Rowland always eager to tackle new challenges
Vernon Hills junior Melanie Rowland has always been confident in the water.
Even when the confidence was misplaced.
"My dad tells me I would jump in before I knew how to swim," she said. "He would have to jump in and get me."
It's safe to say this is no longer a problem.
Rowland qualified for the IHSA state meet in two events as a freshman and sophomore. This season, she's motivated to reach state in her fifth different event, the 200-yard individual medley.
During the summer, she experimented with the 400-meter individual medley. By the end of the summer, she had whittled her time by 13 seconds, to 5:15.7.
"I dropped an insane amount of time," Rowland said.
Rowland, who is 5-feet-10, also is off to an impressive start during the high school season. She already is under the state cut in the 200 individual medley.
"She has good length and is a physically strong girl," said Cougars coach Kedric Greenawalt. "She's become a more accomplished racer."
Rowland's versatility has always been her calling card. As a freshman, she finished in the top 12 at the state meet in the 200 (1:54.40) and 500 freestyle (5:04.99). She returned to state the next year in two new events, the 100 butterfly (58.16) and the 100 backstroke (59.75).
"I can't imagine swimming the same stroke in dual meets for four years," said Rowland, whose father was a collegiate swimmer for Kansas University. "I don't want to limit myself. It's important for me to switch it up and work on all my strokes. A lot of my strokes are equaling out. I think the individual medley is just a natural progression for that."
Rowland began swimming on the club level at the age of 9.
"I was naturally good at it, which was exciting," she said. "It really got me in shape and feeling good about myself."
Rowland's big breakthrough came when she won a pair of age-group state championships, the summer before she entered Vernon Hills.
"She used to be so overanxious to race," Greenawalt said. "When she won that age group state championship, she really started to figure it out."
Rowland now has plenty of talent surrounding her. The best evidence is that Vernon Hills already has established school records in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays.
"I'm amazed at how fast the team has gotten from one year to the next," said Rowland, whose younger sister, Stacy, is a freshman diver.
Rowland, close to a straight 'A' student, has no trouble handling the grind of becoming an elite swimmer. She knows all the work is necessary to swim in college and perhaps compete in the 2012 Olympic Trials.
"I know it sounds cheesy, but I focus on the big picture and what I want further down the road," she said.