When Sophomore Neely Burns crossed the line to finish the 400 IM at the NCAA Division III swim meet, she became the first national champion for Trinity women’s swim and dive in the program’s history, bringing gold back to San Antonio and the Hixon Natatorium for the first time since 2014. Her achievement was massive for the Trinity community and herself, as she came just short of winning the championship last year. In the first of this brand-new segment of the Trinitonian, we got to sit down with Burns to discuss her accomplishments at the national level, her journey to Trinity and why summers in Phoenix are better than in San Antonio.
What was the whole experience like throughout the national meet?
“It was crazy. I mean, I went to Nationals last year, so some of the things were similar. Still, every time you’re going into it, you know that you’re going to be swimming at least once a day, and you have to give it your all in prelims every day to have a shot at making it to the finals. It’s a huge national stage, even though it’s still just D-III. It was super exciting but also a bit overwhelming at times.”
If you can, take us through your thought process during the race. What was going through your head during the final stretch?
“I like to focus on what strokes I’m good at and what strokes I’m not as good at. I think breaststroke is my strength, so I know I can look out at the field, see who I need to catch and try to close in. And then freestyle, you never know what can happen that last leg. Some people will have more energy than others, so you just have to give it your all.”
You’re Trinity’s first women’s swimming national champion and the first individual national champion overall since 2014. What does that mean to you personally?
“It’s an honor to have a title like that. Stephen Culberson, the champion in 2014, actually reached out to me and congratulated me. It’s really awesome, especially at a smaller school like Trinity, seeing how the community kind of comes together around that is an honor.”
This isn’t your first trip to Nationals. You got to go last year. How have the last two years been for you, being a national caliber swimmer and navigating the transition from being a high school athlete to now being a top-level college athlete?
“I’d say it’s been a pretty intense transition from high school to college. The training is very different, and I would say it is more specialized than I’m used to in both my high school training and club training that I did during high school.”
I always like to ask why athletes chose to come to Trinity. At D-III, you don’t have scholarships, and you’ve shown the ability to be a very high-level athlete who could go to a D-I or a D-II school that does have those. What made Trinity stand out over all the others?
“I knew I wanted to go D-III, partially because of the lack of that money. I felt like if I went to a school where I was being offered money to swim, it would be a lot less about me enjoying the sport and more about me being stressed to continue paying for college with that. I didn’t want to develop an unhealthy relationship with the sport I’ve done all my life and I really love. It’s everything I wanted to be: a small D-III school with a close-knit team.”
I always try to throw in a fun question, and being from Arizona, you’d be very fitting to answer this question. Do you prefer the dry heat of Phoenix or the humid heat here in San Antonio?
“I feel like the temperature here plus the humidity is higher. Dry heat usually has a higher temperature, but humid heat is more humid and has a lower temperature. So I feel like it balances out, but overall, I prefer the dry heat.”
Besides the championship this year, what has been the highlight of your journey so far?
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily like a highlight moment, but one of my favorite things I’ve accomplished so far at Trinity is the fall meet in Chicago. We have a lot of fun exploring someplace like Chicago, which is so different from San Antonio.”
What’s something that you’re excited about, personally, swimming, classes or anything else?
“With classes, I get to do some research here this summer. So I’m excited about that on that front. But in terms of swimming, I’m really excited to start training again. I’m enjoying the break. I’m having fun right now, but it’ll be nice to get back into things and hopefully make nationals and perform well there next year.”
Final question: what would you like to say to the Trinity campus or anybody who picks up the story?
“Thank you to everyone who has been congratulating me on campus. It’s a huge honor to be able to have that kind of attention. So just thank you.”
