Senior Imelda Wistey swam her final race for Iowa State, but may not have swam the final race of her career.

Wistey earned a 34-place finish in the 100 breaststroke on March 21 at the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. She swam the second fastest race of her career with a 1:01.14 time. The next day, she earned a 52-place finish in the 200 breast.

“Not everyone gets the chance to compete at the NCAA’s, and I got that chance,” Wistey said. “I kept it composed, I think I was just so excited to finally compete at this meet, that I just went for it.”

Wistey was the first ISU swimmer to compete at the NCAA Championships, since Nan Liu in 2010.

ISU coach Duane Sorenson is known for reeling in some of the top breastroke swimmers in ISU history. The top-10 200 breastroke swimmers and top-nine 100 breastroke swimmers in ISU history have competed under Sorenson. Wistey ranks at the top of both lists.

“(Wistey)’s been extremely dedicated both in and out of the pool with her training, getting her proper rest, and eating all the right foods,” Sorenson said. “I think today was the first day she had a dessert since Christmas.”

Sorenson said during her sophomore and junior year, Wistey was always the go-to-swimmer for the 200-medley relay and the 100 breaststroke. This year, she has been a leader in both events, along with the 200 breast.

Sorenson will be tasked with replacing Wistey and senior breastroke counterpart Emily Wiltsie. Sorenson said there will be a group of five breastroke swimmers on the team next season, and he will take a breastroke by committee approach to determine which swimmer swims what race.

The ISU swim team has developed a plan for its future. Wistey, on the other hand, has yet to decide her future in swimming.

“I’m going to take a break, and then I’ll definitely talk to my coaches,” Wistey said. “I don’t want to say that I’m done, but again, right now, I’m in a state where I just need a little bit of a break. In the future, I’ll talk to my coaches and see what’s in store for me.”

Sorenson is optimistic that Wistey will continue swimming after Iowa State.

“I kind of doubt (her career)’s over,” Sorenson said. “We’re going to sit down and see what she’s going to do in the future. We’ve talked many times about it, and so we’ll make a definite plan here after she takes a little break.”