Former Chesapeake Swimmer Competes at McDaniel

Brittney Lenz, a former swimmer, is succeeding in her sport at the college level at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Lenz swims mostly the butterfly stoke in relay races. Her team will compete in the Centennial Conference Championship at Gettysburg College Feb. 17-19.

Pasadena Patch: What has the experience of swimming at McDaniel been like?
Brittney Lenz: It’s been a really great experience. I really love it here; and I think swimming has definitely contributed to my positive experience. Coming to McDaniel and joining the swimming team brought me an automatic group of friends that I know will always be there. Our team is small but very close, and we always support each other—not only in swimming but in academics as well. It is just a great feeling to know I have my teammates there for me.

Pasadena Patch: How is the team doing this season?
Lenz: We’re doing really well. Last year we got a new coach, and since it was my first year, I really wasn’t aware of how the program ran beforehand but the new coach was all about starting a new program. We’re definitely working more on recruiting and getting our team to grow more, which is good. As a team, we are doing really well. We broke a lot of records last year, and we are working on breaking more this year. We have our championship meet coming up in February and we are very excited for that.

Pasadena Patch: How did Chesapeake prepare you for McDaniel?
Lenz: It was a great experience in high school. I definitely lucked out because my freshman year was the first year they had a swim team. It was definitely a program that was under construction because it was brand new, but it was a great time. I would definitely encourage other high school students to try it out. It isn’t something you have to be amazing at, or something that has to be your life to be on the team, but it is definitely a lot of fun and keeps you involved.

Pasadena Patch: What is your favorite swimming memory?
Lenz: Last year at our championship meet, my relay team came in second in the conference championship and we re-broke our own school record. That was very exciting; and the entire team was just exuberant for us. We got to stand up on the podium and get medals and it was very cool.

Pasadena Patch: What advice would you give to younger swimmers looking to swim in college?
Lenz: Mostly, just to know what you want to do. I know it was hard for me to decide if I wanted to swim in college or not. I didn’t want it to become my entire life, but I definitely wanted to continue to swim because it is something that I love and enjoy. I looked at mostly Division III schools. A few of my friends went on to swim at Division I and II schools and they love it, but it just wasn’t something I was into. Being at a Division III school can sometimes still be overwhelming because it is a lot of work, but it is more manageable. I’d just tell younger swimmers to keep your priorities straight and figure out what you want to do and where you want to go with it.