By Abby Lodes ‘21
Regis Jesuit high school sophomore and swimmer Catherine Bradac talks about her experience going to 5A state and finishing with success. “Swimming at state was an amazing opportunity, and I am so glad so many came to support”, says Catherine.
Bradac also talks about her advice to every swimmer; what to keep in mind as an athlete to be able to set and accomplish goals as she did at state.
“I qualified for state at the first swim meet of the season, and already had my parka since freshman year, but to be able to qualify my first meet was one of the key goals I accomplished”, said Catherine. Receiving your parka for swim is a huge deal, and it inspired Catherine to set additional goals at state, all of which she achieved.
Coming into her freshman year she shared her excitement of meeting the team, and wanting to be apart of something bigger than herself. “Coming in freshman year, I didn’t have any set goals, and all I wanted was to improve my times”, she says. This year was different for Catherine. She now had a set goal to make it to state and have success. She has put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into swimming this season, and was nervous going into state. She had key goals she needed to achieve.
State was on Friday February 8th and Saturday February 9th. Bradac swam the hundred breast, which was by far her best event. “I placed 11th out of 20th on Friday night which brought me into the finals for Saturday”, says Catherine. That was the goal she had set for herself, and successfully accomplished.
“The dynamic of the team is what has lead to my success” Catherine says. “ The team is very close and supportive of each other, and is like no other”.
Swimming is a sport with many aspects and difficulties, “you have to remind yourself that this is for you, and it’s all about how you mentally prepare yourself” as Catherine says. In order to succeed in any sport, staying mentally tough is something you have to do as a team and individual. This is what helped Catherine successfully compete at state, accomplishing her goals and preparing to set new ones in the future. This is what she encourages all swimmers and athletes to do.
“The numerous people and support I have in my life has impacted how I perform, but one special person I think has impacted me the most is my mom,” says Catherine.
Bradac speaks about her mom and how her mom influences her to not give up on dreams, demonstrating what it means to have dedication. “I love my mom and everything she has done for me, from taking me to practices, to cheering me on at state. I honestly couldn’t have done it without her”, says Catherine.
“My best advice to give swimmers and girls in any sport is to push through it, remind yourself of the end results. Also, I think another important piece of advice is to always remember that there are people out there to support you, so never give up”, says Bradac. This is how Catherine made it to state and finished 11th out of 20th swimming the hundred breast, accomplishing her hopes and goals as a swimmer.