Basketball players reach 1,000 points, Volleyball players reach 1,000 points, but what does it mean once a swimmer hits that 1,000 point goal? 

At a recent swim meet, senior Taleah Ruben hit 1,000 points. She has been preparing ever since freshman year to achieve this goal.

As Coach Greg Schuettler explains it, “While the 1,000 point milestone is a mark of an exceptional swimmer, it is not the only one. The only true measure of a swimmer’s success is their time in each of their events, and how his or her time improves as their career progresses. If you have a strong group of swimmers on your team, it is more difficult for each individual to reach 1,000 points compared to if there is only one or two strong swimmers on the team. This challenge has been compounded for several of our other girls due to the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in several large meets, with corresponding points being cancelled. Fortunately, Taleah was still able to overcome these challenges.”

“I felt relieved and excited about getting 1000 points because I was expecting to get it since freshman year. I’ve been practicing my whole entire 4 years of high-school swim to achieve this milestone,” said Ruben.

She wasn’t the only excited one. Her supporting teammates and coach were proud of her achievement as well. 

“When she hit her 1000 points it was an amazing thing to see her accomplish first hand especially because we have swam and grown up together in the swim world and I was incredibly proud of her,” said senior Lizzie Chattin.

“I was happy for, and proud of Taleah for reaching this milestone in her career. She has worked extremely hard for many years to become the best swimmer she can be. Her hard work paid off by putting her in the position to reach 1,000 career points,” said Schuettler.

Ruben has been swimming since she was 8 years old, and she practices Monday through Saturday on a daily basis for about 2 hours. 

If Ruben becomes District Champion, it would guarantee her a place at States.