She jumps in the pool, feeling the cold water surround her. She takes a deep breath, reassuring herself that she is ready for her best swim, the 100 yard backstroke. This is what it is like for Katey Lewicki ‘20 at her state meet.
In her junior year of high school, she ranked third overall in 4A state. Lewicki set a state record when she won first place in the 100 yard backstroke event at the State Meet on Feb. 8. Now she is taking it to the next step—the Olympic Trials.
Lewicki started swimming when she was five with the Louisville Dolphins. “I originally started swimming because all my friends did it, and my mom just put me in it for the social aspect,” she said. As she grew older, she began to love the sport more and more.
Her swimming career started to take off when she got to high school. “When I turned fourteen, everything just started to click. Before that I wasn’t the best, but as I grew more comfortable in my body and could manage my limbs, that’s when it all just came together,” Lewicki said.
However, it hasn’t always been easy for her. She has experienced some setbacks throughout high school. In her sophomore year, she was diagnosed with elbow bursitis, which caused her to be out of the water for three months.
“Once I was able to swim again, I really had to figure out how to get back into the rhythm and figure out what was going to work and what wasn’t after coming back from an injury,” Lewicki said.
After recovering from her injury, Lewicki spent more than a month preparing for Leagues, her team’s biggest meet of the season. Following Leagues, she got into Junior Nationals for the first time.
Though Lewicki has accomplished so much in the pool, she doesn’t advertise it to people. “At no point does she go around and air it in any way,” girls swimming coach Melanie Beard said. “When she’s there for high school swimming, it’s all about her teammates and having fun.”
Lewicki takes her time to be with her team and be there for them not just herself. “Even though she’s the facet, one of the fastest swimmers on our team here, she never lets it go to her head and she always respects everyone that she’s racing,” team captain Laura Zhang ‘19 said.
Most of the swimmers only swim for the Monarch team. Lewicki, however, is a year round swimmer. This means that she swims for Elevation Athletics Swim Club, as well as Monarch’s swim team.

“I love Monarch,” Lewicki said. “ Everyday I go, everyone is smiling no matter the set and everyone wants to be there and get better.” Lewicki is always there to cheer on her team and vice versa.
“Our entire team at state went and watched her win her 100 yard back and we were there cheering for her when she was on her podium,” teammate Alison Cross ‘20 said.
Lewicki has set many goals herself throughout a stretch of time. She has recently just achieved two of them. “Her goal at our home meet on January 15th was to break the 200 Individual Medley [IM] record, rebreak her 100 back record, and then take the 100 freestyle record,” Beard said.
At this home meet she achieved the 200 IM record, and broke her 100 back record.
Recently at Leagues, she placed second in the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard fly. Overall, the Monarch girls swim team placed fifth. In the state Katey placed 3rd overall for the 200 yard IM, and she set a Colorado state record with a 54.36 second 100 yard back.
Although she has many short term goals, one of her long term goals is to make it the Olympics. “I know I can make Olympic trials because I was close last summer, but it doesn’t count until this summer,” said Lewicki. “So I have this summer and next season to get to Olympic Trials.”
So will she make it to the Olympics? Once she goes through the Olympic trials, prelims are the next step. In prelims, she will have to place top two in one of the thirteen individual events and top six in the 200-meter and the 100-meter freestyle relay teams.
It is a difficult process to go through, but she continues to push to reach her goals. Lewicki’s year round coach was a big part in her decision to go for the Olympics. Lewicki’s coach constantly pushes her to achieve her ultimate goal.
This year Lewicki is reaching for higher goals and she keeps pushing to achieve them. One of Lewicki’s goals was to get into state in all 8 individual events. She made it into state this year not only in all 8 individual events but in all 3 of her relay teams as well.
When an athlete wins an event at state they get to walk out to a song of their choosing. “They get to walk out to a song of their choosing,” Beard said. “And when they bring everyone out for the event they’d walk out to that song, and when everyone is announced she’d be the last one announced. It’s kind of any elite athlete’s dream. That’s her goal for this year.”
If Lewicki were to have a walk out song it would be “Roar,” by Katy Perry because “I think it really represents me and how far I have come,” she said.
Even after all Lewicki has accomplished she always values fun over anything. “My favorite meets are when all my friends and I listen to music on the bus and then we get there and we are all just in a good mood,” she said. “It would be amazing to have good swims at that meet too, but I just feel when I have fun and I’m there for myself is my best meet.”
Even though Lewicki has accomplished so much, she keeps on pushing to achieve more goals. Throughout everything, everybody is wishing her luck as she pushes and strives for the Olympics.