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Klem glad to be back at state

COLUMBIANA–Crestview junior Rachel Klem missed a trip to the state swimming meet by the slimmest of margins last season. She worked all year to ensure that it didn’t happen again.

“I fell about 0.1 seconds short last year,” Klem said. “It’s something that’s really driven me. I wanted to do whatever it took to get back this season.”

After getting a taste of the Div. II state meet as a freshman, Klem earned her way back to Canton in the 100-yard breaststroke as an at-large selection after turning in a seventh place finish in last week’s district meet with a time of 1:06.10.

She will be seeded 16th when the action gets underway with preliminaries at 5 p.m. today at C.T. Branin Natatorium. The top eight from each event will compete for podium spots on Friday, with the next eight competing in the consolation finals.

“I had a pretty good idea that my time was going to be good enough after the district meet last week,” Klem said. “When I saw that I had made it for sure, there was a sense of relief that all my hard work had paid off.”

When Klem made her first trip to state two years ago, she did so with her sister Rebekah, who was making her third straight appearance as a senior.

Last season, with Rebekah off at college, Klem acknowledged that it was difficult not having her sister by her side.

“I was used to doing everything with Rebekah,” Klem said. “Last year was the first time I was swimming without her. It was a little bit of a hard transition for me, I missed having her around.”

While Klem hasn’t gotten to swim with her sister on a daily basis, she has gotten one more year to train with West Branch senior Jamyson Robb, who will be gunning for her second straight Div. II 100 breaststroke state title this week.

“Swimming with Jamyson has been awesome these past few years,” Klem said. “She’s a great person and a great friend. Getting to train with somebody that talented definitely has a positive affect. We push each other a lot.”

Going into this season, Klem began to prepare herself for the grind of getting back to state. She increased both her lifting and yardage workloads and was rewarded with her best time of the season at the district meet.

“Going into the state meet, I still think there is room for me to get better,” Klem said. “I would like to swim my best time of the season this week and advance to Friday.”

Klem finished 19th at the state meet as a freshman. Although she had attended the event before to watch her sister, Klem said competing was a different experience.

“I think the biggest thing I learned was just to stay calm the whole time and soak everything in,” Klem said.

Swimming in familiar surroundings certainly helps. C.T. Branin Natatorium serves as Klem’s home pool during the season while her and Robb train with Canton McKinley.

“It’s one of the best pools around, I love swimming there,” Klem said. “Getting a chance to compete this week against the fastest swimmers in the state in your home pool is one of the most fun experiences you can have.”

Notes

¯After she graduates next year, Klem will follow her sister to Ohio University where she plans to be part of the swim team. Rebekah is currently a sophomore swimmer with the Bobcats.

“I’ve already been down a bunch of times and have met the coaches,” Rachel Klem said. “I feel really comfortable there, I think it’s going to be a great place for me to get better as a swimmer and as a person.”

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