One might think that a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery would prevent an athlete from playing their sport and pursuing their dreams.
But senior swimmer Kate Easterling was able to come back from her injury to learn a new sport and eventually come back to swimming even stronger.
“She overcame many injuries…And she inspires us to do our best,” said junior swimmer Caylie Jacob of her senior teammate.
Today, Easterling inspires her teammates by being a hard worker during meets and practices.
“She is a vocal leader and a leader by example by working hard in practice,” said another junior teammate, Garrett Hehn.
Easterling works hard during the high school team season at meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at practices six days a week along with two-a-days on Wednesdays
She not only works hard during the swim season but during the rest of the year as well.
In addition to the high school team, she swims on three other teams throughout the year including the Franklin Area Swim Team, Fox Chapel swim team, and Meadowink swim team.
On these many teams, she works on improving her best and favorite strokes, the backstroke and freestyle.
“She’s really good and really determined during practice,” said junior teammate Rachel Fedishen.
While her teammates think highly of her, Easterling also thinks highly of them.
She said that her favorite part of being on the team is, “having fun with all the girls and being part of the team.”
Unfortunately after much hard work to reach WPIALs she injured her shoulder in warm-ups for the big meet.
She said that she mostly picked up lacrosse to try something new but that she was also told she couldn’t swim all year, which inspired her to try it.
She said that she enjoys playing lacrosse because it is not as competitive as swimming for her.
Similar to the swim team, she also enjoys being with the lacrosse team.
Even though she swims on four swim teams and plays on the lacrosse team, she still finds time to participate in many clubs and maintain good grades in her classes.
Easterling is the president of SADD, vice president of Student Council, sports editor for the yearbook, and a member of the Caring Team.
She also maintains a high GPA in her classes, which are all AP and honors courses.
After her days in the high school pool and on the lacrosse field are over Easterling hopes to go to school for medicine or business.
Thanks to her hard work and perseverance, Easterling was able to overcome her injury and be the swimmer and student she is today.
Hehn summed it up by saying this of his teammate, “She is really fun to be around, a really hard worker, and she puts in good effort.”