The life of a swimmer is unique, considering it’s one of the few sports in which athletes are fully submerged in water. For some, that might seem less than ideal, but for Mount Pleasant’s Trinity Graft, it’s always intrigued her.

“I’ve always been attracted to the water,” said the Vikings’ standout swimmer. “I’ve loved it. I love the competition also, and competing against other people.”

She will soon enough be able to pair both her love of swimming and the water when she heads off to college, as she recently made her commitment to Kutztown University.

“It’s very exciting; I’m super excited to go forward with swimming,” she noted on her decision to continue swimming collegiately.

As for her love of water, Graft plans to major in marine biology.

“I plan on getting a degree in marine biology and then, hopefully, move down south, get a job, and save the sea turtles” the soon-to-be Kutztown swimmer mentioned regarding her future.

This love of water goes back to when Graft was 5 years old. She began swimming at her local aqua club before progressing into a varsity swimmer at Mount Pleasant.

Graft quickly turned into one of the top members of the Vikings swim team. She was part of the 200 free and 400 free relay teams that set a new WPIAL record last season. Their 400 free time was 3:23.12 and the 200 free was 1:37.53.

“We knew what the records were going into it,” said Graft of her team’s mindset. “Once we saw the final time, we knew that we had broken the record and we were informed later.

“All of our reactions were super excited. Since we all worked together as a team to do it, it was an amazing feeling.”

This year, Graft and her teammates exceeded the already high bar they set for themselves last season. The 200 free relay team broke their 2022 record with a 1:35.90 mark, and their 400 time was 3:31.57.

“The fact that we all got faster shows the hard work and dedication we put in,” the record-setting swimmer added. “It made us feel really accomplished that we were able to set the record the first time, and then break the record again ourselves. It was exciting.

Mount Pleasant capped off the year with a splash by capturing the PIAA Class 2A Team Championship at Bucknell University.

Graft’s time as a Viking in the pool is coming to a close, and as she prepares for the next stage in her life, she can’t help but reflect on the memories she’s made the last four year.

“The memories I’ll look back on are all of the fun memories with the team,” she commented. “Going to states, the road trips, practices, working out with each other every day and things like that. When I’m in college, I’ll still remember things my coaches have taught me throughout the years.”

With those memories made with her high school teammates, she’s eager to start a new chapter with new people in her aquatic journey. But no matter how excited she is about meeting new friends and teammates, she still finds herself drawn to what started this voyage for her in the beginning…water.

“I’ve always looked forward to swimming in college, and especially my career in marine biology. I’m so attracted to the ocean and I’m so excited to work and learn in marine biology.”