UAF lands Valley swimmer

PALMER — The UAF coaching staff is having some success fishing for women’s swimming talent in Valley waters.

Already boasting three local graduates on its roster, the Nanooks have added another Mat-Su standout.

Mat-Su Career and Technical High School senior Camille Dayton, who recently completed her senior season with the Colony High swimming and diving program, has committed to UAF and will swim for the Nanooks in the fall.

“I just like the idea of starting out not so different from where I live, taking it slow, finding a place I’m really comfortable.” Dayton said late last week.

Dayton said she had considered Washington State in Pullman and a few schools in Colorado, but ultimately decided it was best to stay in her home state. Her call will reunite Dayton with a pair of former Colony High swimmers, Sierra Kinworthy and Rachel Crosley. Both where seniors with the Knights when Dayton was a freshman. Palmer High School graduate Katie Stark is a senior for the Nanooks this season.

“Mostly I just heard good things about it,” Dayton said of the Nanooks program.

Like most, Dayton’s career started as simple as her parents enrolling her in swimming lessons.

“When I was little, my parents really wanted me to learn how to swim,” Dayton said. “They learned about a swim team and got me into it.”

She began to swim competitively in youth programs, and when she reached the high school ranks, Dayton said, the idea of swimming beyond high school became realistic.

“Really kind of a whole new door opened for me, and I realized there was so much more out there,” Dayton said.

Dayton earned an individual title in the 200-yard individual medley at the Region III Championships in late October. She was also third in the 100 butterfly. Dayton capped her prep career with a third-place finish in the 200 IM and fifth-place finish in the 100 butterfly at the ASAA state championships.

Dayton left the Colony program the owner of two individual school records, and part of another. She set the mark in both the 200 IM (2 minutes, 14.03 seconds) and 100 butterfly (58.78) during her junior season. She was also part of the Colony relay team that set the 200 medley relay school record in 2015.

Dayton said the UAF coaches have told her the Nanooks are losing a swimmer in the individual medley, which could open an opportunity for her. She said she really enjoys competing in events such as the 400 IM and 200 butterfly.

“I really love the big distance,” Dayton said.

But she said she’s ready to fill whatever need the team has.

“I love all the events,” Dayton said. “I pretty much can swim anything, really.”

Dayton said she plans on studying biology at UAF, with the goal of becoming an orthopedic surgeon in the future.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.