Riley Rowan '24 Recruiting Profile

When I was younger and living in California my mother had encouraged me to join a swim team but I wasn't interested. I was intimidated by being a part of a team. I was a surfer and completed the Junior Lifeguard program and I loved the ocean and swimming but the idea of competitive swimming just wasn't for me. As a homeschooling family we had the opportunity to travel the world full time for three years, which was an amazing experience, though not one that was conducive to team sports. Once we moved to South Carolina and knew that we would stay awhile something in me landed differently and I told my parents I might be interested in swimming. I joined our local club team and it was hard. I didn't love it right away. But when I fell for it I fell hard and swimming became the love of my life. I was nearly 14 then and I discovered a part of myself that I had no idea was missing. This sport has brought out the best in me in just about every way possible. In the 2.5 years that I have been swimming I have moved through seven coaches, two teams, and have levelled myself up to our national team - the highest level that I can be at within the YMCA club system. I also swim for our local high school, not as a matriculated student, but as a homeschooler and also for our summer swim league. I have broken school and neighborhood records, I am top ranked in the state, and I am a national qualifier and competitor. I am only at the very beginning of my potential despite how fervently I have progressed. I used to think that starting so late in the sport was going to work against me and that I would never really be able to compete at top levels. I now realize that every step of my swim journey has led me exactly where I need to be. If I'd started earlier maybe I'd be burnt out, maybe I wouldn't love it as much or be as hungry for it as I am. Maybe I wouldn't work as hard as I do to overcome those years that I missed. I know now that the best of me and my swimming is yet to come. I cannot wait to begin the next chapter of my swimming at the collegiate level. As a homeschool student I have always been taught to reach beyond my limits, to live outside the box, and to live and learn with my body, mind, and soul. I believe that my unique experiences will be an asset to every environment ahead of me.