KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lee's Summit High School swimmer Olivia Stikeleather has been in the pool ever since her first swim lesson, but she took a deeper dive into the sport as she got older.
“Swimming is something I’ve done for my entire life. I started competitively swimming when I was 8 years old," Stikeleather said.
Between her high school team and her club swim team, Stikeleather is swimming nearly five hours a day, six days a week.
“That kind of work ethic and determination, it bleeds out and affects everyone else in a very positive way," said Paige McCane, swim coach at Lee's Summit High School.
In her junior season, Stikeleather qualified for state. She had done the same in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m kicking everyone's butt, but I did, like at state, I did get top eight in one of my events," Stikeleather said.
This year at state, Stikeleather finished eighth in one of her events.
In her junior season, she also set school records with her fast times.
“I tied the 200 IM my freshman year, broke it my sophomore year and then I dropped more tie, so I rebuke my own record this year in the 200 IM and then I set the 100 freestyle record," Stikeleather said.
While Stikeleather's junior season is over, McCane and many others are holding their breaths somewhat to see what she can do in her senior season.
