By Halle Frisco
Contributing Writer
Ashleigh Podhayny finished her senior season with an impressive set of accolades.
Podhayny currently possesses school record times in five events: the 100 back, the 200 IM, the 200 back, the 200 free, and the 400 IM.
She also holds top ten best times in five other events: the 100 free (4), the 100 breast (6), the 500 free (7), the 1000 free (3), and the 200 fly (8).
Her best events are the 200 and 400 IM, as well as the 200 backstroke. She occasionally swims in freestyle and relay events when needed.
“My favorite event to swim is the 400 IM which may sound crazy because it is one of the hardest events, but I really enjoy transitioning my strokes within one race,” Podhayny replied when asked to choose between them.
Motivation is a key component to success, especially in a sport with individual events such as swimming.
When asked what kept Podhayny motivated and drove her to be her best, she gave credit to multiple people: her teammates.
“My teammates kept me motivated to keep pushing myself day in and day out during practices. Without them, swimming would have been a lot harder to keep doing and staying positive about. They were the ones that made the worst practice sets worth doing because we were all doing it together. They were a huge part of how I successfully made it to the end of my senior year here.”
Podhayny’s competitive swimming career began at Immaculate Heart Academy where she attended high school and chose Towson University (MD) to continue swimming at the Division I level.
She swam for Towson during her freshman and sophomore years before transferring to ESU.
When asked why she chose to transfer to ESU for her junior and senior years, Podhayny responded:
“I chose to transfer to ESU for my junior and senior years because it was a better fit for the type of person I am and could still swim at a Division II level. I loved the dynamic of the team here and how much of a family we are. I also chose ESU because the Exercise Science program is very advanced and is better preparing me for my career path in Pre-Professional Therapeutic studies.”
Podhayny plans to complete an internship at a physical therapy facility and further her education in graduate school. She plans to earn her doctorate in PT.
Email Halle at:
hfrisco@live.esu.edu