Going into last year's NCAA Division III swimming
and diving championships, it never crossed Case Western Reserve
University senior swimmer Alicia Kendig's mind that she might
actually win a national title.
"I think I went in at fourth or fifth (seed
in the finals) that night," said Kendig, who competed
in the 500-yard freestyle. "At
the 350 (yard) mark I wondered where everyone was. I was looking
around and thought maybe something happened. It kind of all
blurred together."
Something did happen. Kendig became
the first Case swimmer since 1992 to become a national champion
by winning the race
with a time of 4:58.18. She almost made it two titles when
she finished second in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:02.50)
two days later.
"It was really exciting," Kendig said. "I
went over on my cell phone bill. My parents called my brother,
and he
called everybody and then everybody called me."
In addition
to the big phone bill, Kendig got a medal-and the pressure
of being on top. If she won the 500 last year, she
definitely should win it again this year and finish first at
every meet along the way. Right?
Right or wrong Kendig, who
lives in Lancaster, Pa., stayed in Cleveland this past summer
and trained hard in order to
defend her title.
"I dedicated the summer to swimming," Kendig said. "After
the win,
I decided that I have one more year, I have been swimming for
18 years, so why not drop everything and go for it. If I didn't
do that, then I would have thought how good could I have been
and how much more could
I have done?"
Kendig didn't spend the whole summer swimming-at
least not entirely. The nutrition major who will graduate from
Case in
May worked part-time at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
helping with a research project.
The study, a joint one between
Case and Rainbow, looks at the eating habits and dietary patterns
of normal children as well
ones with chronic diseases, like Phyenlyketonuria (PKU) and
type 1 diabetes. She also started a second study on youth suffering
from type 2 diabetes and obesity. Kendig looked not only at
how children eat, but also how their parents and siblings influence
their diet.
"It's really exciting," she said. "I
went to clinics and interviewed kids and their parents. It
was an eye-opener
meeting teen-age boys with diabetes who are going through growth
phases and can't eat whatever they want."
Kendig will enter
a five-semester masters program in public health with a concentration
in maternal and infant nutrition
this fall at Case. She is ultimately interested in becoming
a pediatric clinical dietitian.
But for the time being, Kendig
plans on putting the four basic food groups on hold while
she defends her national
championship.
The three-time All-American has not lost a 500- or 1,650-freestyle
race this year and has already qualified for the national
championships (NCAA Division III) this March (11-13).
