MARQUETTE – It takes a lot of time and dedication to be a great college athlete, and the ones at Northern Michigan University are well aware of that.

However, it takes a special kind of person to become a great swimmer or diver. You have to be willing to put your body through a lot and have the confidence to perform well in front of a crowd.

“You have to be mentally prepared and mentally strong to take the pounding that we do,” Wildcats head coach Heidi Voigt said. “We train 20 hours a week. It’s different than any other sport. Runners can’t run for 20 hours, but we don’t have the pounding of the ground.

“It takes a lot of mental toughness and durability to do it. You have to love it, or you’re not going to get very far.”

That love for the sport and constant effort have helped get five Wildcats get to the NCAA Championships this week in Indianapolis. Sending three swimmers and two divers, Voigt is proud of what these NMU athletes have accomplished.

“I feel really excited about these five,” she said. “It’s the first time we’ve taken two divers and we’ll have multiple competitions a day for five days, so we’ll have a lot going on.”

On the swimmers’ side, seniors Debbi Lawrence and Madisen Sechena and sophomore Rachel Borchardt will be the representatives. The diving going are seniors Molly Kearney and Sophia Garris.

Among the swimmers, this is Sechena’s third trip, while Lawrence and Borchardt are coming back for their second time.

“It’s really exciting to make it back because it’s a fun meet to compete in,” Borchardt said. “It’s also fun to be there with the older girls who have experience and really know what they are doing.”

For the two seniors, it’s a farewell tour, especially for Lawrence who is officially calling it a career after the meet.

“It really is my last meet because I’m retiring after this,” Lawrence said. “I’m nervous and I’m excited. I definitely don’t think I’ve reached my peak, but continuing to swim after college is really hard.

“I remember all the seniors when I was younger telling me that it goes by so fast and I said, ‘I don’t believe you.’ They were right.”

Lawrence likes her odds of making the podium in her last meet.

“I think I have a good chance,” she said. “It’s tough and it’s a mental game. You really have to be there 100 percent and you can’t have any doubt in how you’re going to do. I just have to believe in myself. It’s kind of cheesy, but it’s true.”

Sechena also wants to finish strong and is happy to close out her Wildcat career on swimming’s big stage.

“It’s exciting to make it this far again,” Sechena said. “My goal is to be in the top eight, but I think I’ll be happy if I swim near my best time. It’s definitely a memory that I’ll have forever.”

Each has their own specialty. Sechena competes in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley, Borchardt in the distance races (one mile, 1,000, 500 and 200 freestyles) and Lawrence is a sprinter (100 and 50 free and 100 butterfly).

Voigt thinks all three have the potential to bring home a “box,” or what the Wildcats call a medal.

“Rachel could always surprise us,” she said. “She’s been looking really good. She was All-American in the mile and 1,000 last year. Madisen’s breaststroke is sixth in the nation, so we’re pretty excited about that. Debbi is just strong and mentally tough. She can surprise you in anything that she does.”

For the divers, even the Wildcats admit that it can be a difficult sport.

“Almost every single practice, I’m still scared,” Kearney said. “I’m still afraid of something. I still get that pang of anxiety and that adrenaline going through me. It’s not really something that you completely overcome. It’s just something that you deal with and you just have to be brave every day. It’s a battle every day. It’s awesome, but it’s a battle.”

When asked what attracts them to diving, both Kearney and Garris said that the feeling of being up in the air is what is makes it great.

“I love that I get to be acrobatic and graceful, most of the time, and the feel of controlled falling is great,” Kearney said.

“My favorite dives are twisters,” Garris said. “I like that spinning feeling where you know where you are and everybody looks at you like ‘What in the world just happened?’ and you’re just like, ‘I did that.'”

“There’s definitely a show-off component to it,” Kearney said with a laugh.

Kearney is heading to Indianapolis for the third time and feels good about her performances so far.

“I’m much more confident than I’ve been in previous years,” she said. “This season has been really good compared to the other two years. I’m pretty optimistic.”

Garris, on the other hand, is making her first trip to nationals and she’s still coming to grips with it.

“I’m still feeling like I’m kind of in a dream,” she said.

Voigt thinks both divers can make it past the prequalifier and have the potential to bring home a box.

“They just need to keep it simple, and don’t overthink it,” she said.

The NCAA Championships begin Tuesday and conclude Saturday.

Ryan Stieg is a 906-228-2500, ext. 246. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.