Though she is only a freshman, Karyl Clarete is no stranger to the big stage. This past summer, Clarete competed in multiple big stage events in her home country of Canada.

She competed in the Western Canadian Championships, Canadian Age Group Nationals, Canadian Summer Nationals, Canadian Summer Games and even the Canadian World Championship trials.

Not only did she compete, she came home with a few medals as well. She won a total of three gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals from these competitions.

Aside from the success in Canada, these experiences have also set her up for success at Iowa State.

“They were a lot of fun. It was a really good learning experience. Putting myself through those four to five day meets really puts me in a good position for conference [meets],” said Clarete of the summer events.

Clarete’s summer action has translated into success early on in her career at Iowa State. Through four dual meets, Clarete has won individual events seven times and has been a part of three winning relay teams.

Perhaps even more impressive than the number of wins is the number of different events she has been able to win in.

Clarete has wins in the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 individual medley, 400 freestyle, and had the ninth best time in school history in the 1000 freestyle.

The freshman’s versatility has been a huge bonus for the Cyclones this year.

“We can put her in multiple events and she’ll go out there and swim her heart out. She doesn’t take a race off,” said ISU coach Duane Sorenson.

You wouldn’t be able to tell by the results, but Clarete says she has had an adjustment period and had to deal with some differences in the competition here as opposed to the competition back home in Canada.

“I had never swam a dual meet before. With my club team we trained for four-day meets, so this is fairly different,” Clarete said.

The Cyclones season started off with five straight dual meets. Clarete had only ever trained for meets that spanned multiple days and had more rest time in between meets. She had to adjust to a new training style, geared towards having dual meets almost every weekend.

Clarete enjoys the team aspect of college swimming. Her club swimming career didn’t feature any dual meets and never emphasized the team score, only the individual’s performance.

“I think it’s a lot of fun being able to race in a team environment more than just individually,” Clarete said.

Another adjustment has been the races she competes in. Canada races swimming events in meters, whereas the United States races events in yards. Aside from the unit change, Clarete has also raced in events that she was previously unfamiliar with.

“My main events that I swim here, besides the 200s, are really foreign to me. I had never swam the 500 or 1000 yard races,” said Clarete.

It seems as if the adjustment period for Clarete is over.

She has become one of the top scorers on the team in her freshman campaign and her teammates have rallied around some of her performances, most notably against Nebraska when Clarete came from a full body-length down and almost out-touched the first place finisher.

Though she finished second, her time was still good enough for the ninth best time in school history in the 1000 freestyle. It was also the first time Clarete had ever raced that particular event.

“That pumped up the whole team. When she wins, it kind of pumps us all up,” said Emily Wiltsie, senior and a team captain, of Clarete’s performance against Nebraska.

While Clarete has made a splash for the Cyclones already, she isn’t satisfied yet. Her long-term goals include getting on the podium at the Big 12 conference meet, as well as getting to the podium at nationals back home in Canada.

For now, Clarete is focused on taking things day by day, practice by practice, and meet by meet.

“I definitely just want to keep improving,” Clarete said.