Fryklund Shaped by Past Adversity

AMES, Iowa- There are few athletes who have had the kind of career that Kali Fryklund has had at Iowa State. Going into the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships, Fryklund is eighth all-time for 1-meter diving performances at Iowa State and fourth all-time on the platform. But it has not only been the success that has defined her Cyclone career.

Before even coming to Iowa State, she already had connections to the university with her high school coach, Katie Grinnell, being a former Cyclone diver and school-record holder.

Fryklund suffered a broken leg stemming from a gymnastics injury in which doctors had to put a plate in her leg. She was also in a car accident during her senior year of high school in which she suffered a broken pelvis. Fryklund did not dive competitively in the 2004-05 season because of that injury, which caused her to redshirt.

“When she entered as a freshman she couldn't even practice with us,” said diving coach Jeff Warrick. “Once she was cleared to get into the water all she could do was simply fall off the board. She had to persist through some boring repetitions but it pays off on your entry. She struggled with those injuries for three years, she is pretty tough and she has learned to handle it. I think I would have had a lot of other divers quit in those circumstances.”

“I have a strong love for the sport,” said Fryklund. “I had not accomplished all the things I had hoped for myself in high school and I wanted to continue on to meet those goals. There were many frustrations because I had to be careful and that next year when they took the plate out my shin I was limited in what I could do. It was frustrating because I knew I could do better than what I was doing and that fueled me more and gave me more motivation to continue on.”

Despite the setback, Fryklund continued to work hard and the extra effort resulted into success the next season. Fryklund finished in the top-20 of all three diving events at the Big 12 Championships, earned the first victory of her career, earned team honors as the Most Improved Diver, and earned her first of three academic All-Big 12 first team honors.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Fryklund. “I felt proud of the things that I had accomplished. I still wanted to make zones that year but I was looking forward to the next three years.”

Kali made her biggest impact on the boards at last season's Big 12 Championships. In a battle with Nebraska for fifth place on the final day of the meet, the Cyclones knew they needed a good haul of points from diving to secure fifth. Fryklund's sixth place finish on the platform that day proved to be one of the deciding factors as the Cyclones edged out the Huskers by four points for fifth.

“That was the high point of my diving career and I was proud of the team that we could all pull together and be fifth.”

Fryklund has not had the same struggles academically. Fryklund has been on the academic All-Big 12 the past three seasons.

“She is a great inspiration to the idea of persisting through adverse situations,” said Warrick. “She just kept fighting and never gave up and I think that is honorable. Even though she has had ups and downs, she was never going to quit.”

Players Mentioned

Kali Fryklund

Kali Fryklund

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