Jade Arganbright learned that she would be going to the NCAA Tournament for swimming the Monday after the PSAC Tournament. Even though Arganbright, a junior, made it to the NCAA Tournament last season, she was shocked to learn she would be making the trip again.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it again this year, considering my times halfway through the season. The NCAA qualification times get faster each year, so I was really glad that I got invited and actually made nationals this year,” Arganbright said.

She was the only Cal U Vulcan to make the tournament. Arganbright mentioned that qualification times got faster at the NCAA Tournament. So did the spaces available. This season, the NCAA Tournament only accepted either 17 or 18 swimmers per event. Last year, they accpeted up to 20 swimmers.

However Arganbright qualified, and was also one of three PSAC swimmers to make the tournament. Arganbright competed in the 50 Freestyle, 200 IM, 100 Breastsroke, and 200 Breaststroke races.

Her biggest accomplishment of the tournament was when she placed third in the 100 breaststroke, which she calls her favorite event. Arganbright broke her own school record during the race with a time of 1:01.39.

“It was definitely exciting. There is always things that I can fix in my race, but I was definitely happy, but also shocked. I had a really bad start and I was shocked that I even got third. I just told myself to just swim my race and go faster than the preliminary races. Normally it’s anyone’s game at finals. Someone could definitely beat me out or touch the wall faster, but I ended up getting third place, which was very exciting,” she said proudly.

To prepare herself for the tournament, Arganbright said her teammates were a big part of the process. “Every single day that I practiced my teammates were always there. I at least had one or two of my teamamtes helping me train. Coach [Ed Denny] helped them push me even harder than than I was pushed last year. That definitely helped me at nationals,” she said.

Arganbright said that Coach Denny also helped push her in training. He even went as far as to have her teamamtes start two seconds ahead of her so she could catch up to them.

Before Arganbright went to the NCAA Tournament, she competed in the PSAC Championships, where she won the league title in the 100 breaststroke race.  Arganbright called the race “exciting. The times were really close. I just went in with no expectations and just basically ran my race.”

For Arganbright, she said she learned a lot this season from her coach, and from other coaches around the league. “Anything to improve my swimming, my coach has worked on with me and helped me with,” she said.

Now Arganbright, who will be a senior next season along with Samantha Barbaris and Tiffany Nestor, still continues her training for her Olympic trial cut. However, her destination isn’t Rio de Janerio, but Omaha, Nebraska. “I’m planning on going away this summer to train with a club team, maybe down in Florida or with Pittsburgh’s club team. So we’ll see about everything. I’m definitely going to be training a lot this summer,” she said.