The Distance Traveled: Swimming Trio Leads Owl Distance Squad
2/21/2024 9:57:00 AM | Swimming
HOUSTON, Texas — When a group of Owls ventured to Knoxville, Tennessee, to compete in the TYR Pro Swim Series earlier this season, they encountered an opponent many will watch swimming in Paris this summer.
"It's always a great opportunity to get in a pool and swim right next to top swimmers such as Katie Ledecky," graduate senior Shannon Campbell said. "Even if we weren't in the same heat but in the same event, at least we were watching her swim and seeing her techniques and her race strategies. It's really great to learn from her and then also just seeing her on the same deck is motivational to be at the same meet as her."
Campbell, alongside fellow Owl distance swimmers Amelia Kane and Ella Dyson, were part of a small group of Owls who competed in the Pro Series event, an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best competition in the nation.
"That was really exciting actually," Dyson said. "I'd never seen (Ledecky) swim in person and I think this is probably one of my only chances to do so. Just to be able to say I was racing against the best in the world was pretty amazing. Not many people got to say that. We stayed to watch one of her swims in the final. She's just such a good, strong swimmer. There are definitely some things to learn just being at the meet with her. You get to see her whole race process and warming up."
While there may be other swimmers still to chase, Rice's trio of Campbell, Kane and Dyson have also proven their own championship mettle and will look to do so again this weekend at the AAC Championships in Dallas, Texas. All three already have conference championships to their names. Kane was champion in the 500-yard freestyle in Rice's final appearance at the C-USA Championships in 2022. That same year, Campbell claimed the title in the 1,650-yard freestyle. In Rice's first appearance at the AAC Championships in 2023, Dyson won the 1,650, and all three swimmers placed in the top five of the event.
"It's fun that every time we get up to race at conference, it's usually your teammates who you've been training with every day that are right there next to you," Campbell said. "You know how they swim during practices and then you can take that into a meet. It's helpful to know that you're executing your own race strategy. And obviously, it's just fun to have them there. We all do well at conference and a big part of why I decided to do a fifth year was our distance group. I wanted to continue training with girls who pushed me and who I knew were gonna be there and succeed right next to me."
That combination of talent and fun has helped head coach Seth Huston to build a program that consistently battles for conference titles and NCAA Championship appearances in distance events.
"I would say this is the strongest we've been," Huston said. "We've always been pretty solid as a distance team. I'm comfortable with training that athlete. We've had some strong distance swimmers. Almost every year, we're either winning or placing in the top two or two or three in conference in the mile (1,650-yard freestyle). It's been a long tradition."
In Huston's 20-plus years on South Main, the Owls have grown into a consistent challenger for conference titles in distance events. Prior to 2008, Rice had never recorded a conference title in the 500- or 1,650-yard freestyle events. Beginning with Brittany Massengale's victory in the 1,650 at the 2008 C-USA Championships, the Owls have now won a total of 17 conference titles in the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. That success helps breed success, as practice sessions become faux competitions already featuring some of the best swimmers in the conference.
"We have a really strong distance program here which in training really helps," Dyson said. "We all tend to train to reach similar times. It's always good to have someone you're like, 'Oh, I need to try and keep up with them.' Often days, I'll be feeling tired and sore and I'm not sure if I'm really up to it, and then you'll have Amelia or Shannon next to me and they'll be like, 'OK, you got this. Keep up with me.' We'll both push each other on when we're maybe not feeling as fresh as the other person."
That camaraderie helps greatly in a sport that, at its core, is largely an individual sport. Even in relay events, the only connection between swimmers generates from one athlete touching the wall and sending another off the starting blocks. By the time the swimmer hits the water, however, they are once again alone in the pool, left to their own thoughts and techniques built from countless hours spent in the pool, hours also spent alone.
"When you're in the pool, you're definitely in your own thoughts," Dyson said. "But because there's a group of us, we'll be doing sets together. When we're coming into the wall, we're always cheering each other on… So I think it's a bit of both. You're trying to think positively while you're swimming yourself, but when you come into the wall, it's nice to have others there to cheer you on."
For distance swimmers especially, those countless hours can seem particularly arduous. In order to build the endurance to compete in 500- and 1,650-yard events, or even several miles in the case of open-water swimming, distance swimmers spend a significant extra chunk of time in the water than many of their counterparts in shorter events.
