Clayton Swimmer Seeks to Qualify for Junior Nationals

senior Elizabeth Krane has spent her high school years writing a success story with her swimming career.

And despite her many accomplishments, the senior still has her sites set on big goals.

Krane swims with the Clayton Shaw Park Tideriders swimming team.

She hopes to qualify for USA Swimming’s junior national meet next weekend at the Region VIII sectional meet at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

This summer, Krane has competed in meets in St. Peters and Indianapolis, IN.  She swims the 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 400 individual medley and the 200 butterfly, and also competes on 400 and 800 freestyle relay teams.

To qualify for junior nationals, swimmers have to hit qualifying times in their events one year before the junior national meet. The Clayton resident hasn’t hit those times but has made five trips to junior national meets in the past.

“We’ll taper off, so we won’t practice as many times, but we’ll have more fast racing,” Krane said.   

The senior also has a mental plan for the big meet.

“I don’t worry about the times and practice more on the team,” she said. “I have a lot of friends on the team, and we all have the same goals. We’re trying to get each other revved up and motivated. We’ve all trained very hard.”

The junior national meet is scheduled for early August in Palo Alto, CA. Krane swims year-round with the Tideriders.

“This team helps so much with training because we all race each other in practice every day,” she said. “We motivate and push each other at practices and the meets, and that gives us a lot of confidence, knowing we’re training with the best in the state and the country.” 

Swimming takes up a great deal of Krane’s time. During the school year, she practices four times a week in the morning before school and every evening after school. She also lifts weights two times a week and participates in another swim practice on Saturdays.

“It takes motivation, but this is what I love,” she said. “I’ve loved it my whole life. The friendships are a lot of fun, and we get so close because we spend so much time together."

The senior started swimming for the Tideriders when she was 5 years old. She played basketball, tennis and golf through eighth grade but decided to become a swimming specialist in high school.

“I liked the individual aspect of swimming, and I also wanted to have a team behind me,” she said.

Krane hopes to swim in college next year, and college coaches have contacted her about continuing her career with their respective teams. She said one of her goals for college swimming is qualifying for the NCAA championships.  

Tideriders coach Dave McCrary called Krane “an exceptional student and an exceptional athlete.”

“She’s one of the hardest-working athletes I’ve every worked with,” he said. “She has 100 percent attendance and works very hard every day. Everything she gets out of this sport or out of school she deserves.”