Diana Brailita '21 Recruiting Profile

Hi, my name is Diana Brailita! I started swimming with my club team when I was 5 years old so that my parents knew  I was safe in water but it quickly became much more than that. I qualified for my first Midwestern when I was an eager little 6 year old and swam the 50 back. I've won numerous events at Midwesterns and got High-point Runner-Up twice.  I started performing very well in backstroke events as well as freestyle, eventually qualifying and placing in bigger meets like Allstars, Zones, and Sectionals. 

Once I started swimming for my high school team, I found that my passion for swimming grew as I practiced more intensely and swam at a high level against the best swimmers across the state. The NSAA state meet hold some of my favorite memories of placing in finals individually and with my relay team!  I also always kept school as my top priority and learned how to balance my academic and athletic priorities. I kept a 4.0 GPA in all of my honors and AP classes while still being the best leader I could be for my teammates at practice and swim meets. This meant sometimes coming home from a meet at 10 p.m. and staying up hours longer to prepare for the next day, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I am still very committed to my studies as I want to eventually attend Medical School and become a physician however I know how to balance that with hours of hard work in the pool. 

Swimming has always been about the "rush" and the memories for me. There's nothing that could replace the feeling I get after swimming a great race or a grueling practice. That's what I love most about swimming: your hard work pays off. I'm tough on myself and always looking to do better which makes me a very competitive person but I'm also very good at hyping other people up.  After my senior year ends, I'm very interested in collegiate swimming. I can't wait to make more memories and keep working hard.