Rawlings and Steven Excel
Kayla Rawlings concluded the 2006-07 season for the
Rawlings, a sophomore first team Pacific-10 Conference All-Academic selection, finished first in the 200-long course meter butterfly. Rawlings led after the preliminary round (2:15.64) and followed up with an even better swim in the final (2:14.12) to edge out the second place competitor.
“It was a great experience,” said Rawlings. “I have been swimming at Nationals for many years now, and to finally win is awesome. At this meet I wanted to focus on my
butterfly races, so I didn't swim anything on Friday, to help me prepare and
focus on the 200 fly on Saturday. 200 Fly is my best event, and I wanted to do
well. My goal was to win it, and try to make the Pan American Games Team. I
tried to stay relaxed, have fun, and race hard. When I think about why I
swim....because it's fun, it takes off some of the pressure, and I can just
relax, and swim my best. It was a close race for first, and I swam well. My
time was about half a second off my best time, and I didn't make the Pan
American Games team, but overall I was happy with my swim, and excited to have won my first National Championship.”
As a member of the Langley Olympians Swim Club, Rawlings helped the team to a fifth place during the four day championship held on March 21-25.
On a larger stage, former OSU swimmer Birte Steven (2001-04) continued her pursuit of the 2008 Olympics by finishing sixth in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:28.13) at the FINA World Championships in
