Breaking records is not something that is common for most.
For sophomore swim team member Todd Walker, breaking records seems to be what he does best.
Just this season alone he has set new school records in the 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. Walker has enjoyed setting milestones thus far.
“My athletic experience here has been pretty good,” Walker said.
Deciding on coming to Cabrini to be a student-athlete was not a hard choice for Walker to make.
“I felt it was the right fit academically and athletically,” Walker said.
Walker’s head coach in high school, Kevin Pierce, was also at the time an assistant coach on the Cabrini’s swim team.
“He put in a good word for me with (head) coach Ikeler,” Walker said.
Soon after, Walker and Ikeler began emailing and Ikeler came to recruit him at one of his meets. He did an overnight at Cabrini and attended one of the team’s matches and from there he knew where he wanted to go to college.
“It just felt like this is where I should be,” Walker said.
In his two short years here so far, Walker has much appreciation for his fellow teammates and the coaching staff.
“Last year we started off with a really small team. This year we are a little bit bigger,” Walker said. “We have a lot of talent on the team and a great coaching staff.”
Head coach Cindy Ikeler is one of the main pieces to the team’s success in Walker’s opinion.
“Our head coach Cindy Ikeler has just been great since day one,” Walker said. “She has basically built this program from scratch. She really amped everything up.”
Walker is from Folsom, Pa. where he graduated from Ridley High School. While at Ridley, Walker was named to the all-central league and all-district teams.
For a collegiate student-athlete, having to manage academics, athletics and a social life is a lot to take on. Walker just tries to make the best of it.
“It’s definitely a daily challenge to do all three,” Walker said. “You have to have good time management.”
“Most athletes who compete at the collegiate level have been doing it for a while. So we kind of got the gist of it throughout high school how to do it all,” Walker said.
When asked what does he do with his spare time, the one word answer was a no brainier.
“Sleep,” Walker said. “I just like to sleep, lounge and do nothing.”
Walker would like to see the team reach one of its goals this season.
“Improve our overall conference performance. Even if we don’t necessarily win, do better than we did last year,” Walker said.
Walker has emerged as one of the leaders on the team by being able to see the overall vision.
“I guess seeing the bigger aspect of everything, team wise,” Walker said. “Seeing the bigger picture towards the end.”
“I think I lead by example. I definitely try at every practice and every meet to give 100 percent effort in everything that I do,” Walker said. “That way everyone else can see it and try to work as hard as they can to get to their fullest potential.”
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