"A typical week for them is going to be different from most of the team in that they tend to do a little more volume," head swimming coach Seth Huston said. "They're swimming more yardage… It's extremely different when you're swimming races that are 16 or 17 minutes and getting ready for open water races, it's just a very different way you have to train and how you're trying to stimulate or challenge the body. Volume-wise, they probably swim about 20% more than everybody else over the course of a week, which is pretty significant."
Take for example a recent day of practice as the team prepares for the conference championships. Each distance swimmer began in the morning with a long-distance swim, albeit at a lower intensity than a typical race pace. Swimmers came back in the afternoon, however, to swim that race pace in practice for the 500-yard freestyle. In practices such as these where iron is sharpening iron, swimming as a group lessens the brunt of practice. At least slightly.
"I came from a club that didn't really have any other distance swimmers," Kane said, "so I didn't do that much distance training. Since coming to Rice, I've been so fortunate to have such amazing distance training partners. That just makes the world of a difference because doing mile sets by yourself is just not fun at all. Especially with Ella and Shannon, we're pushing each other every single day in the pool. But it's so much fun to work with each other and I learned so much from Ella and Shannon in the way they swim. We all swim a little differently in the mile, so I'm always learning from them and it's so much more fun compared to training by yourself."
That training has led to numerous results even beyond the conference championships. The Owls have proven a stalwart among the top finishers at the CSCAA Open Water National Championships, placing in the top two every year since 2016, excluding the virtual competition held in 2020 due to COVID-19. With the 2023 edition being canceled due to high winds, Rice remains the reigning champions after winning the event in 2022 with a quartet of Campbell, Kane, Dyson and senior Elizabeth Myers. Dyson also placed first overall, winning the individual title.
"It's really fun and absolutely incredible that we're able to take several Rice swimmers and put together a winning team," Campbell said. "I've been on two winning teams now and it's been a dream come true every time we compete. You're swimming in a field of swimmers, there's no lanes and you see your fellow Rice cap right next to you. You know that it's just like a practice and they're pushing you right there. When we've won both the times that I've been on the team, it was absolutely a dream come true to be able to represent Rice and to win a national-level event like that."
While the Open Water Nationals take place in calmer lake waters, as part of the team's training for the event, Huston prefers to expose the swimmers to open ocean swimming, a practice the team continued prior to their title in 2022. Just like a baseball doughnut can help to increase bat speed once the weight is removed, battling ocean currents can also help a swimmer once they enter calmer waters.
With the success of past seasons, expectations to repeat those successes continue to grow. And with those expectations comes the pressure of meeting them.
"Obviously, there's pressure," Kane said, "but I think a lot of that comes from ourselves. We pride ourselves on swimming fast and representing Rice in the best way we can. I welcome it. I enjoy performing under pressure. It's an opportunity more than pressure. We take that in stride and we know that the work we put in every single day in the pool is reflective when we get up and race. We just have to let the racing handle itself and just stay focused on what Seth has coached us. I know that training with Shannon and Ella every day is the best way that I can prepare to perform at my best and I know that they will always step up to the challenge."
The flip side of said pressure is being given the opportunity to face it. With several decades of swimming excellence on the books, every Rice swimmer recognizes the honor of being asked to not only follow but further it.
"I'm so honored to be part of the Rice distance squad and to be surrounded by girls like Shannon and Ella who are always striving to be better," Kane said. "I take a lot of pride in being able to swim beside them and getting to see each other excel in different ways and learn and grow. I hadn't done any open water swimming before now before coming to Rice. So the opportunity to swim with such high-level swimmers like Ella and Shannon has been such a great opportunity. Seth is such an excellent distance coach and he's so clued into what we're doing. He's really helpful in strategizing races. I'm just really proud to swim with all those people and swim under Seth and (assistant coach) Jessica (Rodriguez)."
Currently in her fifth year swimming at Rice, Campbell acts akin to an extra coach in the water: a trusted source for teammates on how to navigate the rigors of both swimming and living as a student-athlete.
"I think we all have our own personalities," Kane said. "Shannon's a fifth-year now and so she definitely has a lot of maturity going into races. Shannon loves distance swimming like no person I've ever met. She definitely brings that positivity to the group. She's always so excited to complete these distance sets. She always gets us up and going and excited for them. I think as I've gone on through the years, I get a little more excited for the distance sets. Not overly but a little."
