Fast Times at Texas A&M
Feb 13, 2018 | Women's Swimming and Diving
Kristin Malone has dozens of swimming medals, and every one tells a story.
Of Wisconsin state championships. Of SEC races. Of NCAA races.
"They're such great memories," the Texas A&M senior said. "Every little one I look at reminds me of another race, so it's nice to see."
Malone, 21, admits she's running out of room for more medals. But with only the 2018 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships and the NCAA Championships remaining in her career, she will make room.
"This is the last one," Malone said, "so hopefully we'll get as many as we can and find another shelf."
A&M hosts the SEC Championships at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on Wednesday to Sunday. The Aggie women, ranked second in the country, are the two-time defending conference champions.
Malone has drawn up how she wants her two final meets to play out . . . with more medals, of course.
"Hopefully becoming SEC Champions for the third time and then being top two in the NCAAs. That's our goal this year," Malone said. "Last year, we got third [in the country] for the first time, so hopefully we can get second for the first time and just get a little bit better. I'm hoping to do the best I can do for this team to help us do some more things we haven't done before."
She knows she will swim the 100 and 200 freestyle events and the 800 free relay this week. Coach Steve Bultman will decide her other SEC races.
"She's already got her NCAA cuts, so she's not going to be totally rested or shaved, so she's got to find a way to step up and compete and swim fast without that, because we're kind of saving that for NCAAs," Bultman said. "But this meet is so exciting anyway, it usually grabs you and picks you up, and you get fired up anyway."
Malone was born and reared in Milwaukee, where – you're right! – swimming doesn't rank as one of the most popular sports for kids in the state. Malone, though, took to the water while taking swim lessons at 5 years old.
"Milwaukee is definitely more basketball focused, but it's something I just needed to learn how to do," Malone said. "My mom said I was never afraid to get in the water, so I definitely enjoyed it a lot. By the time I was 6, I was doing it competitively."
Malone showed interest in other sports, especially track and field as her parents, Angelena Terry and William Malone, are former standouts in the sport. But it quickly became evident that swimming was her future.
In her 11 years at the Shorewood Swim Club, swimming for Dave Westphal and Nick Rudich, Malone earned the developmental club's swimmer of the year award six times.
"I started working with Kristin when she was 7 or 8 years old when she joined our program," Westphal said. "Just in talking with some of the other coaches, I said, 'This is a kid who is going to be an incredible swimmer if she sticks with the sport.' She was good at a bunch of other sports – gymnastics and track and field – and so I was just hoping that this was something she would stick with. Our club was very fortunate that she stayed with it, and I think she got a great experience out of it, too."
Malone fully committed to swimming when she was 13 and improved enough in the next few years to draw interest from A&M and others.
"She had some pretty good times," Bultman said. "She's not a big, tall girl, but she swims tall. When she's doing her stroke like we like to see it, she definitely swims tall, which is good. She gets good distance per stroke. Then, I think we liked her when she came on her visit, and I think part of it is she does some research, and she saw how much we were improving, and I think that definitely attracted her to us."
African-American swimmers have few role models in the sport as their history in swimming is relatively recent.
Maritza Correia became the first black female swimmer to make a U.S. Olympic Team in 2002; Cullen Jones became the first black swimmer to hold a world record in 2008; and Simone Manuel became the first black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming at the 2016 Games.
"It was great for minorities to see somebody else who looks different from the norm and who looks like me," Malone said. "Simone, Cullen and Maritza, they've been huge for our sport, and you're seeing more and more minorities come into the sport for sure."
Malone had another African-American swimmer on her club team, so she wasn't "alone," but they didn't have much company.
"You definitely get looked at a little differently," Malone said. "It wasn't necessarily negative, but it's just we're not used to seeing other people like us on deck. So when we do see somebody else, like Simone, it's almost like an instant connection because we have somebody else who looks like us."
Truth be told, though, Malone always has stood out more for her swim race than the color of her skin.
"USA Swimming was trying to open up some opportunities for minority swimmers, and they have a huge push right now to be much more inclusive, because swimming is viewed as such a country-club type sport, so they're really trying to make some strides that way," Westphal said. "But Kristin never wanted to take advantage of anything like that. She always felt that her performances would dictate who she was. She stood out because of that.
"She was just a fantastic athlete and a fantastic swimmer and didn't back away from anything. I think that's what made her stand out more than anything."
Malone will graduate in the Class of 2019 with a degree in sport management. She will study abroad in Germany this summer, and then she has an internship to fulfill.
The eight-time All-American needed only one word to describe her swimming career at A&M: Fast. Bultman used the same word.
She was, and the four years were.
"It really does go quick," Bultman said. "It goes quicker than you realize. You bat an eye, and you're a senior already.
