Nicole Limberg was simply unbeatable during the 2016 swimming and diving season.
The Jackson senior won every one of her races during regular-season and 4A District 1 competition, then capped her campaign by recording three first-place finishes at the 4A state meet in November.
Limberg, The Herald’s Kristi Bartz Memorial Class of 2017 Girls Athlete of the Year, dominated in Federal Way. She won the 100-yard breaststroke for the third consecutive year; emerged victorious in the 200 individual medley for a second straight year; and led the Timberwolves’ 200 medley relay team to a first-place finish.
“I definitely wanted to win (more state titles), but I didn’t talk a lot about it with my teammates and coaches,” she said. “Knowing this was my last year, looking back and realizing how great everything was, I wanted to relive those memories and be in similar situations. I didn’t know if I was going to win, but in my mind I wanted to win.
“After winning as a junior, I knew that I wanted to win again, and that thought helped to motivate me through hard or boring (offseason practice sessions).”
Jackson swimming and diving coach Drew Whorley said Limberg’s improvements in her senior year stemmed from a confidence boost.
“As good as she was before, I think she was still surprised by her success at the state level,” he said. “She came into this year with goals of defending her state titles, breaking school records, posting all-American times. Once she realized she was capable of doing those things, the type of work that she put in every day, the way she trained, was a little bit different.
“The competitive drive came out in everything she did. It translated into a different mindset — when you’re standing behind the block in the biggest moment, you know what you’re capable of doing. You’re not hoping. That was the big difference for her this year.”
Limberg’s season was disrupted several times by out-of-state college recruiting visits. After she decided to sign a letter of intent to continue her career at Rice University, she felt at ease because she could once again devote all of her attention to swimming.
“When I came back from those visits, I wasn’t in the best shape, so I wasn’t swimming as fast,” she said. “That was kind of hard. I had to work on getting my endurance back up. But being a senior at the state meet, I had a lot of adrenaline, and that helped me.”
Limberg has been a longtime member of the WEST Coast Aquatics club team, but she said that she prefers the high-school team environment.
Whorley said Limberg did a great job of helping her teammates and becoming a leader this season.
“She separated herself with her attitude and work ethic,” he said. “She was always grounded and humble in her approach. She connected with everybody and made everyone around her better.”
Limberg, who holds a 3.93 grade-point average, intends to study pre-medicine at Rice and hopes to eventually become a pediatrician.
“I love science classes,” she said. “It’s so interesting to me the way the body works, and I like that I can apply what I learn in school to real life. And I feel that (working with) children can help them make better decisions when they’re younger. A pediatrician can be really influential. That’s my ultimate dream.”
The ahtletes of the year are chosen by The Herald’s sports staff.
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