Heidi Tilicki Signs With Alaska-Fairbanks

FAIRBANKS, Alaska, May 1. THE University of Alaska-Fairbanks announced the signing of Heidi Tilicki of Junction City, Ore. Tilicki, a distance freestyler, signed a National Letter of Intent and will enroll next year.

"Location wasn't a top priority for me," said Tilicki. "It was swimming and academics and (UAF) has what I'm looking for" "I'm excited to get to swim and compete there and I'm excited to see how it goes for me."

A four-time Junction City High School Most Valuable Player and individual District Champion, Tilicki's main events include the distance individual medleys and freestyle races. At the 2007 Oregon State Championships earlier this month, Tilicki finished her high school career with a pair of top-three finishes as she placed second in the 500-yard freestyle (5:34.16) and third in the 200-yard freestyle (2:02.73).

In addition to holding the school records in the girls' 500-yard and 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke, Tilicki set her prep career record time in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2006 OSAA State Championships with a second-place finish in a time of 1:57.78, just one one-hundredth of a second off the winner.

"She's a distance swimmer and as a miler (mile swimmer) the chances of her scoring points for us are much greater because that's an event that there are not a lot of entries for," head coach Scott Lemley said.

A member of the National Honors Society, Tilicki plans to pursue a degree in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy at UAF.

"I've prided myself on getting A's and B's in my classes on top of swimming twice a day," Tilicki said, "and I'm hoping to bring that dedication and determination to the team."

She is the first recruit to sign for the 2007-08 Nanook recruiting class.

Special thanks to Alaska-Fairbanks for contributing this report.

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