The senior swimmer finished second in both the girls 200 free (1:49.04) and 500 free (4:52.23) at the recent PIAA 3A Swimming and Diving Championships. She was named Central League Swimmer of the Year for the third year in a row. As a junior, she captured two gold medals at the PIAA 3A state swimming championships, in the girls 200 IM (2:00.09) and the girls 500 free. She holds a total of 16 school pool records (yards and meters). Outside of the pool at Haverford, Eruslanova belongs to the Haverford Environmental Club and Haverford’s Reef Society. Next winter, she will be swimming for the University of Pennsylvania.
Q: What were the biggest key(s) to your performance at States?
A: I’ve been working a lot on my turns and underwaters the past year, so those really helped in longer races like these.
Q: What do you think was your strongest swim at the recent PIAA 3A championship? What is your favorite memory of the meet?
A: My best swim was leading off the 400 free relay at finals. It also was my favorite memory since that was my last race as a Ford and I broke 51 seconds for the first time.
Q: What did it mean to you to be named Central League Swimmer of the Year for the third consecutive year?
A: It’s such an honor to represent our league for the last three years. I feel like we have one of the most lively leagues with the most supportive people, especially once we got to Districts and States. It was so fun to cheer for one another.
Q: What aspect of your swimming have you worked on most recently?
A: I mentioned my underwaters, but I’ve also been working on my freestyle in general. At States this year, I switched to swimming the 200 free so I’ve been training for it a lot.
Q: Tell us a little about your start in competitive swimming. What swimming accomplishment outside of Haverford High School are you most proud of?
A: I used to live in Florida, so my start in swimming was more a safety precaution. I liked it so much that I joined the swim team and have been swimming competitively since then. On my club team, there’s an award for swimming all 14 possible USA swimming events in one season. One of my biggest accomplishments is receiving this award for the last four years.
Q: Who have been your most valuable swimming mentors, and what were the most important things you learned from each of them?
A: My most valuable mentors have been Coach Charlie (Kennedy) and Coach (Matt) Stewart. They both taught me the importance of the mental side of the sport and how to pay attention to details.
Q: What is your favorite swimming venue, and why?
A: I love University of Maryland’s pool. My whole club team goes down every year together and it’s the first championship meet of the season. It’s a fast pool and we always swim well there.
Q: Is there a career path that particularly interests you at the present time?
A: I know I want to go down the science career path, maybe something in biology.
Fun facts – Katya Eruslanova
Favorite book: Divergent.
Favorite TV show: New Girl.
Favorite movie: Avatar.
Favorite athlete: Elizabeth Beisel.
Favorite pre-meet pump-up song: Magic by BoB.
Favorite team: Philadelphia Union.
Favorite place to visit: “The beach.”
Favorite pre-meet meal: Chocolate chip muffin.
Family members: parents Evgeny and Natalia, sister Liza.
(To be selected as Main Line Girls Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by her coach.)
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