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Kate Walsh, a 2022 graduate from Alberta, Canada, has announced her commitment to swim and study at DePauw University. DePauw is a Division III program located in Greencastle, Indiana.
I chose DePauw because their inviting team atmosphere really sucked me in along with their impressive swim results. That paired with their outstanding academic reputation was the full package! I just really fell in love with every single thing I saw about the school and program along with how smoothly the recruiting as well as application process went. In the end it was where I could really see myself spending my next four years at home.
In Alberta, Walsh currently trains and competes with the Grand Prairie Piranhas Swim Team. She is primarily a sprint specialist, regularly competing in events across all four strokes. Being from Canada, she is not yet experienced in the short course yards format that she will encounter at DePauw, instead regularly competing in short or long course meters.
Best Times SCM (Converted to Yards):
- 50 free- 27.89 (25.12)
- 100 free- 1:00.49 (54.49)
- 100 fly- 1:17.82 (1:10.10)
- 100 back- 1:17.55 (1:09.86)
- 100 breast- 1:28.37 (1:19.61)
Walsh’s most recent competition was the Keyano International AB Series Finale in Edmonton, Canada. She swam the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 50 breast, 50 fly, 200 IM, and 200 free relay (all LCM). Her highest finish was 26th in the 50 free. She swam a 28.71, a half-second slower than her best time which was set in February of 2020.
In March, Walsh competed at the Long Course Provincial Championships, which were also held in Edmonton. There, she swam 7 individual races and 3 relays. In the 200 IM, she posted a time of 2:42.82, dropping over 3 seconds from her previous best and finishing 34th. She also dropped time in the 100 breast, lowering her personal best from a 1:29.00 to 1:27.84.
DePauw University is a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference, or NCAC. At the 2022 NCAC Championships, the Tiger Women finished in 3rd out of 9 teams. They scored a total of 1225 points, only behind Denison (1749) and Kenyon (1958). At NCAC Championships, 3 heats of 9 swimmers each advance to the evening finals in each event.
Since Walsh does not have extensive SCY racing experience, it is somewhat difficult to predict how she will fit in at DePauw and the NCAC Championships. However, using her converted SCM times, she would have won the C-Final in the 50 free, placing 19th overall and 4th for the Tigers. In the 100 free, she would have been 18th overall and 5th for DePauw.
In the fall, Walsh will arrive to Indiana along with her fellow class of 2022 recruits, including Libby Ruff, Courtney Marsh, Caroline Stowe, and Rosey Gomes.
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