But while Campbell may hold seniority, all three swimmers (plus coaches) highlight the ability of each swimmer to take on the leader's role whenever necessary.
"A big reason why I decided to do this fifth year was that (Kane and Dyson) were both still going to be here and I could train alongside them for another year and another season," Campbell said. "They're both very, very fun to swim next to. They keep it light and they motivate me every single day at practice. They're both incredibly driven. Their hard work shows in every single competition that they compete in and every single practice. They're present and I think they both love to work hard, but also they love to have fun and our distance group is able to make the best of both."
The trio act as force multipliers for the entire team, compounding the skill, talent and determination necessary to continue building on the tradition of Rice distance swimming.
"I think the coolest thing about these three is they're really motivated," Huston said. "They're not afraid to work. They don't really get intimidated by the sets. They really push each other. It's rare you're going to have all three firing and being awesome on the same day, but they don't quit. I guarantee you they push each other and make them better every day, so I think they all have their moment where they lead. Shannon has certainly been here the longest and who would return for a fifth year if they didn't love it? That's really cool. Ella is super. She has these opportunities on the national team in England, representing her country and trying to make the Olympic team down the road. Amelia's a training beast. She just always works hard and she is swimming incredibly in any event she's swimming right now. That's a pretty dynamic trio, let alone any one of them kind of leading the way. It's really cool to have a group of people that just make each other better. It's just fun to watch. It's fun to get to challenge them because they're ready for it."
The trio is also ready for this weekend's AAC Championships and the opportunity to write the next chapter for distance swimming at Rice.
"We all want to do well and deliver the points for the team," Dyson said. "In previous seasons, we've all laid down some good times, so it's giving us a lot of confidence going into conference that with a bit of rest, we can do some good swims. We're just trying to enjoy ourselves. We always have fun racing each other and as long as we're enjoying it, we put in the hard work. We just have to count on the fact that we've pushed ourselves in training as much as we can and that we'll lay down some good swims."
As the training and hard work continue, the Owls' distance trio will look to continue stacking those "good swims" and possibly adding to the list of conference champions at Rice and, perhaps, one day being the swimmer every other competitor remembers lining up against.
"It's always a great opportunity to get in a pool and swim right next to top swimmers such as Katie Ledecky," graduate senior Shannon Campbell said. "Even if we weren't in the same heat but in the same event, at least we were watching her swim and seeing her techniques and her race strategies. It's really great to learn from her and then also just seeing her on the same deck is motivational to be at the same meet as her."
Campbell, alongside fellow Owl distance swimmers Amelia Kane and Ella Dyson, were part of a small group of Owls who competed in the Pro Series event, an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best competition in the nation.
"That was really exciting actually," Dyson said. "I'd never seen (Ledecky) swim in person and I think this is probably one of my only chances to do so. Just to be able to say I was racing against the best in the world was pretty amazing. Not many people got to say that. We stayed to watch one of her swims in the final. She's just such a good, strong swimmer. There are definitely some things to learn just being at the meet with her. You get to see her whole race process and warming up."
While there may be other swimmers still to chase, Rice's trio of Campbell, Kane and Dyson have also proven their own championship mettle and will look to do so again this weekend at the AAC Championships in Dallas, Texas. All three already have conference championships to their names. Kane was champion in the 500-yard freestyle in Rice's final appearance at the C-USA Championships in 2022. That same year, Campbell claimed the title in the 1,650-yard freestyle. In Rice's first appearance at the AAC Championships in 2023, Dyson won the 1,650, and all three swimmers placed in the top five of the event.
"It's fun that every time we get up to race at conference, it's usually your teammates who you've been training with every day that are right there next to you," Campbell said. "You know how they swim during practices and then you can take that into a meet. It's helpful to know that you're executing your own race strategy. And obviously, it's just fun to have them there. We all do well at conference and a big part of why I decided to do a fifth year was our distance group. I wanted to continue training with girls who pushed me and who I knew were gonna be there and succeed right next to me."
That combination of talent and fun has helped head coach Seth Huston to build a program that consistently battles for conference titles and NCAA Championship appearances in distance events.
