Athlete of the Year: Kate Aherne

At a loss for words, all head coach Mark Gole could think to say about what sets junior swimmer Kate Aherne apart from her peers is that she has "it." Whatever "it" is and wherever "it" came from, he couldn't say, but he did say that of the 15 years he has spent coaching, she is one of the few athletes he has coached that has had "it."

"She is a rare find when it comes to an athlete," Gole said. "There's a lot of times when athletes question - it's just human nature - but Kate doesn't question anything. … She's unique in the sense that she can understand what she and her teammates do and go through at practice, then if anybody ever questions it, she's comfortable coming to us, finding out why and then she is able to understand it 100 hundred percent. She just gets it. She understands what we do, why we do it and how to do it."

It could have been the "it" factor that allowed Aherne to continue her streak of pure domination in the Div. II swimming realm. She finished the season at nationals with seven All-American honors, a championship victory and the Div. II national record in the 200-yard individual medley, a race Gole deemed "the ultimate test of versatility and speed."

Aherne also touched in a second-place finish by .01 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle that immediately followed her championship race. She shattered a school record in the 100-yard freestyle as part of the second-place 400-yard freestyle relay.

"I was really happy with how I did this season," Aherne said. "Every season has gotten better, and this is definitely the best one yet. I felt like I worked harder than I had before, and it really paid off."

Aherne placed top-four in all of her individual events and said this and the success the relays had at nationals made her experience surreal and mind-blowing.

"My expectations of myself are always just to go as fast as I can and get my best times, which I did, but just coming out of nationals with the places I got, that was not something I ever expected to do," Aherne said.

Aherne attributed her success to the help and training Gole has provided and her ability to motivate herself into working hard every day. She said her teammates play a huge role in supporting and pushing her to be her best.

"You're only as good as the people who you practice with and who you swim with,"

Aherne said. "I wouldn't have been able to do what I have been able to do without them."

Gole expanded upon the reason for Aherne's success. He attributed it to her attitude as a competitor and couldn't say enough about her strengths as an individual and the hard work she put in throughout the season.

"Her general attitude on a daily basis is indescribable, as far as the second she shows up, she gives everything she has in everything we do," Gole said. "I don't think anybody works harder than her. Kate only needs about five minutes at practice, and then she's going as hard as she can. I don't think anybody has been put in situations that she has been put in as far as even dual meets go either. ... She's been tested, and she's stepped up every time she's been tested."

Aherne was the first junior ever to be elected captain of the women's swimming team, which Gole said should show in itself what kind of a leader she is.

"She is all about the team," junior Kendra Brunkow said. "She's swimming for the team, and she's not swimming for herself, which I think a lot of [swimmers do]. They just try to do the best that they can for themselves, but she tries to score as high as she can for the team and tries to get the team as many points as she can. Obviously, everyone thinks very highly of her, and she is an awesome leader."

Gole said her leadership abilities extend further than the pool.

"[She leads] by example both academically and in the pool, and she is probably the most vocal person on the women's team during practice as far as cheering people on and getting people going," Gole said.

Despite all of the external reasons she might have for wanting to do well, Aherne admitted the desire to win also plays a huge role in her self-motivation. Brunkow said Aherne's competitive spirit helps not only herself, but it motivates the team do better as a whole.

"She is a great competitor," Brunkow said. "You know she's going to be giving it her all [while training and in meets]. … [She pushes everybody in the pool, and you can just see that all the training that she's put in is the reason that she swims so fast and has improved so much. She pushes herself to the limit, sets her goals high, then achieves them."]

Aherne helped the Bulldogs to a fourth-place finish at nationals and reminisced on what it felt like to meet, and even exceed, her expectations this past year.

"It is just kind of surreal, looking up at the clock and seeing your times, because you always kind of have an idea of what you want to go in the race, and to look up and see that either that time is there or have it be even faster than what you were expecting, it's just like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I did that,'" Aherne said. "It is just a great feeling knowing that all the hard work we put in this year paid off, and it paid off so well."