Kayda Geyer Qualifies For Junior Pan Pac Meet

FORT COLLINS – As far as excuses go for missing something, Kayda Geyer's will be enthusiastically accepted.

While the majority of her incoming freshman classmates will be taking part in Ram Welcome Week at Colorado State, Geyer will be taking on some of the best junior swimmers on this side of the globe after qualifying for the U.S. Junior Pan Pacific swimming team after winning the 18U national title in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2026 Toyota National Championships on Wednesday in Irvine, Calif.

The Junior Pan Pacific meet will be held Aug. 17-20 in Vancouver, Canada, with the squad from American joined by those from Japan, Canada and Australia. The U.S. roster – limited to 20 men and 20 women – is built by the top two finishers in each the 100 and 200 freestyles and the winners of the other 17 events, leaving at the minimum one selected by the coaching staff.

This is the second consecutive summer Geyer will close with an international competition. In 2025, she made the U.S. World Junior team, placing eighth in the 200 breast while competing in Otopeni, Romania. By virtue of her win this week, Geyer will be able to compete in multiple events during the Pan Pac meet. It will be a schedule which will likely include the 100 breast, an event she placed eighth in this week in Irvine. She also swam in the 50 breast and 200 individual medley.

"Competing with higher-level athletes from all over the U.S. and other countries is just so inspiring. To be at meets with them, and the team atmosphere when you're competing for Team USA is just like no other, and it's so exciting to do and just such a fun experience," Geyer said. "To bring back that knowledge to my teammates back home is just something I love doing and I always get so inspired when I'm at those meets."

Representing the club her father, Dave, coaches, she will be one of two members from the Mecklenburg Swim Association to represent their country at the Pan Pacs. Mike Rice, a sprint freestyler, also made the team.

As she noted, the lessons she gains from these premier events can very much become shared experiences with others she trains with – rising tides and all that. Colorado State coach Christopher Woodard knows Geyer will bring that to the deck at Moby Pool, much in the same way Tess Whineray did after becoming the first Ram to compete at the NCAA Championships in 13 seasons. Whineray followed up with a strong showing in the New Zealand national long course championships.

"I certainly hope so. I think the broader message in the community is not really my main concern. That's going to be received how it's received," Woodard said. "My responsibilities are within the team. Hey, you have seen these athletes develop either prior to their experience here, or obviously during their experience with the Rams. This team's going to be very good. What can you contribute?

"And that's what every athlete in the program should be thinking right now. OK, we've got a rare opportunity here to really emerge on the national stage. How am I going to help push that forward?"

Geyer, who will join her sister, Maddi, a conference scorer, on the roster, did so individually in capturing her national championship. The 200 distance has become her strongest in the stroke, and while she said all her races require a precise approach, that one really does in particular.

In the qualifying heats, seniors and juniors swim together, with Kayda's 2:29.10 ranking fifth and putting her the second seed in the junior final.

She led the field after the first 50, then was overtaken by Kaidy Stout for the following two legs, holding a lead at the 150 wall. To overcome the deficit, Kayda showed no panic in her stroke, just confidence in the plan which she executed perfectly by posting the only sub-39 in the final 50, getting to the wall in a personal-best 2:28.22.

"Honestly, I felt confident from the start of the race. I had a plan going into it, but I didn't know I won until I touched the wall, so that was definitely an exciting thing to see for me and just that it all came together in the end," Kayda said. "I was so excited.

"For that race in particular, I knew I had to be out faster than I normally am because of the high level of competition. I just had to trust that I wasn't going to die in the back half and that my training has prepped me for that."

In return, she will miss the chaos of move-in day, leaving roommate Avery Lonergan (who, as well as Aubrey Martin, is competing in Futures meets this weekend) her choice of which side of the room is hers without debate. Kayda will also miss out on tours and events planned to help the newcomers meet and mingle with other new Rams.

It's a few days Woodard will be more than happy to have her miss, as the payoff – for her as an individual and his team as whole – is rather invaluable in the long run.

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