WHS alum wraps up star-studded collegiate career at Purdue
Former Windsor High School swimmer turned collegiate star Allie Davis is in hot pursuit of a lifelong dream this month, setting her sights on a coveted spot on the United States Olympic team.
A four-year standout at Purdue University, Davis punched her ticket to the Olympic Trials to be held in Omaha from June 26 to July 3 with outstanding performances at the 2016 Big 10 and NCAA Championships, swimming qualifying times in the 100 freestyle (56.37), 200 freestyle (1:59.79), 400 freestyle (4:11.61) and 800 freestyle (8:42.98).
Last summer she served notice with a seventh place finish in the 200 freestyle event at the USA Swimming Nationals.
In qualifying, Davis will have the distinction of being the first WHS graduate to compete at the Olympic Trials. Joining her at the Trials will be Purdue teammates Kaersten Meitz and Emily Fogle.
“I used to think that making the Olympic team was an impossibility, but this has been the best training year of my life,” Davis said, citing the 200 freestyle as her best chance for an Olympic bid. “I’m going in with the mentality of keeping calm, knowing that if I just keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll be fine.”
After graduating from Windsor in 2012, Davis didn’t skip a beat, establishing a legacy as one of the top swimmers in Boilermakers’ history.
Among her many achievements in a sparkling four-year collegiate career are setting women’s school records in the 100 freestyle (56.37), 200 freestyle (short, long course), 400 freestyle (long course) and the 800 freestyle relay (short, long course).
She plans to finish out her final college requirements before graduating next year, before pursuing a possible career in law.
While at Windsor, Davis was recruited by Purdue and began her collegiate career with a partial scholarship, with the promise that the scholarship would increase if she progressed and proved valuable to the team.
She gave the team all of that and more both in the pool and classroom, finishing up with a full ride the last two years.
She was a four-year Big 10 multiple event finalist and was the high point scorer for her team at the 2016 Big 10 Championships. She also earned All-American Honorable Mention status as a member of the record-shattering Purdue 800 freestyle relay team.
Other distinctions at Purdue included a nomination for the prestigious Big 10 Medal of Honor award, a two-time recipient of the Whatever It Takes team award, while garnering the Distinguished Big 10 Scholar award all four years.
“I’m probably most proud of my academics, maintaining a 3.5 grade point average,” Davis said.
