WEST SUNBURY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — When Katelyn Reott touched the wall and peered up at her time, the Moniteau junior couldn’t help but smile.
Not only did Reott finish the 50-yard freestyle at the PIAA Class 2A Swimming and Diving Championships at Bucknell University on Friday with a career-best time of 24.17 seconds, she also tied for fifth to become the first swimmer at the school to place at the state meet.
“It just feels great,” Reott said. “Everyone was congratulating me and they posted it on the school website. It’s just a big thing for our school because we’re such a small school.”
A small school that doesn’t even have a swimming program.
Reott swims independently, but she proudly wore her Moniteau colors at the state meet.
Last year, Reott advanced to the championships, but didn’t fare well, placing a disappointing 14th with a time a full second slower than the one she posted this time around.
“Last year when I swam, I was just so nervous,” said Reott, who also qualified for the state meet as a freshmen, but that event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “That affected how I did. This time, since I was experienced with going to state, it wasn’t as bad and I was able to do better because I knew what it was going to be like.”
Reott, though, still had quite a few butterflies dancing around in her stomach before the preliminary race.
When she finished eighth in that race, guaranteeing her a spot in the finals, she was relieved.
“I was really happy because that was my goal,” Reott said. “It really helped me get those jitters out. I wasn’t even nervous at all in the finals.”
Reott excels in the sprinting events in the pool and the 50 free is her best race.
What she enjoys the most about it is the unbridled approach she must take — nothing held back, all speed, all the time.
“It’s so short that it’s also a mind thing,” Reott said. “It’s a mindset. You just have to go after it and be confident.”
She spends a lot of time preparing for a race that lasts less than 25 seconds.
In the two weeks between the District 9 meet and the state championships, Reott had a club event with the Butler YMCA Barracudas.
That affected how she prepared for Bucknell.
“Because I had some big meets with club, I couldn’t taper as much,” Reott said. “I was watching what I was eating, eating very healthy, and making sure I got plenty of sleep.”
It paid off.
The big meets aren’t over yet for Reott.
The state meet for the club season begins Thursday and Reott is the No. 1 seed in the 50 free. The following week, Reott will travel to Greensboro, N.C., for the club nationals.
Reott is hoping to come home from York, Pa., this weekend with a gold medal and then at nationals — who knows?
“I’ve never been in nationals before — this is my first year — so I really don’t know what to expect,” Reott said. “Honestly, I just really want to go there and get good times. That’s all I’m really asking for.”
When swimming is over, Reott will take to the track for Moniteau High School.
She’ll run — what else? — the sprint events.
Reott is fast by water and she’s curious to see how fast she is by land in her first year on the team.
“I did it in eighth grade and it was fun,” Reott said. “My school actually has that sport, so it will be fun to have a team.”
