Kinder finds home in Texas

~ A Central grad won gold at the U.S national championships.

Central graduate Hannah Kinder spent the past week rubbing elbows with the United States' elite swimmers.

She won a gold medal while she was at it.

Kinder captured a gold medal as a member of the victorious 800 freestyle relay team at the USA Swimming national championships in Indianapolis.

"I thought it was awesome," Kinder said in a phone interview from College Station, Texas. "It was the biggest meet that I'd ever been to. It was really cool to get to watch all the fast swimmers. It's a big meet for them, too, because they're trying to make the world championship team.

"It was a good experience for me to have that experience and practice with the pressure. It was also really cool to see the crowd going crazy over the world-record holders. It was a lot of fun."

Kinder, who just finished her sophomore year, joined three of her teammates from Texas A&M -- Melissa Hain, Megan Latone and Ella Doerge -- in the 800 freestyle relay. The foursome finished in 8 minutes, 17.80 seconds, more than 3 seconds ahead of the second-place team.

And when she wasn't competing, Kinder had a great seat to watch Olympic goal medalists like Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol and Dara Torres.

"You kind of have to hold yourself back and not stare too much," Kinder said. "They're like celebrities to us. We know who they are, who they swim for, everything about them. And we know all the gossip. But it's so exciting to watch. They always swim fast and they're great to the crowd."

Kinder enjoyed an illustrious career at Central, where she set the state record in the 200 freestyle while winning state titles in the 100 and 200 freestyle as a senior. Now she competes at nationally ranked Texas A&M, which finished eighth at the NCAA championships in March.

"Missouri isn't really known for its fast swimming," Kinder said. "It obviously produced a lot of fast swimmers, but college swimming is a whole other world. I'm very rarely finaling in events at college-level meets. In high school, sometimes I didn't have to try. It's a whole other story."

The transition from almost-constant victories in high school to grinding to make the finals in events hasn't been easy.

"I'm still dealing with it," she said. "I was a big fish in a little pond. Now I'm the little fish in the huge pond here. I'm still adjusting. It's definitely tough."

It took a while for Kinder to feel at home at Texas A&M, which is over 700 miles from Cape Girardeau.

"It was really hard my freshman year, and I actually did think about transferring and quitting swimming altogether," she said. "But you just get over it. Your first year is always the hardest. After you get through your first year, it's OK. You kind of get tired being at home after you've been home for too long."

She's thankful she didn't transfer and stuck with swimming.

"I think this is going to be worth it in the end, even if I'm not successful defined by how the swimming world defines success," she said. "I'm never going to have friendships like I have now. Texas A&M is an awesome university. I know I'm getting a good education and it's paying for my school. There are definitely many more advantages than quitting now."

It's hard to blame Kinder for considering quitting. A typical week is filled with hours in the pool, weight room and other exercises. That doesn't include classes and homework.

"It's nine practices a week and we have weights twice a week and running three times a week," she said. "Then we run stadiums -- we run the stadium steps. We've all calculated hours and it's about 26 hours a week that we work out."

But Kinder said all the hard work is worth it. She wouldn't trade her experiences for anything.

"I've made the best friends and just traveling and getting to work with all these girls," she said. "It's been a lot of fun and worth it."