NAIA names Sloan Sizemore swimmer of the month
Written by Julia Gralki, Photos by Rachele Terranova
Sloan Sizemore takes 51.50 seconds to swim 100 yards. Recently the NAIA named this second-year animation student swimmer of the month. In 23.31 seconds, Sizemore not only holds the top time in the NAIA for the 100-yard freestyle but also for the 50-yard.
Sizemore started swimming when she was eight years old because her parents wanted her to live an active and healthy lifestyle. After graduating from high school in Pompano Beach, Florida, Sizemore pursued an education degree at the University of Indianapolis, where she also competed for the swimming team. “I realized education was not for me,” Sizemore said. “But I have always been good at drawing.” Therefore, she decided to change her plans from teaching math to majoring in 2D animation when SCAD recruited her.
After winning the 100-yard event last weekend, Sizemore was also named Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) swimmer of the week. Her next meet will be the BMC Championships in two weeks leading up to the NAIA National Championships in March.
Sizemore typically prefers freestyle over other events like breaststroke or butterfly, so she plans to stick to the 100-yard freestyle for a while. Additionally to the three individual events at each meet, Sizemore also competes in relays with her teammates. At the moment, she practices for at least two hours in the mornings and has afternoon practice twice a week with strength training. In total this amounts to eighteen hours.
When she graduates, Sizemore hopes to find a job at home in Florida – preferably in Orlando. If that doesn’t work out, she’s also considering California to work in the animation field.
