Indiana Wesleyan’s Women’s Swim and Dive team is holding steady as the #7 nationally-ranked
team in the NAIA. Sophomore, Makenna Beall is the first ever Sojourn Athlete of the Week, presented by Amplify Media.
Beall grew up in Rochester, Indiana, and attended Rochester Community High School before becoming a Wildcat. Choosing IWU was a perfect fit for her as she was deciding her future plans.
“IWU was far enough from home where I am independent but also close enough where I can still go home on the weekends and see my family and friends,” Beall said. “It was definitely the close Christian community that was a deciding factor, not necessarily just the swim team but also IWU as a whole.”
Beall’s primary events are distance freestyle and individual medley. She has been a swimmer her entire life, following in her family’s footsteps.
“My dad’s side of the family is a big swim family. All of his siblings swam and my older brother is a swim senior at Olivet Nazarene, so he is a big influence on my swim career,” Beall said.
Coming off an impressive freshman season where Beall qualified and competed in the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard butterfly in the NAIA National Championships in three individual events, she was determined to work in the off-season and return on campus ready to compete.
“A lot of work gets put in over the summer. That’s my time to grind it out because I don’t swim meets in the summer, I only swim meets here at IWU. The summer is a time for me to really put in a lot of work,” Beall said.
Beall’s success is not only in the pool but spiritually as she continues to pour into the program that pours into her.
“I think the biggest lesson I have learned in the past year and a half is that my identity is not in my sport,” Beall said. “My identity is fully in Christ, and this is a sport where I can use my abilities to worship Him. Having the ability to be on a team like that and think the same way as me is just amazing.”
Her success continued as the men’s and women’s swim and dive programs traveled to Campbellsville University in Kentucky to compete in a dual meet competition last Saturday. Beall came away with the first-place finish in the 200-meter individual medley and contributed to the Wildcat’s landslide victory over Campbellsville, 163-26.
