Sports
Sports Editor: Jeff Hart – J.R.Hart2@iup.edu
Lead Sportswriter: Austin Smith – A.S.Smith7@iup.edu
A dream come true: the Mikesells make IUP history Jeffery Hart
Sports Editor J.R.Hart2@iup.edu @ThePennIUP It has been officially a year and three months since the release of The Penn’s documentary on three of IUP’s best, the Mikesells, an amazingly gifted group of siblings, who wanted to compete for a swimming championship. More than that, they wanted to compete for a championship as a family. In a year during which there has been so much uncertainty, one thing is for sure: the Mikesells are competing for a championship. Today, Claire (redshirt senior, kinesiology), Paige (junior, kinesiology) and Luke (freshman, criminology), will be representing IUP in Birmingham, Alabama for the 2021 NCAA Division II National Swimming Championships. Claire earned first team All-American honors two years ago. She will compete in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke. Claire is seeded fourth in the 200-meter breast, where she finished eighth in the final back in 2019 and has the eighth-best time in DII in the 100-meter breast. Paige qualified for the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle, and 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly. She is the top-seeded swimmer in the 200-meter fly with a season-best time of 1:59.65 and seeded third in the 100-meter fly at 54.45. Luke was selected to compete in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 500-meter freestyle. He is one of the fastest swimmers in the in the 200-meter, ranking third in the nation coming into the championships. He is seeded 12th in the 500-meter free. This is not the Mikesells’ first rodeo in the NCAA championships. This will be Paige’s third consec-
Sports
(IUP Athletics) Claire (left), Paige (middle) and Luke (right) will represent IUP at the highest level. utive NCAA championship. This will also be Claire’s second NCAA championship appearance after redshirting last season. Even though this may not be their first time competing for a championship, the road traveled to this one has not made it easy. “At the time of making the documentary and not even knowing what we would be facing, it feels amazing that we were still able to get here,” Claire said. “We all worked really hard this season,
still not even being sure that the national championship would happen. Even though this season was anything but ordinary, and we had to work really hard from August to February, the time has finally come.” “It has definitely been a crazy past year,” Paige said. “From NCAA’s getting canceled before I had the opportunity to compete for a spot on the podium, going into lockdown with no pools open to train, being unsure if we would even have a season, let alone NCAA’s in 2021, it has been a hard and stressful year.” Competing for a national championship is a momentous occasion for any athlete. They have a chance to make history and be rewarded for the years of hard work and dedication to their craft. This triple-threat of siblings has
March 17, 2021
a chance to do more than that. This is the only time that IUP has had three siblings competing for a championship in the same sport. “It definitely is a cool thing to know we were the first, but I hope there are other siblings that get to share this experience because it will be a memory they will never forget,” Luke said. “It means a lot, and hopefully, we are doing a great job at representing IUP,” Claire said. “We know it’s very rare for three siblings to be able to compete at this level together. It’s a whole
new experience for us as well. “It has been a blast being able to train beside my siblings over this past year and qualify for the national championship. We have been talking about this meet ever since we found out Luke was coming to IUP, so to finally be here all together is amazing. It’s another great memory that we are able to make together that we will be able to talk about for years to come.” Rachel Johnson (junior, hospitality management) and Iliana Oikonomou (senior, sociology) will be representing IUP in Birmingham along with the Mikesells. In a year of a never-ending series of unfortunate events, this gifted group of siblings has found the light at the end of the tunnel. “From redshirting last year, to being at the 2020 championship meet when they shut it down and seeing all the emotions along the way, all I can say is we are very blessed to be here and to be able to keep doing what we love,” Claire said. “So many seniors last year were not able to finish their season the way many of us dream of doing. If I had not redshirted last year, I would not even be here today to have this opportunity to compete again. “I think it makes this year so much more important because I know what is at stake.” “This journey has shown me that I can train just about through any obstacles and still show improvement,” Luke said, “that, with hard work and determination, you can achieve just about anything. I have put in the hours and the hard work; now it’s time to just get up and race this week.” This championship is the culmination of all the lessons that the Mikesells have learned on the road to Birmingham. They learned perhaps the most important lesson of all: It is not about the destination, but rather the journey.
17
