Meet Kate Schilling: Making a splash and breaking records

Junior Kate Schilling has broken Butler swim records since her freshman year. Photo by Natalie Goo.

DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | STAFF REPORTER | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu

When junior swimmer Kate Schilling began swimming at six years old, a bag of chips dangling at the end of the swimlane — held up by Schilling’s club coaches — was a humorous ploy to motivate her to swim faster. 

Now, Schilling developed a new motivation in the pool, which has led her to break numerous records at both the high school and collegiate levels. 

“I used to not be internally motivated, so the chips would be my ‘motivation,’” Schilling said. “My motivation is now making myself better. My mindset is never to break records, it is to have the best swim that I can have.”

At Byron High School, Schilling set records for the 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 and 400 medley relay and 200 individual medley. 

Heading into her first season at Butler, Schilling became the first swimmer in the university’s history to qualify for the Big East Championship’s A-Final in all three of her events: 200 individual medley, 200 fly and 100 fly. 

Head coach Maurice Stewart found Schilling’s transition into the collegiate level to be notably impressive. 

“With any freshman, it is hard to know how they will respond to the team dynamic,” Stewart said. “I was very impressed with how Kate carried herself. Her maturity, work ethic, commitment and passion for swimming — those components allowed her to really thrive.” 

Schilling also found her transition to Butler to be smooth, as her hometown is similar to Butler’s environment.

She particularly liked the smaller team size, comparable to her high school. 

“Having that small and close-knit team of girls helped ease my transition,” Schilling said. “It was super easy to make friends because we had the sport we all loved to bond over.” 

Throughout her three seasons at Butler, Schilling set individual school records for the 200 individual medley, 200 freestyle, 200 fly, 100 breaststroke, and 200 breaststroke. She is also ranked second in the 100 fly. 

However, her favorite part of swimming is the team aspect, in which Schilling holds records for the 800 free relay team and 400 medley relay team.

“It is a very rigorous sport, so you really have to lean on your teammates a lot,” Schilling said. “It is a constant grind with practices and lifts, so having my teammates’ support is what makes it not only easier but more fun.”

During practices, junior swimmer Sadie Brown works closely with Schilling due to their similar swimming events. Even though they have grown to be good friends outside of their sport, Brown stresses that does not stop them from being competitive with one another. 

“Swimming brought us together and we became super close,” Brown said. “Kate has always just been a great person to be around, but we are also very competitive people. So when we are next to each other at practice, we are going at it and pushing each other to be the best.”

Along with excelling in athletics, Schilling has proven to be successful academically —- earning a spot on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll list. She is pursuing a pharmacy major in hopes of becoming a hospital pharmacist who specializes in neonatal or oncology. 

Stewart expressed that Schilling’s ability to perform highly on the student side and athletic side is what makes her stand out.

“What makes Kate stand out from the past swimmers that have been in pharmacy or other challenging majors is her determination and passion,” Stewart said. “She is a well-rounded individual who is on our record board in multiple events but also academically strong.”

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