Story by Kurt Miller
Train every day like it's your last. Every coach says it. Every athlete's heard it.
But for swimmer Colleen Orwin '17, the old cliché really began to resonate as she walked home from swim practice during her freshman year two weeks before the MIAA Championships. In the blink of an eye, she went from potentially qualifying for nationals as a freshman, to being sidelined the rest of the season with a broken wrist after slipping on a patch of ice.
"I had a great practice that day," Orwin said. "I remember everything about that day. From that point, I knew I couldn't take anything for granted."
Being sidelined was a feeling Orwin wasn't used to, but her time out of the pool helped her mature as a member of the team and individually.
"I grew up a lot my freshman year," Orwin said. "That year was really hard but I just learned how to be a better teammate. I had to step up and encourage my teammates as much as possible at the conference meet."
With her freshman season ending in less than ideal fashion, as soon as she was cleared to begin training again, her mindset didn't waver, having one main goal in mind for the following season and her career as a Hornet in general.
"I told myself, 'I'm going to make it to nationals—I'm going next year,'" she said. "I was doing kick sets as soon as I could get back in the water with Tristyn [Edsall], who went to nationals our freshman year and was my roommate. I trained all summer because I wanted to go more than anything."
Orwin's dedication was rewarded—a year later she competed in seven different events at the 2015 NCAA III Championships.
Her biggest goal had been achieved as a sophomore, so it was time for Orwin to set higher goals and expectations. Heading into her junior year, she had individual goals of breaking school records in the 400 individual medley, the 200 butterfly and the 400 medley relay.
The 400 individual medley and team medley records are broken and Orwin still remains focused on breaking the 200 butterfly record, but she knows there's an even more important goal to shoot for.
"We said from the beginning as a team that we want to win the conference this year. Ultimately our goal is to win MIAAs. We haven't done that since before I was born, so that would be really, really cool for Kalamazoo swimming and diving."
An even higher level of commitment and dedication is what Orwin sees as the key to winning the school's first women's swimming and diving championship since 1991, and nearly two full years removed from a broken wrist, she knows nothing will be taken for granted moving forward.
"Every day and every meet is a new opportunity. Some of the strides I've made individually have been unexpected and our relay making nationals was somewhat unexpected, but it's safe to say I'm cool with the unexpected. Going forward, we're just taking things day-by-day."