Libby Walker of the Columbia Swim Club gave her verbal commitment to swim for the University of Kansas next fall, bringing a wide range of talents that span multiple events.
Walker can swim it all from middle-distance to distance freestyle as well as the fly events and both IMs. In the freestyles, it seems as though the greater the distance the better the time of Walker. Her 200 yard freestyle currently sits at a 1:55.04 and her 500 is a 4:52.04.
Clime the ladder a little and her 1000 free personal best is 9:55.87, and her 1650, which is arguably her best freestyle swim, is a 16:30.91.
Walker is extremely close to the NCAA B times in both the 500 and 1650 freestyles. The current B qualifying standard in the 500 is 4:47.79, and in the 1650 it’s 16:30.59. By the time she’s starting up with Kansas for the 2015-2016 season, she should be close to or at the NCAA B qualifying times assuming that they stay in a similar range.
The one event which Walker already has a B qualifying time for is the 400 IM. Her 400 IM is a 4:18.01 in yards which would have placed 47th at last year’s NCAA Championships. The current B standard is 4:19.39 which means that she should comfortably be able to make that mark throughout her collegiate career if the standards remain similar to what they are at the current time.
Over the last few years, Walker has shown a fairly steady improvement. The last year has seen her greatest improvement in the 400 IM as the dropped from a 4:23.13 in March of 2013 to her current personal best which she set in March of 2014.
Her fly is one of the strong points in her IM, and in the individual events she also has some speed. In the 100, Walker’s personal best stands at 55.40 in the 100 and 1:59.60 in the 200. Her 200, being the better of the two, is just one one-hundredth off the 2014-2015 NCAA B-time in said event.
When asked why Kansas, Walker replied, “I chose Kansas because I felt it was the best place for me to improve as an athlete and a student.” Walker also stated that the team atmosphere was one of the contributing factors to her decision, “I love how close the girls are and I can’t wait to be a Jayhwak!”
Walker is a promising swimmer for the Kansas roster; one that will bring success to the IM and distance programs as well as the fly.
Libby,
You will absolutely LOVE swimming for Clark and Jenn!
LIBBY IS THE BOMB.com THE JAYHAWKS ARE LUCKY TO HAVE HER
I wouldn’t say Walker is “extremely close” to the B cut in the 500. She’s 5 seconds off. She’s extremely close in the 1650 and the 200 fly.
LIBBY GET IT GURL