Jump to Miami team enjoyable for Talawanda graduate

Katie Arlinghaus came back from a broken neck in high school to swim for the RedHawks.

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By Kevin Hern, Contributing Writer 8:35 AM Friday, February 26, 2010

OXFORD — In sports, the winning team is often the team that can best overcome adversity.

The simple fact is, everything isn’t always going to go your way. It’s what you do when that time comes that determines how a game, or even an entire season, will play out.

Katie Arlinghaus, a freshman swimmer at Miami University, is living proof of that. But the adversity she faced went much further than the sports realm.

When she entered her senior year at Talawanda High School, Arlinghaus had high hopes for her final year of prep swimming.

She had qualified for both the state swim meet and the YMCA national meet her previous three years of high school. But just prior to the beginning of her senior season, disaster struck. A freak accident while getting out of bed one morning left Arlinghaus with a broken neck.

Facing four months of immobilization and daily rehab could have been enough to make anyone give up, but Arlinghaus fought back with the help of her friends and teammates.

“It was really difficult, but at the same time my friends were very supportive and we were able to get through it,” Arlinghaus said.

Arlinghaus was able to return to the pool in time for the conference swim meet and qualify for the state swim meet where she finished ninth in the 100 breaststroke.

Despite the injury, Miami University women’s swimming coach Dave Jennings knew he still wanted Arlinghaus to swim at Miami.

“I was just so impressed when she was able to hop back in the water her senior year and go to the state meet and race really well. It just showed me she had a lot of talent,” Jennings said.

Now a freshman at Miami, Arlinghaus has found the jump to collegiate athletics to be very enjoyable.

“It’s much more of a mental and emotional investment, but it’s a lot of fun because the team at Miami is really great,” Arlinghaus said. “I think that we’re all friends and teammates at the same time and that’s really special and fun to be around.”

Arlinghaus competes in the breaststroke, individual medley and the freestyle for the RedHawks. Her 200-yard medley relay team placed first at Ball State University Feb. 6. She also finished third in the 200-yard breaststroke.

“I think she has already exceeded expectations in terms of what we thought at the beginning of the year,” Jennings said. “She’s really come on and been a big part of our program.”

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