The last time a Ball State University swimmer broke the women's 200-yard breaststroke record, Emily Haifley was learning her ABC's in her kindergarten class.
Now a freshman at Ball State, Haifley entered her name in the record books, shattering the 13-year-old record by two seconds by swimming a 2:19.49.
"When I looked up at the board and saw that I broke the record, I started to cry," Haifley said. "I really wanted to beat the girl from Eastern Michigan that was in the lane next to me. After the last turn, I looked back and realized, I could do it. I couldn't have swam as fast if she wasn't in the lane next to me pushing me."
Coach Bob Thomas said he wasn't surprised that Haifley broke the record.
"Looking at her high school times, it was never a question of if she could do it, but when," Thomas said. "Never did I imagine that when she broke it, it would be by a full two seconds."
Haifley also only missed breaking the 100-yard record by half of a second. Her time of 1:05 is two seconds slower than her personal best, which she swam at the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championship meet last February. The Ball State record is 1:04.78. Thomas said it's only a matter of time before that record falls too.
Haifley was highly recruited by many schools while in high school. She said the biggest thing to her was staying close to home.
"My first choice was IPFW because I'm from Ft. Wayne, but they don't have a team," Haifley said. "Being an Irish Catholic, my next choice was obviously Notre Dame, but after I visited, I realized it just wasn't the right fit for me. Once I stepped onto Ball State's campus and met the team and coaches, I knew this is where I wanted to be. I just fell in love with this school. Even so, deciding where to go to school was the hardest decision of my life."
Haifley said she has a stack of letters from most schools from the Mid-American Conference, Big Ten, Southeastern Conference, the Pac-10 and many Ivy League schools, many of which she never opened.
"Some of the schools that sent me letters, are hours away, and I was hoping to find a school I could commute to from home," she said. "Most of the letters I got from schools more than a couple of hours away, I never even opened. Ball State seems forever from home, and it's just an hour away."
In last year's IHSAA State Championship meet, Haifley placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke. That was no small feet considering many in the state consider it the fastest heat swum in state history. Haifley's time was one-tenth of a second shy of qualifying her for the Olympic trials.
Haifley has shown a lot of promise since arriving on campus in August. In the fall, she suffered an ankle injury that put her freestyle training on hold.
Thomas said the time recovering from the injury helped feed her desire to compete and train hard while she is in the pool but prevented her from competing as well as she could have in the fall.
Coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said Haifley is an absolute joy to coach and is hoping to see great things from her.
"Emily has a real love for the sport and is a true competitor," she said. "We are working with her on her starts and turns because those are her weaknesses right now. She is mentally tough, but we are working on that too. If she can get better at those things, she could be unbeatable."
There has been talk about Haifley being the best Ball State swimmer since Joy Kraus (formerly Joy Gallagher), who was the No. 1 freestyler in the country her senior year.
Haifley said there is no doubt that this weekend's performance boosted her confidence as the MAC Championship Meet draws closer.
"After being injured in the fall and last weekend being the first meet since our training trip," Haifley said, "it was nice to finally see where I stand in the MAC and what to expect at the conference meet."
Haifley is living up to the expectations of the coaches. Even with such high expectations, she is taking it all in stride.
"When I go compete, I don't feel much pressure because I'm only a freshman, I have nothing to lose," Haifley said. "It's the upperclassmen that have the pressure on them. It's almost like I'm the underdog. I kind of like that."
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