard said she hopes to stay involved in in the sport.
“I’ll never stop swimming, that’s for sure.”
Reach Cory on Twitter @MrCoryLeeSmith