Casey Fair wanted to be a backstroker.
Columbia head coach Shawn Rost had other plans.
With last year’s top swimmer Mackenzie Conklin graduated, Rost needed someone new to compete in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. He saw Fair, even though she was a freshman, as the perfect fit to do so.
Fair admits she was a bit apprehensive.
“At first with the 200 I thought, ‘OK, I got this. I’ve got the gist of it. I’m OK at it,’” Fair said. “And then he said how about being a 500 swimmer? I said, ‘What?’”
One race put those qualms to rest.
Fair won her first 500 race this season and she turned her freshman campaign into the best one at Columbia in 2021. She not only qualified for regionals in both events but also did so as part of the Tigers’ 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.
It all worked out in the end for Fair, who still got to swim the backstroke in the relays. Her impressive year is why she’s the LCR’s Girls Swimmer of the Year.
“I was kind of upset because Coach Rost said I was pretty good at backstroke,” Fair said of the switch. “But I ended up doing it in the relay anyway and I helped a lot with that. But after I while I was so glad I wasn’t doing the backstroke because it started to get really, really hard because I was doing freestyle all the time. I’m just happy I’m doing freestyle instead of backstroke now.”
So is Rost, whose savvy decision paid off. Fair placed sixth in the 200 (2:18.35) and seventh in the 500 (6:07.15) at the District 2-3A Meet, while her 200 freestyle relay team placed fourth (1:57.55) and 200 medley relay team placed fifth (2:10.79).
Although Fair was hesitant to try the 200 and 500 at first, she dove head first into both events and never looked back. When given a task, Fair aims to excel at it.
“Her work ethic is absolutely incredible,” Rost said. “She does anything and everything you ask her to. She works out probably twice as hard as anybody else on the team.”
That’s because Fair gets upset when she doesn’t drop her time. Every time she competes in a meet, she strives to improve, and she works hard in practice to make sure it happens.
When she found out she’d be swimming the 200 and 500, she knew it wouldn’t be easy. But Fair wasn’t going to fail.
“I expected it to be very, very, very, extremely hard,” Fair said. “I worked hard the entire time, and when I did slack off it felt really bad, so I decided to keep on working hard. After awhile I just got the hang of it. I kept working hard and it felt great.”
Rost wasn’t surprised at all by her performance at districts.
“She is the most versatile swimmer on the team,” Rost said. “I can put her in any event and she’s going to do it.”
Fair went on to place 23rd in the 200 (2:20.85) and 24th in the 500 (6:15.98) at the Region 1-3A Meet, while the 200 freestyle relay team came in 14th (1:57.33) and 200 medley relay team took 14th (2:09.39). Those weren’t exactly the times Fair was hoping for, especially in the 500.
In fact, Fair says her hotel bed was to blame for her drop in time from districts. She said she barely slept the night before and regrets not sleeping on an air mattress.
“That really affected me, especially in my 500,” Fair said. “I honestly felt like I was going to die during my 500. I felt very worn out.”
Rost took some of the blame too. He believes he pushed her a bit too hard early in the race, especially after she had already swam the 200 freestyle and the 200 medley relay.
“I think we probably swam her a little bit too hard in the 500 because we wanted her to pick it up,” Rost said. “When you swim the 500 it’s kind of an event that you have to swim in intervals. You start out with a slower pace and you pick it up throughout the race. I kind of flipped it on her and had her swim it a little harder in the beginning just to see how she would do. She just got worn out.”
You can bet Fair will work even harder to make sure that doesn’t happen again next year. She has eyes on the state meet, and she plans to get practicing early this offseason to accomplish that goal.
“I’m thinking that dry land will help me a lot so I’m starting dry land early,” Fair said, “and I really, really want to push myself a lot harder than I did this year because I know I can do it.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
Casey Fair
Columbia, freshman
The LCR Girls Swimmer of the Year excelled in her first high school season, qualifying for regionals individually in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, as well as in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay. She placed sixth in the 200 (2:18.35) and seventh in the 500 (6:07.15) at the District 2-3A Meet, while her 200 freestyle relay team placed fourth (1:57.55) and 200 medley relay team placed fifth (2:10.79). At the Region 1-3A Meet, Fair placed 23rd in the 200 freestyle (2:20.85) and 24th in the 500 freestyle (6:15.98), while the 200 freestyle relay team came in 14th (1:57.33) and 200 medley relay team took 14th (2:09.39).
Kaydence Clark
Columbia, junior
Placed fourth in the 100 butterfly (1:06.37) to qualify for the Region 1-3A Meet, where she came in 14th (1:05.66). She also swam on the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay teams with Fair that qualified for regionals.
Isabelle Glenn
Columbia, junior
Swam a leg on the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay teams with Fair that qualified for regionals. Also competed individually at districts in the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
Abby Schuler
Columbia, junior
Swam a leg on the 200 freestyle and 200 medley relay teams with Fair that qualified for regionals. Also competed individually at districts in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
Shawn Rost
Coach of the Year, Columbia
Guided the boys and girls to regionals in several events, with four swimmers qualifying individually in six events. For the boys, Ian Disosway made it in the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM, while Jayden Drew advanced on in the 100 freestyle. For the girls, Casey Fair qualified in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Kaydence Clark punched her ticket in the 100 butterfly. Rost also saw his girls 200 medley relay team and 200 freestyle relay team qualify for regionals.