It all started in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where freshman Karyl Clarete began swimming competitively at the age 9.

Now she contributes to the ISU swimming and diving team’s “chess match.”

Clarete took swimming lessons as a child, but really started competing competitively when she started club play as a 9 year old and began qualifying for more competitive meets when she was 12. Canada doesn’t have high school swimming programs, so she continued only swimming for her club team until college.

When Clarete was searching for colleges to attend, Iowa State came up. She sent emails to the ISU swimming team and the ISU assistant head coach Kelly Nordell contacted Clarete.

“They seemed pretty interested. It was comforting, knowing I could come [to Iowa State] and get better,” Clarete said.

After Iowa State contacted Clarete’s club team coach, they started the process of getting familiar with one another over the phone. The next step was bringing Clarete to Ames for a visit.

“I think she just felt at home when she came in. She really liked the team,” said ISU head coach Duane Sorenson. “We got along well. She laughed at my corny jokes, so we knew that was good. And she just liked everything about it.

“It just clicked.”

Sorenson said the biggest part of the coach-athlete relationship is communication. Clarete and Sorenson’s communication was present right off the bat, and they spoke of Clarete’s long-term goals and what the team was looking for.

“Everything all just fell into place,” Sorenson said.

The communication outside of the pool translated right into Clarete’s ability within the pool. She contributed to what Sorenson described as a “chess match” that gives the Cyclones an edge when it comes to meets.

“She’s a huge impact in the meets because the other team doesn’t know where we’re going to put her, so they have to play the guessing game,” Sorenson said. “They’re maybe trying to match up their best swimmer to go against her, or they might be trying to avoid her so they can try and get the win.”

If Iowa State puts Clarete in the 1,000-yard freestyle, teams might try to specifically win the 200-yard freestyle or vice versa.

“It becomes very much of a chess match. She’s a great option,” Sorenson said. “To the credit of [Clarete], she’ll take a challenge on no matter if she’s in the 200 or if she’s in the 1,000. She’ll go out there and race.”

Not always knowing what event she’ll compete in, Clarete said it puts good pressure on her that adds fuel to her fire. That fire led her to break the school record in the 500-yard freestyle against Iowa, which really sticks out to Clarete as a point of pride.

Although she broke the school record for the 500, Clarete said she doesn’t think her biggest accomplishment has come yet. She’s hoping it will arrive during this year’s Big 12 Championships.

“I’m definitely hoping to just drop a lot of my time,” Clarete said. “I want to get personal best times and swim fast. Top-three for sure as a team — that’s a really big goal for us.”

Sorenson said Clarete will most likely swim in the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle at the Big 12 Championships. The “chess match” will come into play with which other event Clarete will swim.

“We just want her to swim as fast as she possibly can,” Sorenson said about the Big 12’s. “She’s going to have some top-notch competition, so she’s going to have to be on her A-game. If she can be in the top-three, that’d be fantastic.”