When Ankeny swimmer Gracie Lindaman committed to join the women’s rowing program at Iowa, she thought she’d be spending the next four years of her life in Iowa City.
“I loved their staff, had some great connections with some of the other freshmen recruits, and I was familiar with campus,” Lindaman said.
Everything changed, though, just 24 hours before signing day. According to Lindaman, the Hawkeyes told the incoming freshmen that they would be taken off scholarship and switched to walk-on athletes.
That’s why Lindaman is now planning to join the rowing program at Kansas.
“With the cost of college, this was a pretty substantial decision I had to make,” she said. “I called Kansas–who was my second choice–and I was fortunate enough that they were still willing to honor the scholarship package they previously offered. I am beyond grateful that they believed in me enough to stick with me throughout the process.
“It was really hard at the time, but it is the way college sports are now. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and this just solidified that I am supposed to be in Lawrence,” she added.
Lindaman was a 14-time qualifier for the girls’ state swim meet in her high school career. She swam on three relay teams that earned spots on the podium with top-six finishes, and she helped Ankeny to a trio of top-10 finishes overall.
Lindaman is also a two-time state qualifier in the 400 hurdles for the Ankeny girls’ track squad.
“The rowing thing all gained momentum after I went to Iowa and participated in a combine where they test you in eight different areas,” Lindaman said. ‘My testing numbers were really good–along with my height–so I started getting interest from Iowa right away. Because of this I started sending other schools my numbers and recruiting really took off. Most schools wanted video of me demonstrating strength, speed and endurance–all traits that translate to good rowers.
“Because of my triathlon, swim and track backgrounds, I was able to demonstrate a pretty rare skills set (combining) swimming, cycling, endurance running, sprinting, hurdling, high jumping and the discus,” she added.
Lindaman eventually narrowed her choices down to Iowa, Kansas, Oregon State and Ohio State. Along the way, she learned about some of the harsh realities of collegiate athletics that resulted in the flipping of her commitment.
Now, Lindaman will be the only non-rower on scholarship with the Jayhawks.
“Throughout this entire recruiting process, I have learned so much,” Lindaman said. “The landscape of college sports has changed a great deal over the past 12 months, and the way universities recruit.”