FAIRBANKS – The University of Alaska Swim Team announced the signing of three new athletes to join the Nanooks for the upcoming 2015-16 campaign.
Incoming freshmen Rachel Crosley and Abby Blackstone join transfer Kate Matthews as the newest members signed by head coach Scott Lemley, as they look to continue the tradition of excellence instilled at Alaska.
Crosley, at native of Wasilla, Alaska, attended Colony High School before she announced she would join the Nanooks as an intended mechanical engineering major. Also a member of the Wasilla Waves Swim Club, Crosley competed in the Alaska State High School Championships this past year in the 200 medley relay as well as the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay.
“Rachel is a little different than some of our recruits this season because she is a sprinter,” said Lemley. “We’ve been talking with her for quite some time and told her the kind of success we’ve had with sprinters over the years — she’s excited to join our sprint group. Rachel is an excellent student in addition to being an extremely thoughtful swimmer and, like many of our recruits, wants to know how much emphasis we put on school versus swimming.
Continued Lemley, “We’ve always said that our focus is: family first, school second and swimming third, a philosophy that Rachel really connected with. Being a Team Academic All-America recipient semester after semester is extremely important to us and fits with Rachel’s idea of the kind of school she attends and the kind of team she swims for. We are very excited for her to join our program.”
Blackstone, who hails from Eagle River, Alaska and attended the Frontier Charter School in Anchorage, competed in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle events last season at the Alaska State High School Championships. Blackstone, who competes with the Chugiak Aquatics Club, also swam in the 1650 freestyle during the sectional competition. She intends to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation.
“I was able to watch Abby at the Spring Junior Olympics in Anchorage a month ago and was thoroughly impressed by her races,” commented Lemley. “She had obviously trained throughout the winter where many high school seniors more-or-less coast after their final high school season. In my estimation, Abby was one of the most dynamic swimmers at the meet. Her specialty is distance freestyle but she also showed a great deal of speed in the 50 and 100 freestyles. That makes her very valuable to us as we look at making up our 200 and 400 free relays. As with all our recruits, Abby’s grades were a huge selling point for us. She’s ranked 2nd in her class with a 4.1 GPA with an eye on our Wildlife program. She will be a perfect fit for us.”
Matthews comes to Alaska as a transfer from a community college after a year of competing for the University of Hawaii, a Division I program. A native of Salem, Oregon, Matthews is a breaststroke and freestyle swimmer, who was named the Women’s Athlete of the Year at her alma mater, Sprague High School. There, as a captain, she helped lead her team to the CVC Championship before joining the Warriors in Hawaii as a Division I athlete.
Said Lemley, “[Assistant] Coach Laine and I were very impressed talking with her last fall and brought her up on a recruiting trip. We think she has a tremendous upside and since she’s been back in Salem she’s trained well and competed in several meets with great success. We’re really excited about the experience and maturity she’ll bring to the team next year. Her strength is her 100 and 200 breaststroke events but she really doesn’t have what we’d consider a “weak” stroke meaning she’ll be a huge asset to us in the individual medley.”
The Nanooks will begin the season with the annual Blue-Gold Pentathlon which is scheduled for October 3.
Swimming news courtesy of the University of Alaska Swimming.