College Recruit Rankings Profile: Five-Star Kelsey LeNeave, Class of 2011

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 24. KELSEY LeNeave, a five-star recruit from the Class of 2011, is next up in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings Profiles series. LeNeave hails from Conroe, Texas, and swims for The Woodlands Swim Team. She also attends Conroe High.

LeNeave maintains her profile in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks, and is an all-around threat.

LeNeave owns long course senior national cuts in the 200 free (2:02.4), 400 free (4:14.22), 200 IM (2:17.12) and 400 IM (4:50.06). Her best times in short course yards are in the 100 free (50.86), 100 breast (1:03.88), 200 breast (2:20.80), 200 IM (2:03.66) and 400 IM (4:19.33).

Where and when did you start swimming?
I started swimming summer league with my neighborhood team at age 6. The following fall, I joined The Woodlands Swim Team, where I have been swimming ever since.

Who would you name as the most influential person and coach in your swimming career?
My family has definitely been the most influential in my life. My parents are so supportive and let me try an array of sports that I was interested in. I finally found the perfect sport for me in swimming.

I have the greatest respect for my two brothers because they swam all through high school and college and were captains of both their high school and college teams. The advice they give me is coming from years of first-hand experience in the sport and comes from a swimmer's perspective. I feel really lucky to have such a great support system. Without fail, they are my number one clappers!

I have been fortunate to have had some really great coaches but the most influential coach in my life is my current coach, Scott MacFarland. He has changed the way I look at swimming and helped me to be focused on my goals and how to achieve them. He has helped me to overcome problems that I have faced in swimming and is always encouraging. Plus he has a great sense of humor!

What is your most memorable moment in swimming?
My best moment was at NCSA Juniors in Spring '09. I went to the meet not really sure what to expect with my times. I had trained hard during the season but I had been sick at the end of winter training and missed practice for over a week. The meet started out well, and my coach kept saying that he thought my 400 IM was going to come together at the meet. I had a solid swim in prelims and made it back to finals that night. I swam the race of my life, achieving my first World Champs Trials cut. When I pulled myself out of the pool, my teammates and coach were right there and were as excited as I was. That will always be an unforgettable moment for me.

Walk us through a day of practice:
During the short course season, I wake up at 5:01 a.m. every morning, grab a bagel and walk out the door. I head straight to the NAT and swim. We warm up for about half of practice and then move to the higher intensity set for the rest of practice that ends at 7 a.m. After a.m. practice, it's straight to school until 2:35 and then straight back to the NAT for 3:30 practice. The afternoon is split into warm up, high intensity and warm down. Warm up usually lasts for an hour and then we move into high intensity and last the warm down, finishing at 6. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we do drylands in the afternoon instead of swimming. That consists of medicine balls, abs, leg exercises, core work and stretch cords. After practice, I drive home, eat supper, do my homework and go to bed! And get ready for another day

What is your favorite set?
I actually don't have a favorite set because we rarely do the same exact set twice. But my favorite thing to do in practice is the power tower. It is a bucket filled with water that is attached to a pulley system that provides resistance training. I don't know why I love it so much, I consider it a swimming toy!

What is your least favorite set?
Again, we really don't do the same set twice but I least like doing a set that has a lot of 400 IM's because they are so long and grueling.

What are your short-term goals?
Making a select team is high on my list of short-term goals. Also continuing to improve in the short course season and into long course.

What are your long-term goals?
Finding a college that is a good fit for me, both in academics and swimming, competing at NCAAs and the next Olympic Trials.

What colleges are you interested in so far?
I'm a junior in high school this year, so I'm just beginning to look at schools. I have made a list of schools that have the academic program that I'm interested in and also have great swimming programs, but I'll just have to see how it goes this year.

Is there anything else interesting that you'd like our readers to know about you?
Any spare time that I have, I love to go out on the lake and water ski, tube and fish. As a family, we try to spend one day a weekend out in the boat. And my greatest fishing success was with my pink Barbie fishing pole!! I caught more fish than both my dad and brother!

RECRUITS: To make sure we have the most updated information on your recruiting, and to earn the highest star ranking you deserve, please either create a new profile, or request to take over your admin-created account in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks. Then make sure to update your profile with your top times. Click here for information on how to do so.

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