"Her career has gone well. She's improved every year, and she's been a big contributor. She's done well."
Of Wisconsin state championships. Of SEC races. Of NCAA races.
"They're such great memories," the Texas A&M senior said. "Every little one I look at reminds me of another race, so it's nice to see."
Malone, 21, admits she's running out of room for more medals. But with only the 2018 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships and the NCAA Championships remaining in her career, she will make room.
"This is the last one," Malone said, "so hopefully we'll get as many as we can and find another shelf."
A&M hosts the SEC Championships at the Student Recreation Center Natatorium on Wednesday to Sunday. The Aggie women, ranked second in the country, are the two-time defending conference champions.
Malone has drawn up how she wants her two final meets to play out . . . with more medals, of course.
"Hopefully becoming SEC Champions for the third time and then being top two in the NCAAs. That's our goal this year," Malone said. "Last year, we got third [in the country] for the first time, so hopefully we can get second for the first time and just get a little bit better. I'm hoping to do the best I can do for this team to help us do some more things we haven't done before."
She knows she will swim the 100 and 200 freestyle events and the 800 free relay this week. Coach Steve Bultman will decide her other SEC races.
"She's already got her NCAA cuts, so she's not going to be totally rested or shaved, so she's got to find a way to step up and compete and swim fast without that, because we're kind of saving that for NCAAs," Bultman said. "But this meet is so exciting anyway, it usually grabs you and picks you up, and you get fired up anyway."
Malone was born and reared in Milwaukee, where – you're right! – swimming doesn't rank as one of the most popular sports for kids in the state. Malone, though, took to the water while taking swim lessons at 5 years old.
"Milwaukee is definitely more basketball focused, but it's something I just needed to learn how to do," Malone said. "My mom said I was never afraid to get in the water, so I definitely enjoyed it a lot. By the time I was 6, I was doing it competitively."
Malone showed interest in other sports, especially track and field as her parents, Angelena Terry and William Malone, are former standouts in the sport. But it quickly became evident that swimming was her future.
In her 11 years at the Shorewood Swim Club, swimming for Dave Westphal and Nick Rudich, Malone earned the developmental club's swimmer of the year award six times.
"I started working with Kristin when she was 7 or 8 years old when she joined our program," Westphal said. "Just in talking with some of the other coaches, I said, 'This is a kid who is going to be an incredible swimmer if she sticks with the sport.' She was good at a bunch of other sports – gymnastics and track and field – and so I was just hoping that this was something she would stick with. Our club was very fortunate that she stayed with it, and I think she got a great experience out of it, too."
Malone fully committed to swimming when she was 13 and improved enough in the next few years to draw interest from A&M and others.
"She had some pretty good times," Bultman said. "She's not a big, tall girl, but she swims tall. When she's doing her stroke like we like to see it, she definitely swims tall, which is good. She gets good distance per stroke. Then, I think we liked her when she came on her visit, and I think part of it is she does some research, and she saw how much we were improving, and I think that definitely attracted her to us."
African-American swimmers have few role models in the sport as their history in swimming is relatively recent.
Maritza Correia became the first black female swimmer to make a U.S. Olympic Team in 2002; Cullen Jones became the first black swimmer to hold a world record in 2008; and Simone Manuel became the first black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in swimming at the 2016 Games.
"It was great for minorities to see somebody else who looks different from the norm and who looks like me," Malone said. "Simone, Cullen and Maritza, they've been huge for our sport, and you're seeing more and more minorities come into the sport for sure."
Malone had another African-American swimmer on her club team, so she wasn't "alone," but they didn't have much company.
"You definitely get looked at a little differently," Malone said. "It wasn't necessarily negative, but it's just we're not used to seeing other people like us on deck. So when we do see somebody else, like Simone, it's almost like an instant connection because we have somebody else who looks like us."
Truth be told, though, Malone always has stood out more for her swim race than the color of her skin.
"USA Swimming was trying to open up some opportunities for minority swimmers, and they have a huge push right now to be much more inclusive, because swimming is viewed as such a country-club type sport, so they're really trying to make some strides that way," Westphal said. "But Kristin never wanted to take advantage of anything like that. She always felt that her performances would dictate who she was. She stood out because of that.
"She was just a fantastic athlete and a fantastic swimmer and didn't back away from anything. I think that's what made her stand out more than anything."
Malone will graduate in the Class of 2019 with a degree in sport management. She will study abroad in Germany this summer, and then she has an internship to fulfill.
The eight-time All-American needed only one word to describe her swimming career at A&M: Fast. Bultman used the same word.
She was, and the four years were.
"It really does go quick," Bultman said. "It goes quicker than you realize. You bat an eye, and you're a senior already.
"Her career has gone well. She's improved every year, and she's been a big contributor. She's done well."
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