Colorado State University Athletics
The Life of a Swimmer?
10/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
She sits quietly in her business classes, her hair still wet from practice and the smell of chlorine emanating from her damp skin. Most college students think waking up to make their 8 o?clock is early... think again. This Ram has been awake for close to two and a half hours already, having made one of her several practices for the day while a lot of students are hitting snooze two times and getting in twenty minutes extra sleep. The life of this Ram is not the life of your typical college student, but rather, of an extraordinary athlete.
Her name is Kristen Schneider. She is a senior member of the Rams Swimming team under head coach, John Mattos. Most of her friends would say swimming is her life, and when you swim, there is no other life than the sport. From an early morning start at 5:45, she hits the pool by six to get in an hour and a half workout and is back at 2 in the afternoon for another three-hour long practice. Twice a week she spends an hour lifting in the weight room with other top-notch athletes.
All of Schneider?s hard work and sacrifices are worth the accomplishments and phenomenal success she achieves each week. Schneider was ranked no. 8 in Canada in the 100 Backstroke before she started her collegiate career. Now she is one of the most decorated swimmers in Colorado State University history. She currently owns three school records, an accomplishment not even Olympic gold medalist and Ram alumni Amy Van Dyken holds.
As a freshman, Schneider dominated the Mountain West Conference Championships, winning both the 100 and 200 Backstrokes while qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Three years after a terrific start to an impressive career as a Ram, she has the chance of being the only swimmer in history to qualify for four NCAA Championships consecutively. Schneider also holds school records in the 400 and 800 Freestyle relays, and 200 and 400 Medley relays. She has been the top point scorer for the Rams for the last two seasons and named MVP by her team for the last three years.
When John Mattos recruited Kristen Schneider from Regina, SK, Canada, he knew that he had talent on his hands, but never had he fathomed what an amazing success she would be for the Rams.
by Corinne Hofstetter, Media Relatios Intern/Ram Swimmer