"I would say this is the strongest we've been," Huston said. "We've always been pretty solid as a distance team. I'm comfortable with training that athlete. We've had some strong distance swimmers. Almost every year, we're either winning or placing in the top two or two or three in conference in the mile (1,650-yard freestyle). It's been a long tradition."
In Huston's 20-plus years on South Main, the Owls have grown into a consistent challenger for conference titles in distance events. Prior to 2008, Rice had never recorded a conference title in the 500- or 1,650-yard freestyle events. Beginning with Brittany Massengale's victory in the 1,650 at the 2008 C-USA Championships, the Owls have now won a total of 17 conference titles in the 500- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. That success helps breed success, as practice sessions become faux competitions already featuring some of the best swimmers in the conference.
"We have a really strong distance program here which in training really helps," Dyson said. "We all tend to train to reach similar times. It's always good to have someone you're like, 'Oh, I need to try and keep up with them.' Often days, I'll be feeling tired and sore and I'm not sure if I'm really up to it, and then you'll have Amelia or Shannon next to me and they'll be like, 'OK, you got this. Keep up with me.' We'll both push each other on when we're maybe not feeling as fresh as the other person."
That camaraderie helps greatly in a sport that, at its core, is largely an individual sport. Even in relay events, the only connection between swimmers generates from one athlete touching the wall and sending another off the starting blocks. By the time the swimmer hits the water, however, they are once again alone in the pool, left to their own thoughts and techniques built from countless hours spent in the pool, hours also spent alone.
"When you're in the pool, you're definitely in your own thoughts," Dyson said. "But because there's a group of us, we'll be doing sets together. When we're coming into the wall, we're always cheering each other on… So I think it's a bit of both. You're trying to think positively while you're swimming yourself, but when you come into the wall, it's nice to have others there to cheer you on."
For distance swimmers especially, those countless hours can seem particularly arduous. In order to build the endurance to compete in 500- and 1,650-yard events, or even several miles in the case of open-water swimming, distance swimmers spend a significant extra chunk of time in the water than many of their counterparts in shorter events.
"A typical week for them is going to be different from most of the team in that they tend to do a little more volume," head swimming coach Seth Huston said. "They're swimming more yardage… It's extremely different when you're swimming races that are 16 or 17 minutes and getting ready for open water races, it's just a very different way you have to train and how you're trying to stimulate or challenge the body. Volume-wise, they probably swim about 20% more than everybody else over the course of a week, which is pretty significant."
Take for example a recent day of practice as the team prepares for the conference championships. Each distance swimmer began in the morning with a long-distance swim, albeit at a lower intensity than a typical race pace. Swimmers came back in the afternoon, however, to swim that race pace in practice for the 500-yard freestyle. In practices such as these where iron is sharpening iron, swimming as a group lessens the brunt of practice. At least slightly.
"I came from a club that didn't really have any other distance swimmers," Kane said, "so I didn't do that much distance training. Since coming to Rice, I've been so fortunate to have such amazing distance training partners. That just makes the world of a difference because doing mile sets by yourself is just not fun at all. Especially with Ella and Shannon, we're pushing each other every single day in the pool. But it's so much fun to work with each other and I learned so much from Ella and Shannon in the way they swim. We all swim a little differently in the mile, so I'm always learning from them and it's so much more fun compared to training by yourself."
That training has led to numerous results even beyond the conference championships. The Owls have proven a stalwart among the top finishers at the CSCAA Open Water National Championships, placing in the top two every year since 2016, excluding the virtual competition held in 2020 due to COVID-19. With the 2023 edition being canceled due to high winds, Rice remains the reigning champions after winning the event in 2022 with a quartet of Campbell, Kane, Dyson and senior Elizabeth Myers. Dyson also placed first overall, winning the individual title.
"It's really fun and absolutely incredible that we're able to take several Rice swimmers and put together a winning team," Campbell said. "I've been on two winning teams now and it's been a dream come true every time we compete. You're swimming in a field of swimmers, there's no lanes and you see your fellow Rice cap right next to you. You know that it's just like a practice and they're pushing you right there. When we've won both the times that I've been on the team, it was absolutely a dream come true to be able to represent Rice and to win a national-level event like that."
