SE Illinois News

Southern Illinois University's Bryn Handley found it natural to get into swimming when she was young.

Handley, a member of the Southern Illinois swimming and diving team, told  Southeast Illinois News that her parents, Scott and Dana, both swam, with her mother at one time being a member of the University of Georgia swimming team. Handley also was  guided into the sport by her sister, Kiley, who also was a member of the SIU team.

“Once my older sister started swimming, I followed in her footsteps and started swimming, too,” Handley said.

Bryn Handley | Contributed photo

Given that background, then, it should not be a surprise that Handley has gone on to become a successful swimmer in her own right. Handley, a junior at SIU, has Missouri Valley Conference individual and relay titles on her resume. This season, through Nov. 8, she twice was named the MVC Swimmer of the Week.

Her most-recent honor came after her performances at a meet the weekend of Nov. 5 in Lexington, Kentucky. According to siusalukis.com, Handley had two top-three finishes and was in the top 10 of each of her six events against competition from the University of Kentucky, the University of Missouri and Northwestern.

“This year is going well,” Handley said. “I have some big goals individually, which I am building toward, and as a team, we also have some really big goals. Even though we have had our challenges, I think we are on track to accomplish these goals.”

Last season, Handley had 11 first-place finishes, including winning the MVC title in the 1,650-yard freestyle. She also was part of the 800 freestyle relay team that broke the conference record in that event. Handley was named to the All-MVC First Team in each of her first two seasons.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Handley said she started swimming at the age of 5. Her bio page on siusalukis.com said she was a Scholastic All-American in 2013 and 2014, an Academic All-American in 2014, and an Athletic All-American in the 500 freestyle in 2014. She also was a USA Swimming junior national qualifier.

Even with that impressive resume, however, she still had adjustments to make when moving up to compete in college.

“Competing in high school, swimming was much more of an individual sport," Handley said. "We had a few meets a year that team performance was really important, but overall individual performance was the most important,” she said. “In college, it is all about the team. Day in and day out, you are competing for the team.”

She said that she found this aspect of the sport a little different, but eventually enjoyable.

“At every meet, your focus is on what you can do for the team, not your individual goals,” she said. “Competing for a team like this one is a privilege unlike any other, and it really makes the sport so much more enjoyable.”

The technical nature of the sport of swimming has Handley always looking to improve her stroke technique and her starts and turns.

“I like the constant challenge that swimming provides,” she said. “There are always ways to improve and make yourself better than you were before.”