Idaho senior swimmer Rachel Millet is great swimmer, teammate
When a student graduates high school, the decision about which path to choose is arguably the toughest choice they will ever make.
For Rachel Millet, her path almost veered her away from becoming a record breaking swimmer at Idaho.
Idaho Athletic Department | Courtesy
Senior swimmer Rachel Millet prepares to race against BSU Oct. 11 at the UI Swim Center. Millet, the owner of seven individual and relay records at Idaho, has one home meet left in her collegiate career.
The senior from Ferris High School in Spokane said she didn’t have her sights set on becoming a Vandal after high school and respectfully declined a spot on the Idaho swim team. She said instead, she wanted to attend a Catholic school and earn a degree in theology.
Millet said she and her family concluded a private school would be too expensive and her parents encouraged her to look at local colleges. She reconsidered Idaho, enjoyed her visit to the university and decided to go for it.
Millet, the 2014 WAC Swimmer of the Year, was born in Georgia and has lived in Alabama, Puyallup, Washington, Honolulu, Indianapolis and Spokane.
Since she joined the swim team in 2011, Millet has earned multiple awards and broken several school records including the 100-yard freestyle, the 200 freestyle, the 200 individual medley and four relay teams.
“There are days where I can literally see the wheels turning in her head as she’s processing information,” Idaho coach Mark Sowa said. “But also, there are days where I see her literally experimenting with her stroke and I’ll ask her, ‘OK, what are you doing here?’ And she’ll have an answer right away.”
Sowa said Millet is good at communicating one-on-one with teammates, but addressing a group of teammates at once isn’t her style.
“She’ll look for young athletes and young teammates who may be struggling,” Sowa said. “She’s very good at throwing a high-five when they need it, and patting them on the back when they need it, and occasionally some tough love when they need it. But it’s always, again, a very direct and thoughtful situation.”
Millet’s team-first mentality was displayed when she talked about one of her favorite swimming memories at Idaho — the 2013 WAC Championships in San Antonio.
Millet was a sophomore at that point and said the 2013 senior class had always struggled in the WAC Championships. Millet said she wanted to win the 200 individual medley, not for herself, but for her friend and senior teammate, Kelsie Saxe.
Millet said the swim team sings the Vandal fight song when an Idaho swimmer or diver is given a gold medal for an event she won.
“I wanted to win so that she could hear the fight song,” Millet said.
In the end, Millet won the 200 individual medley, and Saxe heard the fight song.
According to Millet, one of her goals this season is to make it to the NCAA Championships, which begin March 19 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I’ve always wanted to make NCAAs,” Millet said. “Since my freshman year, since the first day of practice, that’s always been my ultimate goal. I would take NCAAs over going to the Olympic Trials any day … I have (NCAA) B qualifying times, but that really doesn’t mean anything, because I’m not placed high enough.”
With home wins against WAC foes New Mexico State and Grand Canyon, Millet and the Vandals are 2-0 coming back from Christmas break.
The swim team will take on Oregon State Saturday in Corvallis, Oregon, while the dive team will compete at the Air Force Invitational Friday and Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the Air Force Invite is strictly a diving competition.
Sowa will coach the swimmers in Corvallis, while diving coach Kelly Gufford will coach the Idaho divers in Colorado Springs.
“Oregon State’s a very well-coached team,” Sowa said. “Coach (Larry) Liebowitz has been around for a long time and coaching kids at a very high level. They have one of the better distance swimmers in the country.”
After this weekend’s swim meets, Millet will have one more regular season meet and then the WAC Championships to get qualifying times for the NCAA Tournament.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at [email protected]