While the Open Water Nationals take place in calmer lake waters, as part of the team's training for the event, Huston prefers to expose the swimmers to open ocean swimming, a practice the team continued prior to their title in 2022. Just like a baseball doughnut can help to increase bat speed once the weight is removed, battling ocean currents can also help a swimmer once they enter calmer waters.
With the success of past seasons, expectations to repeat those successes continue to grow. And with those expectations comes the pressure of meeting them.
"Obviously, there's pressure," Kane said, "but I think a lot of that comes from ourselves. We pride ourselves on swimming fast and representing Rice in the best way we can. I welcome it. I enjoy performing under pressure. It's an opportunity more than pressure. We take that in stride and we know that the work we put in every single day in the pool is reflective when we get up and race. We just have to let the racing handle itself and just stay focused on what Seth has coached us. I know that training with Shannon and Ella every day is the best way that I can prepare to perform at my best and I know that they will always step up to the challenge."
The flip side of said pressure is being given the opportunity to face it. With several decades of swimming excellence on the books, every Rice swimmer recognizes the honor of being asked to not only follow but further it.
"I'm so honored to be part of the Rice distance squad and to be surrounded by girls like Shannon and Ella who are always striving to be better," Kane said. "I take a lot of pride in being able to swim beside them and getting to see each other excel in different ways and learn and grow. I hadn't done any open water swimming before now before coming to Rice. So the opportunity to swim with such high-level swimmers like Ella and Shannon has been such a great opportunity. Seth is such an excellent distance coach and he's so clued into what we're doing. He's really helpful in strategizing races. I'm just really proud to swim with all those people and swim under Seth and (assistant coach) Jessica (Rodriguez)."
Currently in her fifth year swimming at Rice, Campbell acts akin to an extra coach in the water: a trusted source for teammates on how to navigate the rigors of both swimming and living as a student-athlete.
"I think we all have our own personalities," Kane said. "Shannon's a fifth-year now and so she definitely has a lot of maturity going into races. Shannon loves distance swimming like no person I've ever met. She definitely brings that positivity to the group. She's always so excited to complete these distance sets. She always gets us up and going and excited for them. I think as I've gone on through the years, I get a little more excited for the distance sets. Not overly but a little."
But while Campbell may hold seniority, all three swimmers (plus coaches) highlight the ability of each swimmer to take on the leader's role whenever necessary.
"A big reason why I decided to do this fifth year was that (Kane and Dyson) were both still going to be here and I could train alongside them for another year and another season," Campbell said. "They're both very, very fun to swim next to. They keep it light and they motivate me every single day at practice. They're both incredibly driven. Their hard work shows in every single competition that they compete in and every single practice. They're present and I think they both love to work hard, but also they love to have fun and our distance group is able to make the best of both."
The trio act as force multipliers for the entire team, compounding the skill, talent and determination necessary to continue building on the tradition of Rice distance swimming.
"I think the coolest thing about these three is they're really motivated," Huston said. "They're not afraid to work. They don't really get intimidated by the sets. They really push each other. It's rare you're going to have all three firing and being awesome on the same day, but they don't quit. I guarantee you they push each other and make them better every day, so I think they all have their moment where they lead. Shannon has certainly been here the longest and who would return for a fifth year if they didn't love it? That's really cool. Ella is super. She has these opportunities on the national team in England, representing her country and trying to make the Olympic team down the road. Amelia's a training beast. She just always works hard and she is swimming incredibly in any event she's swimming right now. That's a pretty dynamic trio, let alone any one of them kind of leading the way. It's really cool to have a group of people that just make each other better. It's just fun to watch. It's fun to get to challenge them because they're ready for it."
The trio is also ready for this weekend's AAC Championships and the opportunity to write the next chapter for distance swimming at Rice.
"We all want to do well and deliver the points for the team," Dyson said. "In previous seasons, we've all laid down some good times, so it's giving us a lot of confidence going into conference that with a bit of rest, we can do some good swims. We're just trying to enjoy ourselves. We always have fun racing each other and as long as we're enjoying it, we put in the hard work. We just have to count on the fact that we've pushed ourselves in training as much as we can and that we'll lay down some good swims."
As the training and hard work continue, the Owls' distance trio will look to continue stacking those "good swims" and possibly adding to the list of conference champions at Rice and, perhaps, one day being the swimmer every other competitor remembers lining up against.