People seem to enjoy leaving an impression on their alma maters—witness the bounty of scratched names on the imitation pinewood desks.
But that’s not how it is for San Diego State Freshman Meghan Zimmer who, just a few weeks ago, set a meet record at the Mountain West Conference Championships in the 500 free, which helped the school take home third place.
Zimmer, a Santa Maria native, didn’t suddenly just start smashing swimming records at San Diego. While in high school, she was part of the first graduating class of Pioneer Valley, so she was able to leave her mark there to keep future Panther swimmers paddling.
“Swimming has really shown me that there are no limits to what you want to accomplish,” Zimmer said. “It also brings out a willingness to win, because swimming brings a competitive edge out of me.”
Though Zimmer is a freshman at San Diego State, she hasn’t let her “rookie” status hinder her ability to swim; she’s made her way onto the All Mountain West Conference swimming team, which requires participants to be in the top eight in finals for a total of five events. Zimmer received such honors in three individual events (200 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, and 200 Backstroke) and two relay events (200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle).
“Zimmer the Swimmer” still has three more years of competing at San Diego State ahead of her, and, who knows, she may be swimming across the pond to London for 2012.
This article appears in Mar 18-25, 2010.
